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Post by cynical1 on Mar 19, 2023 19:20:06 GMT -5
No lie, there is pain for anyone going from Windows to Linux. The power and quality of most offerings in Linux do pale by comparison to their Windows counterparts.
Pitivi is not a bad video editing piece of software. Nothing like Adobe Premiere, but it's free. This is the fatal flaw in open source software...you need to wait until some programmer has the same interest or problem you do to get anything new. I'm still waiting for someone that can code to write something that will allow me to drag and drop MIDI files...
I haven't messing with CAD in a while. I'd love to have CNC capabilities, but I think my cardiologist would advise against me trying that in Linux...
Linux Mint is significantly better that it used to be. I've been pushing off the upgrade to v.21.1, since 20.3 is still working fine. That's a holdover from Microsoft...just when you think things are running just fine, they push an update...
HTC1
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Post by ozboomer on Mar 21, 2023 7:21:08 GMT -5
The following year, in 1972, HP introduced the first handheld scientific calculator . . .and all the folks making slide rules were soon unemployed. Maybe... but I was still using a slide rule in 1980-81...... Ok, Ok... it was a curiosity, 'coz I always wanted a 'real' slide rule (made of "timber, metal and 'piano key white stuff'") ...and the one I bought from my Surveyor lecturer was an old 'W&G Dualface' model (as I look at it right now) and it had/has versine and stadia reduction scales on it ... ....but I was still using slide rules up through the 2000s, just for fun (Ya, I'm weird).
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Post by ozboomer on Mar 21, 2023 7:41:45 GMT -5
...my boss insisted that we write all dates as (eg) 29-Feb-23 or 29/Feb/2023* and this was specifically to avoid confusion with Americans ...hence, the use of "DD-MMM-YYYY HH:MM" in (the American) VMS operating system (c1977) times (which I understand, even goes back to RSTS(/E) and RSX file formats and such), which uses the 'magic number' of 17-NOV-1858 00:00 (compared to Unix's Epoch starting at 1-JAN-1970 00:00:00 UTC) as the 'zero of time'. Fun discussion about VMS times: Why is Wednesday, November 17, 1858 the base time for OpenVMS?I'm looking forward to Unix (user) folks dealing with the Year 2038 Problem (if I'm even here by then)...
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Post by ozboomer on Mar 21, 2023 7:49:36 GMT -5
He also mandated that we should sign all original documents (such as a "Form 1") in blue ink due to the potential for abuse of photocopiers! As an attorney, I have always (40+ years now . . .) only used blue pens to sign documents for that reason. But color copiers have now made that pretty much superfluous anyway. Curiously, I wondered about this 'blue' thing... as engineering (design) pads always had blue grids... (old school) animators/cartoonists tend(ed) to use blue pencils for their roughs before inking... and even 'normal' writing pads were always 'ruled blue feint'... all of which was something about focusing your eyes without being distracted... or not being photo-copy-able (maybe, in the old days of wet photocopiers? I can't remember)
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Post by ozboomer on Mar 21, 2023 8:02:46 GMT -5
I'm still waiting for someone that can code to write something that will allow me to drag and drop MIDI files... Heck, even more basic, I'm waiting for someone to come up with some simpler 'it just works' system than blinkin' JACK and all of it's hanger-on 'gotta have this but not that unless you're running this' nonsense... Then again, I'm mainly using an even more obscure distro ( Puppy Linux) ...and near as I can see, I still can't get most of the 'main' distros to replicate the 'original' X-Windows demo I saw in the mid-1980s where there was a horse running across 3 or 4 X-Window displays on different hardware from different manufacturers. Pffft.. ( Heck, I've had the yap on tonight... ) We now return to our regularly scheduled programming...
