Saturday, September 15, 2012

LET ME TAKE YOU DOWN

I came across this YouTube gem yesterday:  a blow-by-blow account of the making of one of the Beatles' true masterpieces, "Strawberry Fields Forever."  The video begins with John Lennon's first attempts at the song—as he gropes with the melody, toys with the words, molding and shaping it with each new attempt—and then moves into the Abbey Road studios where Lennon and the Beatles run through several different arrangements before transforming "Strawberry Fields" into the song we all know.  (Each of these versions could have been released and become a classic in its own right.)  It's a fascinating look into the mind of Lennon as a composer as well as a window into the workings of the Beatles as a band, deep into their most creative and adventurous period in the studio. 



On another front:  You may have noticed that things have been relatively quiet here at Creation Point this summer.  Life has provided many distractions, not the least of which was sending my daughter off to college.  (I'm still not sure how my little girl—wasn't she a toddler just five minutes ago?—morphed into the beautiful and elegant young woman we deposited on campus.  "Time," as Mr. Dylan observed, "is a jet plane.  It moves too fast.")

As the temperature starts to drop and the first breath of autumn blows in, I'd like to get back to regular blogging. There are many things on my mind that I'd like to share with you, so keep your eyes peeled for more frequent posts.  If they don't appear, feel free to (ever-so gently) berate me in the comments section.  

Be back soon, I hope. 

10 comments:

  1. Take your time J.M, congrats for your daughter, may she give as much light as you have given us. And yeah, I've got two kids ( 6 and 9 years old ), cannot imagine them leaving home. As for the Beatles, cannot imagine ( no pun intended ) without them.

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  2. Thanks, Daniel. This "off to college' thing is emotionally devastating—especially since our daughter is our youngest; which makes us official Empty Nesters. It's a whole new world. But I'm confident we'll all find our feet and move forward into a very rich and creative future.

    And I'm with you re: the Beatles: a world without that extraordinary music, without those four amazing personalities, would be a much darker one. I can't imagine...and I don't want to.

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  3. There's a complete CD (a bootleg record) with all the way from the first Lennon version to the final Beatles mix of Strawberry Fields. Its great to have the chance to listen the making of a masterpiece!
    Well, I have a daughter (she's 12 years old now), and I still think of her like a little baby. She's a fan of The Beatles like me, and I'm glad that we can share that. The Beatles will always be "our" music. :) Regards from Chile!

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    1. Yes, I own that CD: it's amazing! I've shared the Beatles with both my kids. How wonderful that their music transcends generations.

      Regards right back at you!

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  4. Hey, Creation Point! Solicit's up for ASM 700 and it reveals...absolutely nothing about the story.

    But hey, it says JMD, and isn't that all you need to know? :)

    It's also billed as the FINAL issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN!

    --David Walton

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    1. Thanks for the heads-up, David. The story's called "Spider-Dreams" and it's totally different from any Spider-Man story I've ever written. Hope everyone enjoys it.

      The FINAL ISSUE? I can't imagine that they'll permanently retire the title AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. Just too much history there.

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  5. Yeah, this would be the second time they've 'retired' the old numbering, the first being the Mackie/Byrne relaunch in the late 90s.

    But given your history of bumping off prominent characters, JMD, I have to ask...

    You didn't kill Peter Parker, did you? :)

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    1. HA! No, David, I didn't. The Peter Parker in my story is very much alive. In fact, he's... No, no, no, I'm not giving anything away. You'll have to wait till December to find out.

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    2. For some reason, I feel like humming, "Santa Claus is coming to town"!

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    3. Hope you feel that way after you read the story!

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