On Completely Nerdy Knowledge

On Friday I mentioned how Snoopy made his annual report to the Head Beagle in a Peanuts strip that ran on Sunday the 4th of January, 1970. That date, it nagged me in the back of my mind yesterday and today. And then, this morning, I realized what’s so important about that date. I justContinue reading “On Completely Nerdy Knowledge”

On Paperback Writer

It sometimes surprises me, given the cultural signifance of the Beatles, that there’s not more fiction devoted to the Beatles than there is. There’s a few novels — Liverpool Fantasy stands out — and some short stories, like Ian MacLeod’s “Snodgrass” and Stephen Baxter’s “The Twelfth Album.” Curiously, all of these novels are alternate historiesContinue reading “On Paperback Writer”

On Another Imaginary Beatles Album

Stephen Baxter created “God.” Maximum Bob created “Imaginary.” I created “Hot As Sun.” Imaginary Beatles albums. Had the band not broken up in 1969/1970, what would their next album after Abbey Road have been? Saturday, while looking for any sort of complete list of the solo #1 hits of the Beatles, I came across thisContinue reading “On Another Imaginary Beatles Album”

On the Weird Way the Mind Works

Last night I was tired. Actually, I’ve been tired. I blame the flu. Which hasn’t entirely passed. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I don’t feel bad. I feel quite well, actually. But there’s still some nasal congestion. There’s the occasional cough. And my voice is still off by about an octave. It lingers. So, IContinue reading “On the Weird Way the Mind Works”

On Beatles Pedantry

I have seven different versions of the song “Let It Be” on my hard drive. And for some reason I’ve been comparing the George Harrison guitar solo in all seven versions. Harrison, at various times, recorded new guitar solos for the song, as the whole project was worked on by various producers between January 1969Continue reading “On Beatles Pedantry”

On “Hot As Sun”

Checking my WordPress stats on Saturday, I decided to take a look at the “Tag Surfer” function. Basically, it’s a search of WordPress.com blogs, and if you give it a tag to search for — like, say, “Beatles” — it will pull up a list of recent posts written on wordpress.com blogs categorized as “Beatles.”Continue reading “On “Hot As Sun””

On Martin Scorsese’s New Film

Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese has signed to make a documentary on the life of George Harrison. Olivia Harrison said: “It would have given George great joy to know that Martin Scorsese has agreed to tell his story.” As well as Harrison’s time in The Beatles, the film will look at his solo career and movieContinue reading “On Martin Scorsese’s New Film”

On Remembering George Harrison

George Harrison–lead guitarist for the Beatles, songwriter, mystic–died five years ago today. What I wrote at the time: My favorite Beatle depends as much upon what day of the week it is as it does upon my mood for that day. Some days my Beatles-sense revolves wholly around John, other days Paul, sometimes George, sometimesContinue reading “On Remembering George Harrison”