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Post by cynical1 on Mar 21, 2023 10:44:47 GMT -5
I'm waiting for someone to come up with some simpler 'it just works' system than blinkin' JACK "blinkin'" would not be the first word that comes to mind... JACK is better than it was...but it was just a short walk. MIDI was always a "pay attention" type of setup in Windows with Cubase or Cakewalk. Linux leaves me with the impression that most developers are clinically deaf, so audio output was never an issue for them... I can get Hydrogen (the Linux shadow of EZ or Superior Drummer) to work with RoseGarden. It even preserves MIDI drum mapping. But, I can't mix that with live tracks...I need Ardour to accept the outputted "audio" file from RoseGarden first... This was drag and drop in Windows right around the turn of the century... I miss being able to use .vst and .vsti... HTC1 PS: I just got on the waiting list for BARD. I'll ask it...but if that breaks it...I was never there... EDIT: OK, I got my turn at BARD. Here's what it said: Is there a gui to configure JACK in linux?Yes, there is a GUI to configure JACK in Linux. It is called QjackCtl and it is a simple Qt application to control the JACK sound server daemon. It provides a simple GUI dialog for setting several JACK daemon parameters, which are properly saved between sessions, and a way to control the status of the audio server daemon.
To install QjackCtl, you can use the following command:
sudo apt install qjackctl Once QjackCtl is installed, you can start it by typing the following command:
qjackctl The QjackCtl GUI will open and you will be able to configure the JACK sound server daemon.
Sources - Learn more www.linuxrouen.fr/wp/projets/simple-midi-sequencer-sms-v-0-2-5-with-audio-capability-26712/ qjackctl.sourceforge.io/ While this is true, it's not exactly virgin territory. This app is better than the terminal window. Herpes is also better than bone cancer...
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Post by ozboomer on Mar 22, 2023 6:47:34 GMT -5
cynical1, all this JACK talk is making me bilious(!) ...For me, all the GUIs did was just add another 'layer' that more often than not went wrong... let alone the guff when you use ALSA or PulseAudio or any other audio subsystem(!)... but this is an 'architectural' issue with Linux, I think.. as everyone has their preferences for 'subsystems' and trying to get them all to work with each other is a nightmare. One of the advantages to some of Windoze (maybe), is that it has ONE window manager, TWO audio systems [hang on, it's 3 or more now.. DirectX, MMA (or whatever it is) and ASIO], ONE file systems (Ooop, wrong again - FAT, FAT32, NTFS...) .......... Mannnn, VMS wasn't this complicated... I actually don't mind Linux for a lot of things.. I just really don't understand how the audio side of life works with it... and end-up spending the most time trying to get the audio working.. after networking... after java... etc..
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Post by asmith on Mar 27, 2023 13:53:11 GMT -5
I'm following this thread now, and if anyone manages to get a DAW and a MIDI sequencer and PowerTab Editor and Hydrogen and a Synthesizer all working seamlessly on Linux Mint, I will sing their praises on seven continents.
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Post by cynical1 on Mar 27, 2023 15:49:00 GMT -5
I will sing their praises on seven continents. I like Tuxguitar a bit more than Power Tab in Linux. I can get Rosegarden to talk to Hydrogen. The MIDI export isn't bad for either of them. I can take that track and stuff it into Ardour...and it only take 5 times as long as Windows did 20 years ago... I'm working with Yabridge to get the .vst's and .vsti's to work...but it's tedious as Hell. So put me down for a Continent and a half, please... HTC1
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Post by asmith on Mar 28, 2023 13:47:54 GMT -5
I like Tuxguitar a bit more than Power Tab in Linux. OK, if you can teach me how to install TuxGuitar 1.5.3 so that I don't have to run it from the terminal with sudo ./tuxguitar.sh in its folder, because not using sudo results in a bunch of Permission-Denieds re Java, and if you can help me set it all up so that it actually plays sound, because it doesn't right now, so that I can play back all the old Steve Vai powertabs I downloaded back in the early-oughts from the Power Tab Archive, blessed be its memory, then I will go further than requested and sing your praises on two continents. Please?
