Untitled Beatles Podcast

For over 50 years, Saturday Night Live has been one of the most Important shows for rock music in the history of the nascent television medium. While, arguably, the most famous moment in the show’s history (and Tony’s favorite?) is RHCP’s multi-key 1992 version of “Under The Bridge”, there have been others. (Musical Guest The Ting Tings ripping up a photo of Colonel Sanders comes to mind.)

Fortunately, just in time for NBC’s never more relevant, May sweeps season finale of SNL, they pulled in the big guns: RHCP! Oh s**t, Frusciante and Kiedis (LLC) are bus...

What’s MORE thrilling than sitting through a slide show of your strange friend’s vacation photos?

Answer: LISTENING to the slideshow!

UBP co-host T.J. and UBP Producer Casey welcome back other UBP co-host Tony with all sorts of fab catching up (but no catching up on hot dogs! #chi-town #hotdogetiquette #nobodysezchi-town). They talk Ringo and Paul and then talk Ringo and AI, because you can’t spell “Ringo and Paul” without “AI”. Plus they have a row over 3 Saville Row.

They also ask:

🍀 Is Record Store Day to record collectors what S...

In this hotly anticipated Part 2, T.J. and Casey and their Sunshine Band pick up the pieces for Florida Man, Tony Mendoza, still buggin’ out in the Everglades.

They wrap up their deep deep dish on Ringo’s “Long Long Road”, and T.J. “press night invite” Shanoff does his finest Chris Jones impression (Angry Drunk Chicago Guy: “I WAS ALWAYS MORUVA HEDY WEISS GUY MYSELF”) and opines on Brendan Hunt’s new one-man show “The Movement You Need” at Steppenwolf’s Magic Carpet Theater.

And between the bits, they babble on wondering:

🎤💉 Is autotune the new Ozempic?

This week “Guys from The Untitled Beatles Podcast” (not to be confused with “Guys from Toto” or “Guys from Survivor”) pay homage to the great Frank Sinatra album Duets - as T.J. and guest co-host Producer Casey laugh it up over Ringo’s newest country platter, Duets Long Long Road —while ailing co-host Tony uses Duets-era technology to phone in his commentary all the way from Fort Lauderdale (not the first time that guy has phoned it in, just ask the Chicago improv community).

Between all the chuckles and landline logistical delays, the team wonders:

🌬️ How on ea...

This week, P3Z-Nutz reports (not) live from down under with another fab fav classic episode!

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Originally aired May 8, 2021

This week T.J. and Tony follow the Fab Four "under the equator" (as they say) for their ripping June 1964 concert in Melbourne, Australia. It's the rare show that captures the Beatles in peak performance shape, and in high quality audio and video. The guys go through track-by-track, and also find time to cover:

• Their favorite early 2000s post-grunge band
• Their least favorite 80s NBC TV theme
• The breakfast menu at the...

The guys are back (even if their voices aren't), and catch up on all the wild Beatlenews and Beatlereleases from the past few weeks.

It's been a hard day's fortnight, & Tony & T.J. have been working like dogs to buy, rent, or look at all the following:

New Paul album, new Ringo album, new John meditation mixes, new George Dark Horse label re-releases, new Wings documentary & soundtrack, new John concert movie, new documentary about Paul's lost bass, Evolver 62 documentary now streaming, and a new one-person show in Chicago about The Beatles by actor/writer (& Chicagoan...

It was five years ago today
When Teej and Tony told their friends to play
A VHS that T.J. had around
With its super warbly 80s sound
So may we introduce to you
The film you’ve loved for all these years:
Paul McCartney’s “Give My Regards to Broad Street”

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Originally aired April 17, 2021

At long last, T.J. and Tony review Sir Paul's magnum opus: Give My Regards to Broad Street. Starring and written by Paul McCartney, the 1984 movie was panned by critics and audiences alike, b...

It's the end of March Fabness, and there's no time to waste in crowning the Official Legally Required 9th Beatle. 

Spoiler Alert: it's all Chicago bay-bee! Slippers for only sleepers! Glass Onions! One Shining Martha My Duke you know what let's just play the episode, k?

EPISODE LINKS

Everybody clap your hands, the UBP is Happy Just To Big Dance With You! That’s right: it’s March Fabness once again, and that means it’s time to crown the official, legally-Calderstone-sanctioned 9th Beatle Bracket, A Ron Howard Motion Picture.

