Stamp Out The Beatles

I want to voice my misgivings about the soon-to-be-released boxsets of The Beatles: one in mono, one in stereo.

The Beatles In Mono is "limited," though EMI will not say definitely to what extent, and lists for $299. The Beatles In Stereo lists for $259.

Now, I don't know what economy EMI are living in right now, but I would not even consider buying either one of those for anything near that price. I would consider, say, $75 for each.

For those of you asking "why mono?", The Beatles' monophonic mixes differ greatly from their stereo counterparts, and have been unavailable since late 1968.

Let me give you an idea of how outrageously priced these sets are. Recently, there was a boxed set of the 13th Floor Elevators titled Sign Of The 3 Eyed Men released on the tiny International Artists label. Here's a video of all its contents:



Lovingly compiled by long-time fan and biographer Paul Drummond, the sound is as good as it's ever gonna get for these guys. Previous CD releases have sounded comparatively horrible. It is absolutely limited to 4,000 copies. The cost? US$158 including shipping (it ships from the UK). Knowing a thing or two about manufacturing and shipping, I would assume that a corporation as monolithic as EMI would be able to finagle a more reasonable price than, say, International Artists. The cost to EMI for manufacturing and shipping each boxed set ain't anywhere near three hundred bucks, limited or not.

So, I'm calling "bullshit" on EMI's extortionary prices and so should you. No way would John Lennon or George Harrison endorse these practices. They'd be listening to the 13th Floor Elevators boxed set. They really would.

Ellie Greenwich, Dead at 68

Even if her name doesn't ring a bell, you've almost certainly heard her music.

With her husband, lyricist Jeff Barry (as well as with producers Phil Spector and George "Shadow" Morton), Greenwich co-wrote an amazing number of hits. Here are but a few:

"Chapel Of Love" - The Dixie Cups
"Be My Baby" - The Ronettes
"Then He Kissed Me" - The Crystals
"Da Doo Ron Ron" - The Crystals
"River Deep - Mountain High" - Ike & Tina Turner
"Leader Of The Pack" - The Shangri-Las
"I Can Hear Music" - The Beach Boys
"Hanky Panky" - Tommy James and The Shondells
"Do Wah Diddy Diddy" - Manfred Mann

Ellie Greenwich died on August 27th of a heart attack at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in midtown Manhattan.

Although not very well known, this is my favorite version of "I Can Hear Music" by Larry Lurex, which is actually Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor recording under a pseudonym. The three, after recruiting bassist John Deacon, were soon to release their first album, Queen.

Click here to listen to the song.

- Ellie Greenwich, `Chapel of Love' co-writer, dies [AP]

Rest In Peace, Teddy

Though we never got to know what sort of President Edward Kennedy would have been, we certainly got to know him as a senator. After 46 years as Senator of Massachusetts (a record broken only by Senators Robert Byrd and Strom Thurmond) he worked tirelessly on political reform, especially healthcare reform. The fact that we may now be on the cusp of the most radical healthcare reform in several decades must be somewhat bittersweet to the Kennedy family, its reform being, in Ted's words "the cause of my life."

Diagnosed with brain cancer in May 2008, Ted nevertheless looked more healthy in the past 15 months than he had in years, at least on television. I was, perhaps foolishly, optimistic about his recovery based largely on his appearance. I guess I'm easily fooled when I want to be.

Kennedy's political life was forever changed by two events: Chappaquiddick in 1969 and, ironically, Sen. Robert Byrd's successful attempt to unseat Kennedy as Senate Majority Whip in January 1971. Though the defeat was embarrassing and painful at the time, Kennedy would later tell Byrd that the defeat was a blessing, as it allowed him to focus more on issues independently from the Democratic party framework. Kennedy became chair of the Senate subcommittee on healthcare and played a leading role with Jacob Javits in the creation and passage of the National Cancer Act of 1971.

Politically, Kennedy never fully recovered from Chappaquiddick. It pretty much ensured that no attempt at the presidency would be successful. In 1974, in its "Encyclopedia Of Humor," National Lampoon ran the following copy (written by Anne Beatts) in its mock Volkswagen ad:

If Ted Kennedy drove a Volkswagen, he'd be President today.

It floats.

The way our body is built, we'd be surprised if it didn't.

The sheet of flat steel that goes underneath every Volkswagen keeps out water, as well as dirt and salt and other nasty things that can eat away at the underside of a car. So it's watertight at the bottom.

And everybody knows it's easier to shut the door on a Volkswagen after you've rolled down the window a little. That proves it's practically airtight on top.

If it was a boat, we could call it the Water Bug.

But it's not a boat, it's a car.

And, like Mary Jo Kopechne, it's only 99 and 44/100 percent pure.

So it won't stay afloat forever. Just long enough.

Poor Teddy. If he'd been smart enough to buy a Volkswagen, he never would have gotten into hot water.

As cruel (and, let's face it, brilliantly funny) as the joke is, it illustrates how Ted has been perceived unfairly as a public joke, politically speaking. Perhaps history will treat him more kindly.

- Edward Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Dies [New York Times]