Book Review: “Beatles vs. Stones”
Beatles vs. Stones by John McMillian 288 pp. Simon & Schuster, 2013 Reviewed by Devin McKinney Note: This review was first posted, precipitately, on July 22nd, after review copies of John McMillian's book were sent out; it was difficult for the reviewer to resist reading and responding to it immediately. Now that the book is publicly available, we repost the review, without [...]
Beatles For Sale sessions
Four little-known musicians from Liverpool, 1964 MIKE GERBER • We've linked to the devilishly delightful site Willard's Wormholes before, and in the process of fixing that link this morning, I found a wonderful something I just had to pass along. My love for 1964's Oh-Shit-Christmas-Is-Coming LP Beatles For Sale is almost as idiosyncratic as my affection for psychedelia.* Truth be told, [...]
Literary approaches to the Beatles; or, the difference between a book and a record
DEVIN McKINNEY • Once, a long time ago, I tried to maintain, just for the record, a running tab of Beatles references or mentions that cropped up in the course of my day. During that period (the latter half of the 1980s), the daily references were not many; the group’s public profile was in a relative slough of despond, and looking back, [...]
If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger…
"Is it me, or does the guy on the target look like Allen Klein?" MIKE GERBER • Devin has called Tom Sutpen's blog "If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger, There's Be a Whole Lot of Dead Copycats" the best blog ever, and you can add my voice to the chorus of praise. I've been browsing it for years, and find [...]
All I’ve got is a photograph: Ringo snaps Miami fans
DEVIN McKINNEY • Courtesy of Joe Bonomo, writer, professor, rock fan, comes this item. Ringo took this shot of fans from the back of the Beatles' limousine. He doesn't remember for sure, but he believes it was in Miami Beach on the Beatles' first trip there, February 13-22, 1964. The article in the Miami Herald has some great quotes from local fans, [...]
Nik Cohn reviews Abbey Road, 1969
An outtake from Abbey Road (the cover, I mean) Dullblogger Ed (come back Ed! we miss you!) shared a link this morning: Nik Cohn's original review of Abbey Road for The New York Times. I always find hot-off-the-press reviews like this really interesting; for one thing, they give us a sense of how differently now-iconic bits of culture were seen [...]
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McCartney, “New,” and “generic genius”: rebutting Ben Greenman
The new McCartney album, "MEM." NANCY CARR • The "New" album is the occasion for Ben Greenman of The New Yorker to opine about Paul McCartney's "generic genius." That's very much "generic" as in "bland and undistinguished," not as in "genre-spanning." Greenman asserts that the album's title is "almost comically inaccurate," but appears unaware that his own critique recycles cliches about [...]
Bad alternate Beatles history
Ringo, ready to spring into instant diplomatic action NANCY CARR * Usually I can take or leave alternative history experiments, but Geoffrey Himes' "What If The Beatles Hadn't Broken Up?" in Paste is so loony I had to bring it back to the Dullblog community for commentary. [For great alternate Beatles history, see Mark Shipper's Paperback Writer or HD's own Michael [...]