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Post by cynical1 on Mar 28, 2023 14:19:15 GMT -5
If you're running Linux Mint you can install it from the Software Manager. Just type in Tuxguitar and you'll see the app, all the plugins and the flatpak ditro. Or, you can go to flathub.org and install it from there. It likes PowerTab files. I have some from the last century that work fine in it. As far as sound quality...yeah, well, none of them sound much better than a Fischer-Price piano in an empty dumpster...but they do playback in time. The MIDI export is respectable. It also transposes the track if you modify the tuning on an designated instrument. So, if you have a guitar tuned to Open D, for example, change the tuning on the "instrument" setup in the app, click OK and the tabs all re-write to the new tuning. Results vary, but it's a cool feature. Guitar Pro did it to, but this one is legitimately free... Any help? HTC1
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Post by sumgai on Mar 28, 2023 22:05:21 GMT -5
Ace, OK, if you can teach me how to install TuxGuitar 1.5.3 so that I don't have to run it from the terminal with sudo ./tuxguitar.sh in its folder, because not using sudo results in a bunch of Permission-Denieds re Java Gotta ask - is that Permission Denied message pointing exactly to Java? If so, then we need to step back and figure that one out first. If the Permission denial is actually pointing to Tuxguiitar, then we can fix your "problem" in one of two ways. But first, let's get to fixing the correct target of those messages. sumgai
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Post by asmith on Mar 29, 2023 0:14:21 GMT -5
Weirdly, v1.5.3 works this morning without sudo , when I run it from the terminal using ./tuxguitar.sh . No Permission-Denieds. It even plays back Vai's The Reaper. Though it won't play the metronome sound when I tell it to. cynical1, when I look at my Software Manager, I have the same packages installed as you. When I open TuxGuitar from the Linux OS menu, v1.2 opens, not v1.5.3. The v1.2 build won't play back MIDI. No Reaper. When I shut v1.2 down, and re-open v1.5.3, Reaper plays back fine. Still no metronome though. The TuxGuitar interface doesn't seem as tight or clean as PowerTab Editor used to feel. That might be my childhood speaking, and the grown-with familiarity with PowerTab that comes from it. But I also feel like I have a valid point. I kinda miss from PTE that all the bends looked like they should be played, and played back through MIDI exactly like they looked, you know? sumgai, it's so good to have you chime in with help. Good to talk with you again. How do I configure my setup so that the Linux OS menu opens v1.5.3?
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Post by cynical1 on Mar 29, 2023 8:21:56 GMT -5
Have you tried uninstalling it, restarting and re-installing it? I have found that multiple versions of a piece of software has the potential to create issues. I'm running v1.2 of TuxGuitar. In Windows, I used to worry about current versions, as updates were typically seamless. In Linux, if something works, I just cross my fingers and leave it. On some apps, the flatpak is more stable, but not always. This is certainly a place where the enemy of good is better.
I'm curious on why you are starting it from the terminal. When mine installed it just gave me an icon to launch. It has no flags or switches to launch.
Sound in Linux is always a contest. Typically, the sound outputs through JACK, ALSA or Pulse and MIDI is just an IMPORT\EXPORT function in tuxguitar. I have screwed with the sound on this computer so many times, through v19.x, 20.x and now 21.x OS versions, that I honestly am at a loss to tell you everything I did. I know I've installed and configured CARLA, ENVY24 (for M-Audio card), HDAJackRetask, the QAS utilities, QJACK, RMEDigicontrol, Timidity...and likely a few more that never worked, so were removed... I couldn't tell you why or what piece of hardware of software precipitated their install in particular...but I do know most things work as designed, so I don't screw with it much anymore.
HTC1
EDIT: What version of Linux Mint are you running...and what are you running it on?
