"I Am the Walrus" by the Beatles

During my college years, this was my favorite Beatles song and my favorite song from 1967. This video is from the Magical Mystery Tour film, which I own on VHS. I've seen it once on DVD. I was surprised that the quality was better on VHS, so I refrained from buying it in that form. Well, here's a free portion of it on YouTube. How long will it be there?

One fond memory of this song was exactly 12 years ago on this very weekend. I know it was this weekend because my friend Raleigh's birthday is about this time. It was also the famous weekend in which I made a wish upon a falling star that Jenevieve and I would be together forever. Before that wish, we were at Raleigh's off-campus apartment in Beloit celebrating his birthday. Spontaneously I asked my best friend Matt Rosenberg to join me in singing and performing the entire song of "I Am the Walrus" as a birthday gift. It was a house favorite.

I remember that a few years later, it was voted as the best song of the 20th century from a poll in England. That raised a few eyebrows, but not mine.

Why did I like this song? For one, it had nonsensical lyrics. I've always had a fondness for nonsense, and I'd say I had an intense passion for it during my high school years. I also liked how the Beatles experimented with the stereo on this song. When I was a child, I used to listen to the Beatles and Monkees songs 3 times--once with the left speaker on, once with the right speaker on, and once in stereo. That shows my early love for music, especially music in stereo. I guess I had my own stereo lab before Stereolab (another favorite group of mine, but from the 1990s and this decade).

I also liked the fact that the Electric Light Orchestra was founded on this song. My father had a few albums of theirs, and I thought their sound was "out there." When I found that "I Am the Walrus" was Jeff Lynne's big inspiration, I liked them even more.

This video is the closest the Beatles come to Halloween, which is my favorite holiday. I think it's appropriate that I post this so close to that holiday, which holds extra meaning as stated above (wishing upon the falling star).