#lennon/McCartney

[thewalrusespublicist]

One thing I will NEVER understand is how 1980 John Lennon got away with tenderly calling Paul his DEAR ONE and trailing off into thought whilst also managing to convince the general population that he felt absolutely nothing for this man like how?? How??

Not his old-bandmate, not his collegue, not his mate. His dear one. And the interviewer seemingly didn't even blink. Truly insane.

[reflectismo]

Justice for George folks!

[icriedforthemoon]

EXCUSE ME?!?

WHY ARE WE NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS MORE?

John: "my Cheri my pau pau... My pau Paul..."

Basically it's just John remembering the Paris trip and singing in French.

This is from his Dakota home recordings

[starsail]

John/Paul in Rishikesh

[martini-ringo]

Watching the understanding lennon/mccartney series for the first time as a novice beatles fan is the closest emotional equivalent to how a straight man feels taking psychedelics and understanding empathy for the first time

[mattnben-bennmatt]

Matt & Ben || John & Paul

Here’s a story. Matt Damon told it. But it’s not about Matt Damon. It’s about Bono. But it’s not really about Bono, either; it’s about Paul McCartney. But Damon heard it from Bono. One day, Bono flew into Liverpool. Paul was supposed to pick him up at the airport, and Bono was shocked when Paul picked him up at the airport alone, behind the wheel of his car. “Would you like to go on a little tour?” Paul said. Sure, Bono said, because Bono, you see, is a fan of Paul’s, in the same way that Damon is a fan of Bono’s. “Bono’s obsessed with the Beatles,” Damon said at the table in the lobby of the gated hotel in the little town in Germany. “He’s, like, a student of the Beatles. He’s read every book on the Beatles. He’s seen every bit of film. There’s nothing he doesn’t know. So when Paul stops and says 'That’s where it happened,’ Bono’s like, 'That’s where what happened?’ because he thinks he knows everything. And Paul says, 'That’s where the Beatles started. That’s where John gave me half his chocolate bar.’ And now Bono’s like, 'What chocolate bar? I’ve never heard of any chocolate bar.’ And Paul says, 'John had a chocolate bar, and he shared it with me. And he didn’t give me some of his chocolate bar. He didn’t give me a square of his chocolate bar. He didn’t give me a quarter of his chocolate bar. He gave me half of his chocolate bar. And that’s why the Beatles started right there.’ Isn’t that fantastic? It’s the most important story about the Beatles, and it’s in none of the books! And Paul tells it to Bono. Because he knows how much Bono loves the Beatles.”

— Matt Damon, interviewed by Tom Junod for Esquire (August 2013).

-

Ben Affleck and I actually had a joint bank account, and the bank account was money that we’d made doing local commercials, and we could only use it on trips to New York to audition […] If one kid had enough for a candy bar, then the candy bar was bought and split in half — that’s just the way it’s been.

— Matt Damon, interviewed by Piers Morgan for CNN (March 2011).

-

First of all, I think I should say that we pale by comparison to The Beatles. But my understanding of how [Lennon and McCartney] worked was that they would go off and work separately. Matt and I worked together in the same room most of the time, riffing off of one another’s ideas for scenes or certain lines of dialogue.

— Ben Affleck, interviewed for eDrive (February/March 1998).

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Q: But you didn’t compose your stuff separately, as other accounts have said? JOHN: No, no, no. I said that, but I was lying. [Laughs.] By the time I said that, we were so sick of this idea of writing and singing together, especially me, that I started this thing about, “We never wrote together, we were never in the same room.” Which wasn’t true. We wrote a lot of stuff together, one-on-one, eyeball to eyeball.

— John Lennon, interviewed by David Sheff for Playboy (September 1980).

-

[Ben and I] have been bizarrely close for a long time. You know, I was watching Get Back—the Peter Jackson documentary—and at the end of that you see the Beatles playing on the roof in London and it says, “This is the last time that they ever played together, live.” And it made me so sad to think of; because you look at them and they’re so happy! And Ben and I, I called him and said, “Look man, we were talking about doing this and it’s been 25 years or something since Good Will Hunting. What are we doing? We both kind of hit the lottery! Why aren’t we working together more often?” And after my dad passed in 2017—and Ben was very, very close with him—it’s like it changed something in us, I think. You start to see the end game and to feel like, “I want to make every second count.” I don’t want to fritter away time anymore.

