The British Are Coming
A Visit from the Goon Squad, Ma Lou’s, Beatles, Erin Matson, Streetside Seating
Welcome to my weekly newsletter. This week’s issue features five favorite bands of the British Invasion, a very creative novel, a fried chicken joint in Ypsi, the greatest band of all time, the youngest college head coach to win a national championship, and curbside chairs. I hope you like the picks and pics.
Fave Five 60: The British Are Coming. Pulitzer Prize (A Visit from the Goon Squad), Choice Chicken (Ma Lou’s Fried Chicken), Fab Four (The Beatles), Championship Coach (Erin Matson), and Streetside Seating.
Fave Five List: Favorite British Invasion Bands
I recently participated in a trivia night at a local brewery, joining a team with two couples in their 50s. I told a story about a Trivial Pursuit question about The Dave Clark Five. One of my teammates had not heard of the band, so I mentioned that they were one of the seminal bands of The British Invasion. That gave me the idea for this list. Although The Dave Clark Five didn’t make the cut, their song “Because” (their most-played song on Spotify) is a personal favorite.
The British Invasion music phenomenon occurred between 1964 and 1966 in the United States. This was just before I started regularly listening to Top 40 radio, so I had to catch up with the sounds of this period right after it ended. Here are my five favorite British bands from those three years.
The Beatles (this issue’s Marvelous Musicians)
Book Best Bet
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
This book is extraordinarily creative, with widely varying narration, time periods, and styles. The chapter that consists entirely of PowerPoint slides is the most impressive.
From Wikipedia: A Visit from the Goon Squad is a 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winning work of fiction by American author Jennifer Egan. The book is a set of thirteen interrelated stories with a large set of characters all connected to Bennie Salazar, a record company executive, and his assistant, Sasha. The book centers on the mostly self-destructive characters of different ages who, as they grow older, are sent in unforeseen, and sometimes unusual, directions by life. The stories shift back and forth in time from the 1970s to the present and into the near future. Many of the stories take place in and around New York City, although other settings include San Francisco, Italy, and Kenya. In addition to winning the Pulitzer Prize, the book also won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction in 2010.
In an interview, Egan explained that "time is the stealth goon, the one you ignore because you are so busy worrying about the goons right in front of you." Egan said the story was inspired by two sources: Proust's In Search of Lost Time, and HBO's The Sopranos. It is a novel of memory and kinship, continuity, and disconnection.
From Amazon: Bennie is an aging former punk rocker and record executive. Sasha is the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. Here Jennifer Egan brilliantly reveals their pasts, along with the inner lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs.
Reviews
A Parade best book of all time
“Pitch perfect. . . Darkly, rippingly funny. . . Egan possesses a satirist’s eye and a romance novelist’s heart.”—The New York Times Book Review
“At once intellectually stimulating and moving. . . Like a masterful album, this one demands a replay.”—The San Francisco Chronicle
“A new classic of American fiction.”—Time
“Audacious, extraordinary.”—Philadelphia Inquirer
“A spiky, shape-shifting new book. . . A display of Egan’s extreme virtuosity.”—The New York Times
“Wildly ambitious. . . A tour de force. . . Music is both subject and metaphor as Egan explores the mutability of time, destiny, and individual accountability post-technology.”—O, The Oprah Magazine
“The smartest book you can get your hands on.”—Los Angeles Times
“A rich and unforgettable novel about decay and endurance, about individuals in a world as it changes around them. . . [Egan] is one of the most talented writers today.”—The New York Review of Books
“It ends in the same place it starts, except that everything has changed, including you, the reader.”—The New Republic
“Clever. Edgy. Groundbreaking. . . Features characters about whom you come to care deeply as you watch them doing things they shouldn't, acting gloriously, infuriatingly human.”—The Chicago Tribune
