Who is this man? Several Beatles-related conspiracy theories—the idea that John and Paul were lovers, and the granddaddy of them all, the Paul McCartney death hoax—have emerged in the comments of late, and so I wanted to take a moment to share some strategies on how to deal with this kind of thinking. The goal should be to address the material in a respectful way—clearly it touches many people powerfully—while at the same time keeping things sane and positive. From the age of roughly five (I know, I know) to 42, I was fascinated by conspiracy theories about the assassinations of the [...]

Is there, do you think, a secret history of The Beatles? In a private email, commenter Justin and I began talking about this Dullblog post—which, nearly ten years later, remains the best summary of my feelings on the breakup. (For those short on time: I think Lennon pulled away from Paul and the group impulsively, almost by mistake, driven by his pride, his manager, his habit and his wife, pretty much in that order; and then didn't have the emotional tools to walk it back, even though he regretted it immediately and eventually realized it killed him creatively.) John "Superfly" Lennon, January [...]

https://youtu.be/GQCfZ4uAAuE I genuinely love Abbey Road—for what it is, and for the role it plays in the Beatles' story, too. I agree with Michael Bleicher's recent post: of all The Beatles' work it is the least sonically dated. More than that, it's always somewhat refreshing to listen to. To my ear, it mapped out a solid future for the group, should they have cared to grasp it (and Allen Klein's machinations not gotten in the way). "Come Together" is a thoroughly Lennon song—no one else could've written or sung that; ditto McCartney's "Oh Darling" or "The End"; or "Something" or "Here Comes [...]