“Back in the USSR” was a sort of parody song of McCartney’s he thought it would be fun to write a song in the style of
“Back in the USA” but set in Russia. I think he was making a statement about us all being the same, can anyone confirm?

I will explain “Birthday” to you. The story goes they had to lay down a track that day in the studio but all really wanted to watch a rock & roll movie premiering on British TV that night and so Paul ended up basically jamming out the riff and they recorded the core tracks then they all retired (crew too) to Paul’s place nearby to watch the show. They came back after and finished the song. Lennon later said he thought Paul was trying to right a song like an old 50′s hit.

“Here Comes the Sun” is one of my favourite Beatles songs and like “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is a Harrsion song and proof that he was an underrated songwriter.

“Octopus’s Garden” is one of the few (if only) songs fully written by Ringo and is inspired by a boat trip he was on whereon the Captain mentioned this phrase.

“Helter Skelter” was Paul deciding the Beatles were going to their version of a Heavy Metal track. That bit about the blisters from Ringo is classic example of his whimsical brilliance showing up in Beatles stuff. He also coined the phrase “It’s been a hard days night”.

For that ending Encore track, look up who performed the solos and that is a very cool piece of trivia IMHO. One of the coolest rock trivias for me ever and I absolutely love that it is the final track.

One thing I’ve learned about the Beatles in the last few years, as a 30 year old digging into their culture and history, is that they were just a group of friends that played the hell out of music until they developed an almost unnatural ability to just throw together the most revolutionary music produced off the cuff. Reading about these guys is awesome, even if it sometimes dispels the mystical quality some songs have taken on (IE. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds).

I’ve not seen it but I hear the John Lennon movie is a must watch.

You’ve discovered some great songs you never knew existed, realised just how great and influential Paul was as a bassist (try Hey Bulldog and I Want You on bass for more fun. Also, when Abbey Road comes out, I know I’m going to be picking the bass over guitar at parties every time.) And, of course, you’ve realised what everyone who -really- listens to the Beatles already knows – that Ringo gets not nearly enough credit.

@DC: Yes! That’s probably what it is; I couldn’t imagine it was just some random bystander character model that was being overused, I figured there had to be some significance.