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Post by asmith on Mar 29, 2023 11:33:57 GMT -5
I'm curious on why you are starting it from the terminal. When mine installed it just gave me an icon to launch. It has no flags or switches to launch. I downloaded the latest build from SourceForge. The unzipped tarball was just a set of folders and a shell script. The reason I downloaded the latest build was that I thought that it had the best shot at fixing the issues I had with the v1.2 build. There are previous v1.5 builds available from SourceForge that come as .deb packages. I'll just try one of them. Sound in Linux is always a contest. You're telling me. I think I had to do whole-system rollbacks a few times last year because once I got PowerTab Editor's MIDI playback working with FluidSynth, it broke the rest of the sound — and uninstalling PTE didn't fix it. I've since found out that I think setting up the MIDI playback for PTE puts all your ALSA sound profiles into a group that has no permissions and can't be accessed, or something like that, and nobody's bothered to fix this major bug in like five years or something. I know I've installed and configured CARLA, ENVY24 (for M-Audio card), HDAJackRetask, the QAS utilities, QJACK, RMEDigicontrol, Timidity...and likely a few more that never worked, so were removed... I couldn't tell you why or what piece of hardware of software precipitated their install in particular... This sounds like a 'Linux Anonymous' meeting confession. What version of Linux Mint are you running...and what are you running it on? 20.3, on a Dell Inspiron.
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Post by sumgai on Mar 29, 2023 11:50:29 GMT -5
How do I configure my setup so that the Linux OS menu opens v1.5.3? Somewhat easily. First thing you always do when you've upgraded is: sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade sudo apt autoremove sudo apt autoclean On occasion, I have to repeat that entire litany in order rid myself (my system) of left-over crap. But in theory this should remove the old versions of any package, and leave the newest stuff operating correctly. Now, a trick to implement what cynical1 said about hoping that once working, it stays working. In your Software Manager, you can select from tabs Explore, Installed, or Updates, am I correct? Don't select any of them. Instead click on the '3 bars' symbol to the right, and choose Software & Updates. On this window, select the second tab, Other Software. Here we can find every package that is not an integral part of the OS itself. If we were to uncheck something, it will no longer be updated, either automatically nor from the command line with the standard 'sudo apt ...'. You can still update it manually with sudo apt upgrade --[package-name], and there are several other methods of using sudo apt [...] that are, seemingly, more thorough. If the 'man' page is too obtuse, consult your favorite search engine for details in layman's language. None of the above solves any permission problems, of course. If you're still bedeviled, or just curious, you need only ask. And yeah, it's been too long, you need to get out more often! sumgai
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Post by cynical1 on Mar 29, 2023 13:41:46 GMT -5
That way lies madness. I ONLY do the command line conga crap when I can't find a flathub, or it doesn't live in the Software Manager. You can go through the Package Manager and try and update\purge entries. It's something akin to asking Katherine Hepburn to drink a pot of coffee, then shave your @ss with a dull axe...but it can be effective... It's the most reliable way to purge the old and new versions. If you re-install from the Software Manager, grab the FlatHub version. That one is v1.5.6 Linux Mint is now up to version 21.1 From version 20.3 to version 21 it's a bit more involved, but it's almost an automated process and the instructions are easy to follow. From 21 to 21.1 is a snap. I did both upgrades in less time than it took Windows 10 to update my virtual machine...and that includes the snapshot it takes on the way in. The first upgrade goes through most of the OS and updates everything. It even updated VirtualBox...which was a task I gave up on with the Package Manager... This fixes a lot of residual crap laying around. So far everything I've installed ports through JACK, ALSA or PulseAudio. I have never had any issues with playback...until you get into the more advanced stuff...then I'm happy most of my hair has already fallen out... HTC1
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Post by asmith on Mar 29, 2023 23:58:43 GMT -5
Thanks for the pointer to the FlatHub! Linux Mint is now up to version 21.1 From version 20.3 to version 21 it's a bit more involved, but it's almost an automated process and the instructions are easy to follow. From 21 to 21.1 is a snap. I did both upgrades in less time than it took Windows 10 to update my virtual machine...and that includes the snapshot it takes on the way in. The first upgrade goes through most of the OS and updates everything. It even updated VirtualBox...which was a task I gave up on with the Package Manager... This fixes a lot of residual crap laying around. Yeah, I tried to update to 21.1 last week. I received a system notification that it was time to upgrade. I started it going and it began by rolling back my versions of Inkscape and R Studio. I need R Studio for school, and it was a pain in my Hepburn-shaved @ss to get additional packages installed to run extra libraries I need for assignments. The upgrade started to delete those packages too. So I cancelled it for the time being. Until everyone out there's caught up with each other, and made sure that their own software works at the latest supported version with everyone else's software at the latest supported version, I'm holding off.
