Michelle

I really hate to think ill of Paul McCartney, especially when I've been so excited about what he's up to lately, what with the Letterman and the Fireman and the fact that he's playing Fenway Park in less than two weeks. So I want to get today's song out of the way, so the rest of the year can hopefully be filled with positivity for Paul.

Because, look, I know a lot of people really like "Michelle." Especially if you're named Michelle. Or if you're French-- in France, I understand, this was always one of the most popular Beatles songs, and it made it onto one of the Odeon EPs that pepper the Beatles' French discography. Maybe Paul adorably singing to you in a butchered version of your native language was just irresistible, which, hey-- I've been there. Even so, though, I can't get into "Michelle." It's kind of-- I don't know. Icky?

Maybe "icky" is too strong a word. Because compared to my other least favorite Beatles song, "Michelle" at least has some degree of harmonic sophistication and cool chromatic motion. (It's worth reading the illustrious Alan W. Pollack on this one, because he breaks it down very nicely, as always.) It's another one of these songs with a verse in major and a middle eight in minor, which, in a two and a half minute pop song, always lends a nice dose of color. And I'm not so set against the song that I can't acknowledge that the guitar solos at the middle and end are very deftly played, and even lovely in their own way. In fact, a lot of the guitar work is very good. It's all played by Paul, by the way-- George and John are only singing backup, and Ringo might not even be on the track at all. I've read different opinions about whether Paul is handling drums here too, and my ear can't really tell one way or the other.

But none of this saves the song from overwhelming mawkishness for me. It sounds like Paul is too self-consciously trying to charm us, even though he's at his most charming when he's not trying so goshdarned hard. Maybe this shouldn't be surprising given the song's history. Paul wrote the riff from "Michelle" very early on, perhaps in the late '50s, when he and John used to go to parties thrown by John's friends from art school. The art school kids were doing the late '50s bohemian thing, and I guess being French was super-hip, or something, and so was sitting in the corner at a party wearing a black turtleneck and strumming a little quasi-French tune to yourself on your guitar. Paul has described his actions here partly as a ploy to make fun of these people (he would sing the melody to nonsensical French-sounding grunting), and partly as a very serious and, apparently, successful attempt to get laid. More power to him. But is anyone surprised to learn that "Michelle" was originally written for the very transparent purpose of trying to get laid? Alas, it never evolved into anything more interesting than that, at least not in my humble opinion.

Anyway, it was apparently John who, years later, suggested that Paul resurrect the old Frenchy melody and try to write a song out of it, and it was also John who suggested the "I love you, I love you, I love you" hook for the middle eight, basing it on a Nina Simone song that was popular at the time. Also providing help on this was the wife of Ivan Vaughan, the mutual friend of John and Paul who did the universe the biggest favor ever by introducing the two of them when they were all teenagers. Ivan's wife was a French teacher, and helped Paul rhyme "ma belle" to "Michelle" and gave him the French line that he sings. (Paul apparently sent her a check later, which was wicked decent of him if it's true.)

So that's how we got "Michelle," and how it ended up on Rubber Soul, an album that, while certainly groundbreaking, seems marked by songs that the Beatles really had to dig up from the past. Consider this one from way back in the '50s, as well as "What Goes On" and "Wait" and so forth-- plus "In My Life," which is a great song that also has a nostalgic hint to it. Definitely an album that looks backward as well as forward-- the cusp album, I guess. (Still and all, I wouldn't have minded "Michelle" being left off too much, I think.)

Oh, one more thing-- I think I would be more okay with "Michelle" if EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD didn't think it was so great. Doesn't that kind of thing just piss you off, when everyone around you is just wrong? One of the people who clearly thinks it's great is Paul. Here he is singing it just last year in Quebec. Oh no, kids, he NEVER misses a chance to perform "Michelle" in front of a French-speaking audience. In this performance he actually adds an accordion. GAH.

"Michelle," released in the U.K. side A track 7 of Rubber Soul, December 3, 1965; in the U.S. side A track 7 of the crappy Capitol Rubber Soul, December 6, 1965.