This Year's End

    There's only two weeks left on a year that has got to be one of the memorable ones, but for all the wrong reasons.

    The year we're still in feels like a lengthy thriller TV series stretched into 12 seasons (for the 12 months), complete with different conflicts for each month and with the main storyline that is the global pandemic. This is not to romanticize the negative effects of whatever that has happened to everyone globally which would include, but not be limited to health and economical disruptions.

    However, one good thing we can all hold on to are the very words that kicked off a triple album for George Harrison immediately after being a Beatle: All Things Must Pass. All things, whether good or bad, will ultimately breathe its final breath and bid farewell to the world. The only distinguishing factor between the two will have to depend on whether the send off will bring relief or separation anxiety.

Which one would you choose if you were to know when your time's going to be?

    Nah, don't think about it because in reality, nobody can really tell when our own clocks will tick their final tocks. What's certain is that time will always be running ahead of us. Tick-tock, tick-tock.

    Another takeaway that we call all embrace, since we are now in the final chapter of this year, let's recognize the fact that we won't last longer than a season without being strong and keeping our minds sane. That's a reason more than enough to call for an extended Thanksgiving and recognition of all necessary efforts and adjustments.

    As this year takes its final days, year-end countdowns will surely come our way. This leads me to my final note for this entry:

    You've come this far, don't let this year end turning you into a last-minute entry for the countdowns.

Top Five Moments from Sir Paul McCartney's Free NYC Show

Because I enjoyed every bit of Sir Paul McCartney's live-streamed NYC concert, I watched it repeatedly, to be honest, I made a list of moments that I mostly enjoyed.

Paul McCartney and the band from YouTube.com

1. I've Got A Feeling
If you have watched most of Sir Paul's concert films and some of his recent performances, you would know that on the first time that he will switch to his Les Paul, he would play "Let Me Roll It". Surprisingly, he played "I've Got A Feeling". Nothing big here, just a fun twisting of details that most fans would surely notice.

2. Mini Stories
Sir Paul has been doing interviews over the years about his entire life, but the short stories he shared before starting songs were incomparable. An example of this was when he shared the story of how he got to sing the vocals on "Love Me Do". Another one was the story of the line, "Life goes on, bra!" in "Ob-la-di, ob-la-da".

3. Classic My Valentine
As a dedication to his wife, Sir Paul played his 2012 single "My Valentine" through a megaphone for a nostalgic effect. That made the song sound like a song that has passed the test of time. This was indeed a classic one.

4. Raw Blackbird
Sir Paul has played Blackbird multiple times, even when he was still with Wings, but never in the center of his audience which actually made him forget some of the song’s lyrics.

5. From Me To You/Love Me Do
These songs were the first Number 1 singles that the Beatles had. "Love Me Do" first and then "From Me To You" came surging in next. After the Beatles' early tours, "From Me To You" has never been played live again. Not until Sir Paul did it in NYC.

Paul is Live. Paul is Really LIVE.

Being an average Filipino, especially in times of the rising cost of commodities, is hard if you are idolizing artists. Take for example if you are a Beatles fan. 

Imagine how much a single ticket to watch the remaining Beatles perform costs.

Aside from that, consider what happened back in 1966 here in the Philippines when the Beatles came to perform two concerts. They all hated the Philippines. In a similar scenario, they had problems also when they toured Japan earlier that same year. However, Paul McCartney has already returned to Japan and toured it repeatedly. Former Eraserheads frontman, Ely Buendia, tried to lure Ringo Starr back to the Philippines through Starr's project "Postcards from Paradise" but it was not successful.

With that, I say that the only way to ever watch them is via YouTube or any online live streaming services. I cannot say in words, nor express completely how grateful I am for the Internet today.

Last September 2018, Sir Paul McCartney made this happen. For the first time, as far as I know, he played a surprise concert in New York City and live streamed it on YouTube! Yes, people from around the planet were able to witness him and his band play live. We were watching with millions of people.

The free concert was part of the promotions for his latest album, "Egypt Station". Among the songs played in the free concert were "A Hard Day's Night," "Blackbird," "Let It Be," and "My Valentine". "Come On To Me," "I Don't Know," and "Fuh You" could be heard in the album.

Thumbnail from YouTube

Weeks after that free concert, Sir McCartney was again featured on a live-streamed show in YouTube for the Austin City Limits Music Fest. He played again an almost-3-hour set.

My screenshot of the concert as I was watching it

What a living legend Sir Paul really is.