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Post by cynical1 on Mar 30, 2023 5:26:15 GMT -5
Until everyone out there's caught up with each other, and made sure that their own software works at the latest supported version with everyone else's software at the latest supported version, I'm holding off. Inkscape is available in version 1.2 from the Flatpack section of the Software Manager. RStudio, you're on your own...as you should be with that one... Synaptic Package Manager. It's buried in the ADMINISTRATION section of your START MENU. It can be intimidating, but for this exercise you just need a couple of functions. First, a video: Pretty much one of the few useful GUI's that Linux comes with. It can also hose up your system faster than a Millennial with an MBA...so use with care... In your case, just open it, do a SEARCH for Tuxguitar, then mark everything you see for deletion. Click apply and it does it's voodoo. Then restart and re-install from the Software Manager flatpak\flathub. Now, if nothing shows up here, then nothing is installed and you're just running an "instance" from the Terminal....and we talked about that before... You can just delete all the stuff you grabbed from Sourceforge and do the TuxGuitar install from the Software Manager. When you install the app from the Software Manager, it will automatically pick up any dependencies\helpers that need to be installed as well. My suspicion is that you have limited functionality on the app, as the app was never formally installed, merely run from an instance, and these dependencies were never installed, or run concurrently prior to initiating Tuxguitar...but I could be wrong... Does that help? HTC1
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Post by asmith on Mar 30, 2023 6:01:40 GMT -5
My suspicion is that you have limited functionality on the app, as the app was never formally installed, merely run from an instance, and these dependencies were never installed, or run concurrently prior to initiating Tuxguitar...but I could be wrong... Thanks. I guess it helps somewhat. I know the Synaptic Package Manager. My TuxGuitar installation came with the Mint installation I did. I may have screwed it up somehow trying to get PowerTab Editor last year to work (although I only installed dependencies to do that, never uninstalled them). I did a complete removal of TuxGuitar through Synaptic. Then I downloaded the v1.5 build .deb from SourceForge. I built it. I opened it. I loaded The Reaper. Well, it plays something. The MIDI sounds like it's being strangled. Inside a factory. That makes gears. And is run by angry cats. Who communicate with each other through intercoms. With broken speakers. Made of tin foil. I'll remove the v1.5 build and try the FlatHub from the Software Manager.
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Post by cynical1 on Mar 30, 2023 6:39:59 GMT -5
Well, it plays something. The MIDI sounds like it's being strangled. Inside a factory. That makes gears. And is run by angry cats. Who communicate with each other through intercoms. With broken speakers. Made of tin foil. I see you have the enhanced version for Linux... HTC1
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Post by asmith on Mar 30, 2023 8:09:16 GMT -5
I see you have the enhanced version for Linux... I do now! The FlatHub install from the Software Manager was successful. Except for the metronome. Still no metronome.
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Post by cynical1 on Mar 30, 2023 8:46:34 GMT -5
Except for the metronome. Still no metronome. I have a metronome working in v1.2 It's a snare drum...rather, a tin foil snare drum... It get's lost completely if there is a percussion track... Which leads me to the only thing I could find on your issue. In TuxGuitar it seems the metronome needs a percussion track. .gpx files, or some other tabs you've downloaded, may not have one. You can try adding a percussion track to a song and see if it makes a difference. I play bass...so I never use a metronome...I just trust the drummer... HTC1
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Post by asmith on Mar 30, 2023 10:52:53 GMT -5
In TuxGuitar it seems the metronome needs a percussion track. .gpx files, or some other tabs you've downloaded, may not have one. You can try adding a percussion track to a song and see if it makes a difference. I'll give this a go. Thank you. I play bass...so I never use a metronome...I just trust the drummer... As a slight tangent to the subject (but then again when did we last acknowledge Pi Day?): I think that one of the Beatles' key secrets in composing and arranging their tunes, especially from about Rubber Soul onward, is that they didn't trust the drummer. I think they wrote the tune on guitar on piano, then built the whole thing around that rhythmic foundation.