— Matt Damon, interviewed by Chris Wallace for CNN (July 2023).

-

I needed to make this post because way before the Matt & Ben brainrot had the chance to set in, John & Paul had already taken complete hold of my being. And even if this hold has gentled in recent years, they nevertheless rewired my neural circuits. And thus, everything now inevitably leads back to Lennon/McCartney. One day I'll make a (probably very tinhatty) post highlighting specific parallels between Matt & Ben and John & Paul. Today is not that day.

For now, I merely wanted to marvel at how it's not only me who inevitably sees same-sex friendships and creative partnerships through the Lennon/McCartney goggles, but, being Lennon/McCartney arguably one of the most famous same-sex friendships and creative partnerships in history, they influence how other friends who are also creative partners—such as Matt and Ben—see themselves.

For example, the Chocolate Bar story. First of all, I can't believe I only realized yesterday that one of my favorite bits of Beatles lore—a story so special Paul hasn't told it anywhere else—was made public by Matt Damon (which is kind of ironic, given how private and protective he is over his own friendship with Ben). But then, it made me re-evaluate one of Matt's quotes. You see, I thought Matt saying "If one kid had enough for a candy bar, then the candy bar was bought and split in half" about him and Ben was one of those crazy coincidences I could see thanks to my Lennon/McCartney vision. Rather, Matt seems instead to be directly referencing the Chocolate Bar story, even if only a handful of people would understand the reference at the time. By drawing this comparison, a candy bar is no longer just a candy bar. It represents the founding principles of generosity and equity on which a great partnership can be built. Like John and Paul before them, Matt and Ben chose to tie their fates together and share what they had so they could make it.

And as soon as they made it, the world started comparing them to Lennon/McCartney, as we can see by Ben's quote. And it's interesting to think how the generalized perception of Lennon/McCartney at the time might have influenced how they felt about the comparison. Imagine you and your best friend/writing partner just achieved your wildest dreams. But that also means the eyes of the world are now turned on you, and your very real friendship is being used as a marketing ploy and starting to be ravenously consumed by the public. Now imagine that people start comparing you to The Beatles, and the very famous songwriting partnership at its core, Lennon/McCartney: two friends who rocketed to the toppermost-of-the-poppermost, but who broke up very acrimoniously in less than a decade. The Beatle-People will know that they deeply loved each other throughout it all, but that was not the prevailing narrative until a few years ago, when Get Back came out. So no wonder Ben's first instinct was to go "RIP to John and Paul but Matt and I are different."

And then, Get Back comes out and it makes them realize that they both are and are not different. They are not different in the sense that the pressure of fame did affect their relationship. Not to the extent of John and Paul's, whose private troubles were made public. Whatever conflicts Matt and Ben might have had throughout the years, they gracefully kept it private, which allowed their relationship to naturally heal without the press poking at the wounds. However, I do believe the intensity of the public gaze made them shy away from collaborating again. They mention working on numerous projects throughout the years (particularly after their Oscar win with Good Will Hunting), but none of these saw the light of day. And even though they say they were working so much they did not have time to write, it's odd that it took them over two decades to even co-star in another movie again. I think that, much like John and Paul in the 70s, the pressure placed on an eventual reunion was so great—both in terms of living up to their past success and of inviting all that scrutiny again—that Matt and Ben opted to remain private friends, at the sake of their creative partnership. Which makes total sense, because, like John and Paul, there's no partnership without the friendship. But this sacrifice is tragic in its own way, because the creative partnership was a big part of their friendship. Acting, writing, directing—creating—was what drew them together in the first place! It's like asking them to amputate one of the fundamental components of their relationship.

Which is why I find the last quote so incredibly moving. While watching Get Back, Matt was not only reminded of the joy of creating with his best friend—he was confronted with the preciousness of it. Because this is where Matt and Ben are most different from John and Paul: Matt and Ben have been granted the luxury of time. Unlike John and Paul, Matt and Ben could get to their 50s and realize, "What are we doing? We both kind of hit the lottery! Why aren’t we working together more often?" They could realize that they didn't give a fuck about what anyone said or thought anymore. That being together doing something they loved was more important. And so, unlike Paul, Matt got to hear his wife say that writing with Ben was the most she'd seen him laugh in many years. And Ben, unlike John, got to feel that total happiness was seeing his children every day and working with his best friend, and that there's nothing more that he wants in life. In fact, working together on Air made them feel so profoundly accomplished and realized, that both Ben and Matt thought they were about to die, since they'd apparently reached the "mountain top".

