Hi Everyone —
It’s time again for our JoeBlogs Nonfiction Book of the Month, brought to you by our Book Editor Talia!
Fandom fascinates me on so many levels … I mean, that’s why Mike Schur and I wrote a book about it called BIG FAN, coming out in a few months. And one of the parts that fascinates me is that there are so many different levels.
For example, if someone asked me: “Are you a fan of the Beatles?” I’d say: “Sure, I mean, I like them.” I have Beatles playlists that I will listen to with some regularity. I know lots and lots of Beatles songs. I’ve walked across Abbey Road. I’ve seen a couple of Beatles documentaries. I mean, that qualifies for fandom, no?
Crazily, I think the answer is: “No.” Because I’d say many of my friends (most of my friends?) like the Beatles a lot more than I do and certainly know a lot more about the Beatles than I do.
But I’m certaionly enough of a fan to say that I’m fired up for this month’s book.
The Panel: Consider the Lobster
The Member: Sam Williamson
The Book: John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie
Supplemental Reading
Please don’t stop the music:
60 Songs that Explain the 90s by Rob Harvilla
I Don’t Want to Go Home: The Oral History of the Stone Pony by Nick Corasaniti
For that one person* at a party who’s always trying to get everyone to play a board game: Seven Games: A Human History by Oliver Roeder
For those whose version of heaven is a museum gift shop**: The Art Thief by Michael Finkel
For a Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir: Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan
For stories you may not know about the stories you know and love:
I’ll Have What She’s Having by Erin Carlson
Generation Friends by Saul Austerlitz
For a little of this, a little of that - Part 2: Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman
*It’s me. I’m that one person.
**See above.
Popular culture is both easy to explain and impossible to define. Google tells us pop culture is basically anything “transmitted via the mass media and aimed particularly at younger people.”
Ok, so pop culture = whatever’s popular. This vague definition does little to describe the all-encompassing nature of the concept. It’s today’s music, movies, memes, lingos, fashion…the list goes on.
These days, within seconds of opening a social media app, we are drowned in Labubu unboxings and slime videos and compilations of people falling over in public places and casting announcements for our favorite garbage reality shows. Anything can become a part of pop culture if the algorithm decides it must be so.
Before the technology takeover, back when news took more than a second or two to reach us, becoming a part of pop culture was more of a real feat. For something or someone to become a permanent fixture in the common consciousness, it had to be more than a flash in the pan or a one-week sensation. We still have major celebrities today, of course, and some seven-second Vines from over a decade ago somehow remain relevant. But the turnover rate of today’s pop culture is shocking. You can become a celebrity overnight and lose that fame just as fast.
That’s obviously not what happened to The Beatles, the subject of this month’s winning title.
This recommendation comes to us from panel member Sam Williamson, who, at the time of his submission, hadn’t actually read this title but felt compelled to send it. According to Sam, despite the fact that he’s “not a massive Beatles fan,” John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs, “looks like a very interesting look at a historic musical collaboration.” Sam, if you’ve had the chance to read this one yet, you now know that you nailed it.
It’s hard to imagine a more fitting subject for our pop culture theme. Let’s think about why.
For one, we have the mere existence of the term “Beatlemania.” Unlike Belieber or Directioner, terms used to describe members of a particular fanbase, Beatlemania refers to something else entirely. I mean, “mania” is literally a mental illness akin to insanity. People weren’t just Beatles fans. They were positively mad for the band, and the mania has lasted for generations.
I grew up listening to The Beatles with my dad, who was only six years old at the time of the band’s final live concert, which means he was either introduced to them by my grandmother (a practical, no-nonsense woman) or through some other means later in his life and even farther from when The Beatles dominated the headlines.
And, there’s the fact that college classes are taught on the discography of The Beatles in one lecture hall while another hosts a class analyzing Taylor Swift’s.
There were famous bands before The Beatles and famous bands after, but what this particular band achieved (and continues to achieve) is arguably unparalleled. As author Ian Leslie writes, The Beatles “continue to permeate our lives…we’ve barely begun to recognize or understand the wild improbability of the achievement.”
John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs isn’t just a history of The Beatles. It’s also not just a biography of the two men. Rather, it weaves together both biography and history with detailed musical and lyrical analysis, always tied back to the relationship between the two legendary singer-songwriters. It’s organized chronologically and each chapter takes its title from and is anchored around a song, which makes it a comfortable read that offers several delightful ways for readers to enhance their experience.
I’ve put together a playlist of each chapter’s core song so you can listen along while you read. There are a few songs that were sung by the band in live performances, but those versions aren’t available to stream. I would encourage anyone with access to Disney+ to set aside some time to watch Peter Jackson’s 3-part documentary Get Back (2021), which is referenced throughout the book, and comprises unused footage and audio material, as well as recycled original footage from the 1970 documentary Let It Be (also available to watch on Disney+).
You can also check out the 1963 article by Maureen Cleeve of the Evening Standard, titled “Why the Beatles Create All That Frenzy,” which is mentioned in the book as well, for a fun look back on a time before the band achieved stardom. The link is to a Tumblr post of the article since I couldn’t find it elsewhere, so my apologies for the quirky account name.
I have a feeling this particular pick will be a real crowd pleaser (is there anyone who doesn’t like The Beatles?), and I can’t wait for the discussion. Happy reading!