This year’s Beatle Bracket, much like the origins of the Fab 5, begins and ends in Chicago! From the Beatles BBC sessions recorded during the WLS Barn Dance, to the infamous rooftop concert atop Second City’s Pipers Alley parking lot, Chicago was the home of every significant Beatles event. Few will forget John’s touching tri...

In honour of spring break, it’s a super deluxe reissue of the Untitled Beatles Podcast’s third episode. Travel back to the simpler times of 2020, a world under lockdown during a deadly global pandemic, when two old friends/comedy nerds try podcasting about their favorite band on a platform called Zoom. Spoiler: the band is The Beatles. Wax nostalgic about scrubbing your vegetables with soap while reliving the golden days of Covid-19 with all the bells and whistles you’ve come to expect from today’s Tangential Twosome.

Originally published June 13, 2020

T.J. turns Tony on...

It’s one of the biggest albums of the late 1980’s.

No, not “Small World”, Huey Lewis & The News’ misguided attempt at a jazz-pop record that sadly gave us a song called “Bobo Tempo”, and can be found in near mint condition for a dollar in used record bins across the country. Rather, dear bleeder, it’s George Harrison’s comeback album, “Cloud 9”. Led by its spirited cover of “Got My Mind Set On You”, and the unofficial theme to Disney’s Mulan (“Breath Away from Heaven”), this is a record that’s held up through the years as one of the best by a solo...

Look. George Harrison took five years after "Gone Troppo" to complete his 1987 masterpiece "Cloud Nine", so excuse us if we take a couple weeks to wrap up our long awaited deep dish.

This week, the Untitled Twotles finally get around to talking about side one, and promise not to wreck the episode with tacky gated reverb like some sorry Fine Young Cannibals knockoff.

EPISODE LINKS

After spending the past three weeks in 1995’s Anthology universe, the Untitled Beatles Podcast needs a break. So this week… we head WAY BACK… to 1987.

That’s right. At long last, by popular demand—LLGH! Cheers, big ears!—Tony and T.J. delve into George Harrison’s smash-hit solo record, “Cloud Nine”, which T.J. SHANOFF LOVED LONG BEFORE ALL YOU BANDWAGON B*S.

Along the way, they find time to foray into Format Foyer, and answer the pressing questions like:

📼🌴 OK, but does T.J. own the 1987 cassette released on Contessa records in Indonesia?

💿💦 W...

Some say the “Sgt. Pepper”, post-touring era is the peak of The Beatles recorded music. Others prefer Korn.

For those who are slightly more into The Beatles, Tony, T.J. and Producer Casey deep dish Episode 6 of “The Beatles Anthology”. This has always been one of the most fertile and astonishing chapters in Beatles history, but we can all be thankful that Disney truncated it by 15 minutes for those of us in a rush. Beep beep, toot toot, no time for the “For No One” bridge, damn it!

And, sure! The UBP3zteetles (you try it, tough gu...

Real Beatlefans have been saying it on the DL (#JimmyButler) for years: "Who the hell needs Rubber Soul?"

Certainly not “The Beatles Anthology”, which puts nearly as much emphasis on the 1965 classic as they do “The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl” (Pre-Ron Howard Edition). OK so maybe it’s not that bad, but c’mon Apple, it’s RUBBER SOUL! (#HeyHey #Rip)

For better AND worse, Beatles Anthology 5 is much like its predecessors; chock full of incredibly remastered footage and audio; while missing certain key elements for time or perhaps simply to please a mouse. (SFX: Buzzer) S...

Wait no more, it’s Anthology 4! It’s better streaming, and also way worse! It’s shorter, which is nice, and also truly stupid. Official Beatles history is being re-written forever, a travesty that's never sounded or looked so good. Yes, if you’ve also found yourself stroking out at the tightening and edits of “Beatles Anthology - 2025”, you’ve got some pals at the Untitled Beatles Podcast. We’ve never been more grateful for such glorious Beatles product, and also, hey Calderstone, WTF MY DUDES???

It’s quite the conundrum as the fellas deep dish the 4th installment of...

How late’s too late to wish people a Happy New Year …? How late’s too late to run a New Year Preview episode of a Beatles podcast? LOOK: THIS EPISODE DROPS JANUARY 31ST SO CLOSE ENOUGH.

