I spent yesterday wandering around Red Hook, in Brooklyn. It’s kind of an adventure to get out there -- Red Hook has no subway service, so you have to take the subway to Carroll Gardens and then either ride the bus or walk. I opted for the latter, naturally, and I had a great time. You know me -- I always love to explore.
I’m about to start Bob Spitz’s massive biography of The Beatles, which came out a couple of years ago. It’s been sitting on my shelf for months, and then Friday night I had some intense moments with the Fab Four. I came home tired from moving all day, poured a glass of wine and put on “Abbey Road,” and the album literally stopped me in my tracks a couple of times: at the first gentle strings of “Here Comes the Sun,” at the dreamy vocals of “Because,” at the wistful “Golden Slumbers.” So then I put on “Let it Be” and the White Album, and they did the same: especially “Good Night,” in all its lush orchestration. Yesterday I kept up the pace by listening to “Magical Mystery Tour.” Wow! Records so good they give me chills. Now I’m psyched to start the book!
And speaking of perfectly-balanced artistic expression, Vanity Fair this month has an article on the making of my favorite movie of all time: “The Graduate.” Fascinating!
(Photo: Shadow of the approach to the Brooklyn Bridge, with the top of the Manhattan Bridge in the background; Dumbo, Brooklyn, Jan. 2008)
Abbey Road is one of two records I actually wore out from playing them so often (the other was James Brown, Live at the Apollo Theater). Hope the book is half as good as the records!
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of memories tied to the Beatles because I was twelve when they came to the US and they were hugely popular throughout my high school years.
ReplyDeleteI used to walk to school with my transistor radio and for some reason I think of "Michelle" when I think of that.
The shadow in the picture is wonderful! Love the pic.
ReplyDeleteyour walk sounds like it came right out of the short story "Only the Dead Know Brooklyn" (Thomas Wolfe)
When I think back to those little transistor radios I always think of summertime-- and beatle songs like Across the Universe and Something.