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Post by cynical1 on Mar 30, 2023 12:19:03 GMT -5
I think that one of the Beatles' key secrets in composing and arranging their tunes, especially from about Rubber Soul onward, is that they didn't trust the drummer. The Beatles? Really? Rubber Soul came out in 1965. The same year as Ali knocked out Liston in around 60 seconds, Churchill died, Johnson was inaugurated, Guevara leaves Cuba, de Gaulle gets re-elected President, Marcos gets elected and Dr Zhivago is released. All events relegated to history... Give the drummer some... And just to put us tangentially back on the rails: HTC1
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Post by unreg on Mar 30, 2023 16:23:54 GMT -5
I think that one of the Beatles' key secrets in composing and arranging their tunes, especially from about Rubber Soul onward, is that they didn't trust the drummer. I think they wrote the tune on guitar on piano, then built the whole thing around that rhythmic foundation. That’s how it seemed to me as I watched the Beatles create songs in the Beatles documentary that’s only on Disney Plus. It’s a taping of the Beatles creating songs. On day 7, Paul McCartney is starts playing Let It Be on the piano in the room in the midst of a song creation session. He sings along, but only sings the first line… the rest he hums… it becomes evident that he has created the entire tune on piano. Most of the other other Beatles are sitting on a red couch there; they are listening and saying lines of amazement. George Harrison grabs an acoustic and plays along brilliantly. Ringo Star starts a simple drum beat. In the midst of all this, John Lennon happens to show up late for that song creation session; he walks up to the group at the red couch, faces the piano, and says something positive with a short line like, “It needs words.” That show is so incredible bc your sitting there and are surprised that Paul doesn’t even know the words; John’s statement was funny! I only got to day 7 while in Louisiana; don’t have Disney Plus. [EDIT]1 preview and 2 rehearsal vids spoiler:
[/EDIT]
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Post by asmith on Mar 31, 2023 0:51:52 GMT -5
Rubber Soul came out in 1965. The same year as Ali knocked out Liston in around 60 seconds, Churchill died, Johnson was inaugurated, Guevara leaves Cuba, de Gaulle gets re-elected President, Marcos gets elected and Dr Zhivago is released. All events relegated to history... Get some culture in ya, boy
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Post by cynical1 on Mar 31, 2023 3:33:56 GMT -5
Get some culture in ya, boy I'm sorry, I'm an American...we just don't do that sort of thing... I'll see your old guy...and raise you three old guys HTC1
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Post by unreg on Mar 31, 2023 17:48:52 GMT -5
I regret this isn’t contributing to Pi day or its Linux installation segue.
I just feel this video is important; it explains why the Get Back clips, I posted above, are so colorful:
It also explains the excellent band-sound quality; these Beatles videos were recorded like 50 something years ago.
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Post by asmith on Apr 2, 2023 3:12:27 GMT -5
I started watching Get Back and made it about a third of the way into the second part (it's a three-part thing), when John and Paul are 'secretly' recorded talking in a cafeteria about George having recently quit the band. The recording is made to sound like it's just Lennon/McCartney having a concerned chat. I knew that Get Back was edited down from a huge volume of material, so I paused and looked up the cafeteria recording — the 'Lunchroom Tape' — for further info. I found that the full tape documented John and Paul's conversation as happening in a completely different order, and that the two were further joined at the table by Linda and Yoko. The Get Back reproduction is a dramatic fabrication. I listened some more to the real tape and found that it mostly records Yoko talking about George like he was an infant, and instructing John and Paul about how to "get him back, so easily." A little more research revealed that Peter Jackson, the director, had been legally obliged to run everything past Sauron Yoko, as Lennon's estate's executor, and get her approval before distributing the films. It became clear that the whole thing has a Yezhov-was-never-there vibe. Whether the films were intended by Jackson to rehabilitate Yoko's image or not, Yoko seems to have used them as an opportunity to do so, or at the very least explicitly approved of Jackson doing so. I stopped watching at that point.
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