We’re back, baybee! Join Tony and T.J. as they spend the better part of an hour writing down their deepest wishes for Beatle baubles in 2026, lighting them on fire, and releasing them into the night sky. And UBP GenZ Correspondent Skylar Moody drops in with reflections on the recent news of a BeatleFest furlough. Er, I mean the Fest for...

Originally released September 23, 2023

No less an authority than Mark Lewisohn knows that the skiing scene in "Help!" was filmed in Stowe VT, during the 1997 Winter X-Games, exclusively on ESPN.

But before (ahem, #apres) skiing was a very Beatles activity, Stowe was known as a small British boys school (Ringo! Ringo!), where the Beatles gave one of their longer and most interesting concerts whilst on the cusp of British fame.

Recently, a tape surfaced of the mostly complete show, and like the Star Club release in 1970's, this one is truly a mammoth moment...

We pick up where we left off, in March 1963. The Gab Two follow the Fab Four along their journey in Anthology episodes 2 and 3: touring Britain, navigating Beatlemania, (probably) disappointing the Queen Mother, (probably) disappointing the boys in Paris, and—just in case you haven’t had enough coverage of it—INVADING THE STATES. #Don’tTellICE

Tee-Jay and Tony continue their Disney+ Deep Dish, and in classic Gen X fashion, spend most of their time waxing poetic about how much cooler everything was in the 90s. Their nostalgic trip leads them to the important inquiries, like:

⚡️🐱‍👤 Which one’a those Mi...

Short attention spans. Am I right? I mean you’re reading this right now, when you could be with your family or punching a Nazi. (We at the UBP heartily encourage both.) Fortunately, the good folks at Apple & Disney are well aware of short attention span syndrome, most felt during slow dissolves and still images over credits. Thankfully, they’ve done us the favor of removing some incredible Beatles content to save time, all while making the remaining and new footage look and sound perfect. Less Beatles content, more commercials? What kind of Calderstoner would say no to that?

Many Beatles scholars (NOT YOU, Lewisohn) often cite this familiar and prophetic John Lennon quote: "It came in a vision – a man appeared on a flaming pie and said unto them, 'From 2020 on, all crucial Beatles film projects will be kept behind a Disney paywall, where you will pay to subscribe and still get commercials'." John later relied on this memory to write the inspired-by-Joan Lunden Pepper track, ”Good Morning, Good Morning America”.

(Angry Chicago Guy: AND HOW COME THEY LET STRAHAN ON THAT SHOW BUT DON’T GOT BRIAN URLACHER?)

Back to The Beatles. If you w...

We’re off this week for the holidays! Please enjoy this beloved holiday classic. And if you’ve got episode ideas or things you’d like to hear more or less of on the show in 2026, drop us an email at untitledbeatlespod@gmail.com.

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Originally released December 25, 2021

It’s been a real gear year for the Untitled Beatles Podcast and it’s all due to you! ’Spect some of you are getting out a 50¢ piece to weigh down your rare out of print Beatles Christmas Flexi Discs. For those going without these cherished “on...

naaaaaa naa naa nanana naaaaaaa

nanana naaaaaaa

Hey Jude (now all the people in Chicago)

At long last, T.J. and Tony had their chance to catch Sir Paul’s (Baby) Got Back tour in its final U.S. stop, in the finest city in the land. Sure, it’s the same show we heard Glen glow about in Iowa, and Casey canonize in the Twin Cities, and Mark marvel upon in the Big Easy, but Macca always smacks a little harder with a Malort and a side of giardinier’.

What were T...

1-2-3-4! Can I have a little more? 5-6-7-8-9-10…instrumental versions of Beatles classics! Is this “The Hollyridge Strings Plays The Beatles”? Nope, it’s the CD and vinyl release of Anthology 4; not to be confused with Anthology 4 on Disney+, not to be confused with the largely different Anthology 4 on DVD/VHS. Make sense, fellow Calderstoners?

With 13 new tracks, plus some choice (and, ahem, choice-adjacent) cuts from the recent deluxe Beatles reissues, there is much genuine Beatle joy to be be found on Anthology 4. A few tracks are revelatory! A few are kick ass...

