Web synchronicity — Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Wristband
ED PARK • Beatles fan and litblogger (and novelist) Mark Sarvas catches a curious NYT juxtaposition—the obituary for Richard Poirier mentions his Beatles essay, and what do we see in the margin?Yes—it's an image from the impending Beatles Rock Band release, illustrating the recent NYT mag story...Speaking of which: What do readers/dullbloggers think about the story/the release/everything?Much to mull over. I was [...]
Nothing to get hung about?
"Not cool, guys. Not cool." MOLLIE WILSON REILLY • From today's New York Times article on the CIA's secret prisons:Eventually, the agency’s network would encompass at least eight detention centers, including one in the Middle East, one each in Iraq and Afghanistan and a maximum-security long-term site at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, that was dubbed Strawberry Fields, officials said. (It was named [...]
I will never be gainfully employed again
Beatles Rock band is coming! Soon, soon my little timewaster, you will be mine... http://youtu.be/EgPUqMQU7Vk When my wife Kate sent this to me, she wrote, "What got me was how they narrowed John's nose over time, to show his increasing use of heroin." Dark Irish, she is.
Covers and covers
From an L.A. Times piece about a "Worst Album Covers" blog...which also includes the "butcher" cover. What?? Get McKinney on the case!
God’s eye view
God's Eye View of our guys. If you can't identify this occasion within ten seconds, you're probably here by mistake. I wonder how it was taken? Michael Lindsay-Hogg, hanging by his toes from a dirigible? EDIT: So I suppose I must excommunicate myself-- it's not the rooftop at all! Where and when exactly is a matter of debate, which can [...]
There are a lot of beetles
"There are a lot of beetles." PLAYBOY: Why do you think rock 'n' roll has become such an international phenomenon? DYLAN: I can't really think that there is any rock 'n' roll. Actually, when you think about it, anything that has no real existence is bound to become an international phenomenon. Anyway, what does it mean, rock 'n' roll? Does [...]
Opposites
I'm listening to my iTunes's "party shuffle" function. Just now it played "My Love," followed by (as a palate cleanser?) "Helter Skelter." I submit that "My Love" is the anti-"Helter Skelter." Can anyone think of a better pair? Try 'em for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SB3x6KtNi4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fvJEpdq8a8
Quadruple fantasy
Let's play along with David L. Ulin's "The Beatles, 1970–1975," in the Believer's 2009 music issue (just out—get yours here or at your favorite store...be forewarned, these sell out!): If The Beatles Hadn't Broken Up The Beatles are the fascination that lingers. I’ve been listening to them since August 1968, when my parents gave me Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band for [...]
You Say it’s Your Birthday (Or Was Yesterday)?; or, How the Beatles May or May Not Have Destroyed Rock ‘n’ Roll
DEVIN McKINNEY • Again showing our contrarian streak, we thought we'd differentiate ourselves from everyone who wished "Sir" "James" Paul McCartney (jus' Paul to us) a happy birthday yesterday—which, true enough, was his actual date of birth, but isn't it always nice to get something the day after too? (Or is that Christmas?) Sorry for the miss, Paul. But you and we [...]