Paul McCartney On SNL
Does he know how bad he was? Is he in a bubble, is it the emperor’s new clothes, does he not know how he comes across?
In case you missed it, try this:
It’s positively sad.
Then again, athletes retire, why not musicians?
Then again, musicians never retire, they say they do a few times, but they always go back on the road.
When Paul McCartney went back on the road with Wings Over America in 1976, it was a startling event, a Beatle in person.
And now he’s turned into Bob Dylan…
But at least Dylan seems to be aware of what he’s doing.
Then again, the people who go to the show and say Bob is great now… I guess if you find shows where you can’t recognize a single song to be exciting and fulfilling, maybe… But where’s that at, if you want me, I’ll be in the bar.
But at least Dylan’s keeping it interesting for himself. I mean to go out for thousands of shows, singing the same songs that became famous when you were in your twenties, sixty years on? Other than the adulation of the audience and getting paid, that sounds like death to me.
I give Paul credit for surviving. As one of the most popular people in the world. All that attention, the love, the expectations, how do you live a normal life? Having children, all of whom seem to be reasonable, which is not an easy feat. Not staying holed up, but living a life…
But Paul definitely knows who he is. He’s got an ego, and he displays it. Then again, it’s nearly impossible to make it. Despite how humble stars may appear, underneath it they’re egoists, if not narcissists, who have a hole they’re trying to fill via their success.
And Paul deserves all the credit he’s gotten. And as revered as John Lennon is, it’s hard to compete with a dead man. Imagine if Jim Morrison was alive today? It’s hard to carry off that mysterious distance when you’re in your fifties, never mind sixties or seventies.
Paul is 83, he’s going to be 84 next month. When I was growing up, that was positively ancient. Most men didn’t make it that far, my relatives certainly didn’t. And those who did were crotchety, moving slowly, having difficulty hearing…
I was sitting behind Bruce Springsteen at an awards show and I saw his hearing aids. I’m not putting him down, not in the least. Hell, he could have grown his hair and covered them up. He’s owning his identity, just like he has let his hair go gray and has admitted taking antidepressants. How do you cope when you’ve achieved all your goals? How do you keep marching forward?
But as big as Bruce Springsteen is…
No living musician is as big as Paul McCartney.
The truth is his vocals have been substandard for over a decade now. But Paul literally has the best band, and they do a phenomenal job of covering up for him. But when he’s singing alone at the piano…you cringe. I’ve been there, I’ve seen it.
Now I understand the pilgrimage, paying homage, bringing your kids to see him in the stadium where the sound is so imperfect you fill in the holes with your memory… But to go on SNL and show the world how bad you really are, how you’ve lost more than a step?
How could Paul not realize this? He had plausible deniability prior to this. Even YouTube videos… They’re shot from the audience, not copied from the board, they’re almost all imperfect. But when Paul goes on national television, INTERNATIONAL television!
That’s what YouTube is, it lasts forever.
Now I wasn’t going to write anything. Because the truth here is self-evident. And the manager is a friend of mine. Why pile on.
But there’s a message here, beyond Paul McCartney. Sometimes you just have to hang it up.
Like Gordon Lightfoot. I went to see him and…it would have been better if he was singing to tape, like Frankie Valli, who finally called it quits, or employed an avatar. Felice wanted to leave almost immediately. I needed to hear “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” but after that we bolted. It was too excruciating, I didn’t want my memories f*cked with.
Now Gordon passed not long thereafter, this was truly his last hurrah.
But it was happening off the radar screen.
But Paul still garners eyeballs…
It’s sad that the legends are dropping, Jack Douglas last week. What am I going to say about Jack, he was a friend… We did a podcast together, there was almost nothing left to say. Obituaries are written by those who don’t know somebody for those who didn’t either. But if you knew Jack, you knew about his trip to Liverpool…
And then there are the managers. Bernie working with Bob Weir, and then he dies. What are you going to do then? How are you going to march on? There’s a giant hole in both your life and your pocketbook.
As for music today…
The big news about the Drake album is how hip-hop has not charted well for eons, that we live in a pop world.
Like the one we lived in in 1961, ’62, even ’63, before the Beatles in America. Vapid stuff that fills a hole, but not the soul.
Paul McCartney filled our holes and our souls. And his music will continue to do so.
But Willie Mays could no longer catch a ball running backwards…
What is Paul McCartney supposed to do with his time?
Does Bob Dylan have nothing better to do, is this his only option?
But it’s not only them, it’s me, it’s the rest of the boomers. Sure, there are politicos hanging on for dear life, laughably, knowing nothing about the tech that drives our culture, but at some point you have to face the fact that your time has passed. So what do you do with your time?
I’m still trying to figure that out.
But I do know there are certain things I can no longer do.
And I’m not the only one.
As far as Paul McCartney goes, he can still sing, but not like a bird, more like…
You and me, but not even.
If he only owned it…
Why do all our heroes always push it too far, displaying their clay feet?
I’d like to know.
P.S. The YouTube link above is for Paul’s performance of his new song “Days We Left Behind.” “Band on the Run” wasn’t quite as bad, but it was not good:
P.P.S. The best performance was the closing number, “Coming Up”:
@chaosandcreations_deek Coming Up – Paul McCartney Live Saturday Night Live 2026, cerrando con todo Paul McCartney #paulmccartney #thebeatles #rock #music #saturdaynightlive
