"the band's smilin' song-and-dance man"? Wow are you naive. Another great blogger choice by LJ.

Naive? Quit clutching your pearls over a tongue-in-cheek phrase like you've never heard it before. Not only did the Guardian piece all but come out and say it, but it's a persistent perception amongst Beatles fans and critics... <br><br>

www.rollingstone.com/artists/paulmccartney/biography <br><br>

www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A5950929 <br><br>

www.beatlesnumber9.com/paulbio.html <br><br>

www.mojo4music.com/blog/2007/12/paul_mccartney.html <br><br>

www.madeinatlantis.com/beatles/paul.htm <br><br>

...that John Lennon was the more avant-garde one and Paul McCartney kept things more poppy and light. <br><br>

A perception fed by the relative chirpiness of some of McCartney's better known numbers: <br><br>

When I'm Sixty-Four <br>
Honey Pie <br>
Obla Di Obla Da <br>
The Girl Is Mine <br>
Maxwell's Silver Hammer <br>
Wonderful Christmastime <br><br>

Now if you had dropped by to counter that McCartney was a fan of Stockhausen, visited Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd in the studio, wrote "Helter Skelter," produced the Bonzo Dog Band and (as I said) experimented with electronic music on his own, you'd have a point. But you had other axes to grind...

Hey Matthew, have you actually heard that track? I always wondered what it's like. I am a Beatles fan but stopped short of being, like, a hard-core 'collector.'

And I think (and many critics agree) you're right, Paul, while seen as the song and dance man, has never let go of his experimental side. It's there on most all his stuff, and I found it annoying until I realized that he sort of loves noodling around and messing with stuff.

Good column, keep up the good work.