Attention Wealthy Beatles Fans (TM)! How do you feel about 13 tracks? No, not “of whack”, as Walter Becker might have presented us, while he was still alive anyway. But rather, 13 tracks of unearthed Beatles demos & takes, nearly all of which are pure gems, now available on “Anthology 4”.   Awesome, yes? Now, how do you feel about spending $74 for a deluxe vinyl package (excuse me? SIR?) with 36 tracks of whack. Does it make you feel better to know that you’re spending that hard earned cash on 36% “new” material, and; coincidentally, (Beatles) ’64% of music you already bought on previous deluxe reissues? Good news, because as...

It only took 29 years, but we Beatles fans finally have what we’ve all been clamoring for: instrumental “Fool On The Hill.” That’s right, Anthology 4 has arrived! Are you excited? We fans love sequels! Maybe it’s an appetizer to George Harrison’s “Early Takes Volume 2”, which is tentatively scheduled to be released sometime after we’re all dead.

Fortunately, for those of us who remember the excitement for the original Anthology CD’s, the good folks at Apple have finally cleaned up the tracks from volumes 1-3. This week, Tony & T.J. instant-react to those reissues (and/or may...

Greetings from America where it’s our annual National-Murder-A-Turkey Week! We here at the UBP Home Office at tropical Meigs Field are beyond grateful for our listeners, our friends, our UBP families, our Patreon subscribers, Kohls Black Friday deals, and US Postal workers, who deserve our respect and a damn TIP around the holidays.

This week, we show our gratitude for the many Beatles and solo Beatles projects in 2025, highlighted by the recent release of “Anthology 4”, which presents an exciting chance to buy “Something” (take 39, instrumental strings only) for the second time since 2019. (Who needs “Carnival Of Light” when...

AT LAST, the guys are back from their fall hiatus, in which they frantically earned as much money as possible to fund the next 12 months of profit-less Beatles podcasting. However, they're still recording new episodes for the winter season. With that in mind, this week we dig back into the archives to present one of our favorite episodes that we're kind of surprised we haven't already re-run.... our 2023 Deep Dish into all things LIVERPOOL DRAG!

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Originally released November 11, 2023

What happens when you take the energy of Beatlemania and mix it with a...

Legendary Chicago singer/songwriter Steve Goodman once sang of riding the rails on a train known as the City Of New Orleans. We have no idea how Chicago-based UBP listener, friend, and journalist/author Mark Guarino (Country & Midwestern, Chicago Sun Times, ABC-TV) got to the world’s greatest arena, the Smoothie King Center, to see Sir Paul rock NOLA. But, if Mark is a real Chicago guy, he’s probably still been there since the Bears won Super Bowl XX in January of 1986; unarguably the single greatest day in American history unless you hate excellence and joy. #PaytonIsTheGoat

Bu...

Cricket’s for the birds. It’s October (or was October as of pressing) and the only bats that belong within spitting distance of Capitol Records are made in Louisville right in the heart of the ol’ U.S. of A.

To celebrate the end of another season of America’s pastime, somehow currently dominated by Canadians (#2025), T.J. and Tony resurrect Producer Casey’s most confusing episode concept: THE BEATLE BATTING ORDER — this time constructing their lineups exclusively from stateside releases.

Between mouthfuls of peanuts and Cracker Jacks, we wonder:

⚾️ ❄ Is Paul actually a Mets fa...

Minneapolis! Home of Prince, “Mary Tyler Moore”, and arguably the most exciting NBA player today, Joe Ingles. And of late, it’s home to Producer Casey; who recently took advantage of a last minute opportunity to see Sir Paul McCartney (heard of him, “Beatle fan?”). It’s Casey’s second Macca concert, and, arguably, first-ever concert. Figure that one out, math!

Casey reports back with special inside information (that’s a lie) from where the mini-apple’s mediocre/stupid football team plays (GO BEARS), with news on the Hot City Horns, Minny Moms who Lap Dance, and the still-growing...

Everyone knows that the only legitimate and definitive collections of Wings tunes is “Wingspan”; obviously the only one that includes Take It Away (obviously not a Wings tune).

At long last, T.J.’s found a venue to sound off on the editorial decisions of now THREE separate Wings greatest hits collection: 1975’s “Wings Greatest”, 2001’s “Wingspan”, and the latest “Wings” collection due out this November. And Tony… is an accommodating podcast partner.

While we wax rhapsodic on Wings, we also wonder:

👗 Does his love of “Hot Rocks” mean Tony’s a housewife and/or little girl?

🌯 Whic...