And so, it is with great joy that I await what lies in store for Ben and Matt. They have just created their own studio, Artists Equity, and are slated to collaborate in some of its future projects. Nothing will ever replace John and Paul in my heart, and their love story is ongoing in its own way; oh, but how wonderful is it to be able to witness a creative partnership and friendship whose future is still ripe with possibility! And how poetic that the tragedy of John and Paul's story played a part in ensuring that?

[beetle-baguette]

Song writing process

[waveofahand]

Soulmates

I love this image for three reasons -- first, because it reminds me so much of some of the postures from the Beatles cartoons.

Secondly, because Paul is leaning in on John, and the expression on his face is so full of joy that you can tell that for Paul it is a completely natural and unselfconscious moment. The lad who was always anxious or concerned about the world and people around him, is almost pure spirit, here. He's in touch with his music, his muse and his soulmate, all at the same time. He's free. Third, because look at John. He's all undone, and all but giggling, every bit of his attention focused on the genius beside him, whom he loves. Because they completely understand each other. It's a terrific shot.

[strwbryfeels]

Can't believe Paul really said "in spite of all the danger... I'll do anything for you" and John still doubted him

[andsixcarswerearrested]

Do we know the exact time of day of the mclennon meeting?

Can i take this obsession into my other obsession (it's astrology...)?

[i-am-the-oyster]

People say Paul was the sentimental one and John was the cynic, but it was John who wrote:

Have you heard? The word is love.

And Paul who wrote:

You gave me the word, I finally heard

[loonylupin2]

Hey fellas!!! Wham bam pow or whatever! I’m Loony Lupin on Twitter- I’m sure half you all don’t know me though 😔

Either way I want McLennon proof and I mean every aspect. The love, lust, obsession, hate, anger, frustration, self loathing, sadness.

Because that’s what makes it beautiful and special to us in the end of the day :)

[reflectismo]

Remembering how fond they were of their own relationship:

Photo of Lennon/McCartney in John’s home studio

Photo of Lennon/McCartney over the back wall of Paul’s Apple office

[lastlennonista]

Yes, this man is entirely immovably hetero. (Also, they clearly hate Tom Snyder which is entirely justified.)

Where is that John quote where he’s like I was trying to put it out there that I was gay or whatever? I’m going to @ people here in the hopes they can help me find it. Apologies for the terrible etiquette.

Edit: Thanks to @javelinbk, here it be:

[midchelle]

Lennon and McCartney + West Wide Story

‘You Gave Me The Answer’ – Tim Minchin Asks (Part 2) (31 July, 2017) // Somewhere - Sondheim and Bernstein (1957) // There’s a Place - Lennon and McCartney (1963) // West Side Story (1961), dir. Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins // Paul McCartney for Barry Miles, Many Years From Now (1997) // The Beatles photographed for the sleeve of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) by Michael Cooper

[mattnben-bennmatt]

Matt Damon on how watching The Beatles: Get Back documentary pushed him to work with Ben Affleck again

Interviewed by Chris Wallace for CNN (22 July 2023)

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WALLACE: I want to ask you one question before I go on, about you and Ben. Because, I mean for years: Matt and Ben, Ben and Matt. In high school, you were working together and now you're in your 50s and you're together. Did you ever have a falling out? Did you ever in those years have a point—at least for a period of time—you weren't talking to each other?

DAMON: We’ve been bizarrely close for a long time. You know, I was watching Get Back—the Peter Jackson documentary��and at the end of that you see the Beatles—

WALLACE: About the Beatles?

DAMON: Yeah, it’s all about the Beatles, and at the end they’re playing on the roof in London and it says, "This is the last time that they ever played together, live." And it made me so sad like to think of— Because you look at them and they’re so happy! And Ben and I— I called him and I said, "Look man, you know, we were talking about doing this and it’s like— You know, we've— It’s been 25 years or something since Good Will Hunting, like let’s— What are we doing? You know, we both kind of hit the lottery! Why aren’t we working together more often?" And, you know, after my dad passed, you know, in 2017—and Ben was very, very close with him—it’s like it changed something in us, I think, in a— You know, you start to really— You start to see the end game and you start to feel like, "I want to make every second count." You know, I really— I, you know, I don’t want to fritter away time anymore.