A quick note about celebrity journalism
Starting in the mid-50s, television has fundamentally shifted the balance of power in the US. Other people would have to talk about other countries, but here all power now resides in the hands of celebrities. The impacts of this shift on our culture are practically incalculable. In politics for example, it began with JFK; the famous factoid is that people who listened [...]
“Get Back” Halftime Report
Folks, I've watched roughly half of "Get Back," and had a few thoughts and impressions that you might be interested in. It looks gorgeous, doesn't it? Great sound, great image quality, and that alone makes it a huge gift to the canon. Before I do, however, I want to link to a Dullblog post I wrote in 2014, "Let It Be: A [...]
“Get Back” open thread
Folks, I'm rushing out to Thanksgiving dinner, but here's the promised open thread on the Peter Jackson film. Put any thoughts/observations in the comments. For all my grouchiness, I'm really looking forward to seeing it. Enjoy!
What happened in India?
Reading one of a flood of pre-Get Back reviews just now; the premise of the piece, in The New York Times no less, is that the breakup of The Beatles had multiple causes and is a topic of debate even today among Beatle fans and scholars. Its big reveal is that, thanks to a new film, maybe the Get Back sessions weren't [...]
The Compleat Beatles (1982)
Following some mention in the comments, I was able to find a very nice VHS transfer of the pre-Anthology Beatles documentary The Compleat Beatles, streamable on the Internet Archive. I post it here for several reasons. When people talk about "the standard narrative," this is it. The Compleat Beatles is a well-told, extremely concise rendition of The Beatles' story as most fans [...]
The Beatles and India documentary
Folks, I just got a press release for something very interesting: The Beatles and India is a new documentary about, well, just what it says. Those of you in the UK (and India?) can stream it now; the rest of us will have to wait a bit. There is also an album of covers. Two things come immediately when the topic of [...]
The Beatles, “Let It Be,” and “Get Back”: “Trying to Deceive”?
Michael G's post "Let It Be, Get Back, and History as Art" and the comments on the site have raised so many interesting points about Lindsay-Hogg's 1969 film and Peter Jackson's forthcoming one that I wanted to say a bit more about why I'm looking forward to Jackson's film, but also not expecting it to be the whole truth. A lot of that [...]
“Let It Be,” “Get Back,” and History as Art
[Folks, I responded to a comment from @Erin this afternoon, and felt that I was able to express some complex, important stuff in a reasonably concise way, so I'm surfacing it here. But before you read that… Whatever else they might be, The Beatles are an historical phenomenon; which means two things. First, each fan must create their own idea of the [...]
A few words about the latest Rolling Stone list…
I noticed a few commenters had mentioned Rolling Stone magazine's recent "500 Best Songs" list, and since I had a few thoughts about it myself, I wanted to set them down in the quickest and dirtiest fashion. Don't take any of this too seriously, please. I have a headache and am avoiding work. What is Rolling Stone, anymore? I'd argue that this [...]