In much of the world, fall has arrived: a time for pumpkin spiced fajitas, cozy, warm L’eggs (TM), and candy corn suppositories.

But in the magical world of Beatlefestlandia, it’s always 85 degrees, Simon Kirke is hanging out with Eddie Deezen, and everyone gets a picture sleeve of Ringo’s “You’re 16”!

Let’s Huey Lewis and the Fake News (#Fox) our way back in time, to August, as we proudly present - in colour! - the global podcast premiere of “The Beatlefest for Beatles Fans”! BYO colostomy bag o'wine, as Tony, T.J., Producer Casey, P3...

The guys are on a brief hiatus this week, but we proudly present this all-time favorite of ours from back in 2021!

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Originally released August 14 and 21, 2001

Not every Lennon and McCartney tune made its way onto a Beatles record, but that didn’t mean they had to hide away gathering dust, only to be released on some future 20-disc rarities box set. The greatest songwriting duo in history also kicked some of their work over to other artists making their names in the 60s—Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, the Four...

Riverside.FM is proud (neither legally nor officially) to present (allegedly) Chuck Swirsky and The Untitled Beatles Podcast! Brought to you (someday?) by Westmont’s incredible Blue Village Vinyl.

And when not spending gobs of sweet improv cash in Chicagoland’s many fine vinyl establishments, you can often find the UBP Two doing the next best thing: seeing Ringo Starr And His Approximately Infinite All Starr Band, live in Chicago!

Every “real” Beatles fan is aware that the Chicago Theater’s most famous moment was when Donny Osmond pranced the stage nightly in a coat of many co...

F**k’d up world, ain’t it Untitled Beatle People? Like all rational weirdos, we’re fed up with the fascism that (as of this writing) has removed Jimmy Kimmel from the airwaves. We stand with a fellow comic and avowed Beatles/Letterman stan, and against both censorship and emotionally crippled, diabolical jag bags.

Fortunately… we have the perfect antidote to the state of the world, as we go back through the mists of time (cue “The Long & Winding Road” from “Tripping The Live Fantastic”)…to a time they call the 60’s (…more magic piano blues noodling…) and welcome...

Their second film is fab and gear! Untitled Peedles, Have No Fear! 2025, what a year! And our final look at “Help!” has arrived! #WeDidntWriteNoPoetry

Tony, T.J., and producer P3Z-Casz put the Finnishing touchers on their “Help!” deep-dish, with a side of extra kvetching, as old, sad, deranged people do. Who doesn’t want to hear that? Are U a fan or not, pal? And, while we’re here, are you a fan of these questions?

📚 (Angry Chicago Guy, he’s up late, hoping MeTV will show ONE MORE “Hogan’s Heroes” before sunrise:) “How come Tony thinks he c...

Help! I need somebody once told me the world is filled with Kaili, but some folks call her Kylie instead. (#SmashMinogue)

What does any of this have to do with the “Help!” film? Good point, Buck O(wens); but, then again, what does anything in “Help!” have to do with “Help!”? I mean, the boys are skiing, they’re fighting villains at restaurants, they legit own multiple vending machines… Talk about privilege! #DefundTheBeatles

60 years on, “Help!” presents some of the most iconic scenes and songs in any Beatles-related film not named “Broad Street”. And gentlepeople, this week, Tony & T.J. h...

BIG BREAKING BEATLE NEWS (from like a week ago):

T.J. finally scored Ringo's VH1 Storytellers cassette from Psychic Records in Brooklyn.

Lots to react to, between this development and some business about a new Anthology release and Power to the People box set.

Open up those wallets and get geared up for all the grumps and gripes, as the Gab Two (+ Casey!) give Angry Drunk Chicago Guy a run for his money, with the hard hitting questions like:

💰🔥 WHERE'M I SUPPOSEDA GET 400 BUCKS FOR ANTHOLOGY VINYL WHEN I ALREADY SOLD MY WEDD...

“Help!” It’s the second smash film, from the biggest band in the world, released when Beatlemania was still at its peak. It’s filled with great - and in a few cases, top-tier - Beatles music. Its cast includes well known actors, and the director was an expert in maximizing the boys comedic, personable on-screen talents. It satirizes the burgeoning Bond franchise and, it’s in color! (Take that, Boxing Day 1967 UK airing of “Magical Mystery Tour”)

And yet the question must be asked all these years later: is “Help!” a classic? A great movie? Merely a good one? And in...