“Egan’s bravura fifth book samples from different eras (the glory days of punk; a slick, socially networked future) and styles (sly satire, moving tragedy, even PowerPoint) to explore the interplay between music and the rough rhythms of life.”—Vogue
“Told with both affection and intensity, Goon Squad stands as a brilliant, all-absorbing novel for the beach, the woods, the air-conditioned apartment or the city stoop while wearing your iPod. Stay with this one.”—Alan Cheuse, NPR’s All Things Considered
“Brilliant, inventive. . . Emboldening. It cracks the world open afresh. . .. Would that Marcel Proust could receive [a copy]. It would blow his considerable mind. . . Expect to inhale Egan’s A Visit From the Goon Squad. Then expect it to lodge in your cranium and your breastbone a good long while.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Frequently dazzling. . . Egan’s expert flaying of human foibles has the compulsive allure of poking at a sore tooth: excruciating but exhilarating too.”—Entertainment Weekly
“If Egan is our reward for living through the self-conscious gimmicks and ironic claptrap of postmodernism, then it was all worthwhile. . . [A] triumph of technical bravado and tender sympathy. . . Turn up the music, skip the college reunion and curl up with The Goon Squad instead.”—The Washington Post
Jennifer Egan is the author of several novels and a short story collection. Her 2017 novel, Manhattan Beach, a New York Times bestseller, was awarded the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and was chosen as New York City’s One Book One New York read. Her previous novel, A Visit From the Goon Squad, won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and was recently named one of the best books of the decade by Time Magazine and Entertainment Weekly. Her new novel, The Candy House, a companion to A Visit From the Goon Squad, was named one of the New York Times’s 10 Best Books of 2022 and one of President Obama’s favorite reads of the year. She recently completed a term as President of PEN America and is currently Artist-in-Residence in the English Department at the University of Pennsylvania. Also a journalist, her year-long reporting on street homelessness and supportive housing in New York City was published in The New Yorker in September, 2023.
Restaurant Recommendation
Ma Lou’s Fried Chicken 15 W. Michigan Ave. Ypsilanti, MI 48197
After spotting a positive review of this place, Barb and I decided to give it a try. I liked their spice options: Classic Southern, Medium, or Spicy AF. Barb opted for Classic Southern for her fried chicken plate. I went for Spicy AF for my chicken and waffles. We both liked our choices.
Fried Chicken Plate: 3 pieces served with collard greens and baked beans
Chicken & Waffles: 3 pieces, maple syrup, powdered sugar
From the restaurant: A fried chicken shop built on quality ingredients and scratch-made menu offerings.
Marvelous Musicians
I recall playing baseball in the schoolyard of Glenridge Elementary School in Clayton, Missouri in 1964 when I was in 5th grade. A schoolmate started singing "Please Please Me" and despite the fact that my parents frowned upon pop music, and I had not yet fully embraced the Beatles, this song was irresistible. My sister Joan and my brother David were full-fledged fans, but I was only a secret fan until 1967. Then I heard "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields" and was hooked. When Sgt. Pepper came out later that year, I recorded each song on my 3-inch reel-to-reel Concord tape recorder using the built-in AM radio. I later bought all the Beatles albums on vinyl, then on CD, and eventually I created a Spotify playlist. When I played the music of The Beatles for my young children, they immediately loved it. It is timeless and appeals to everyone. The Beatles are my favorite band of all time, and I expect this is true for many of you as well.
Now And Then
A new recording of the last Beatles song, “Now and Then,” was released on November 2, 2023. It has received mixed reviews. Here are two from newsletters I receive:
Bob Lefsetz: “Do they think we’re deaf? Why can’t they leave well enough alone?”
Kareeem Abdul-Jabbar: “It’s both a technological wonder—and a heartfelt ballad.”
After listening to it a few times and watching the music video, I like it. It’s also sad to realize that this is their final single. Rest in peace, John and George. And long live Paul and Ringo.
Now and Then's eventful journey to fruition took place over five decades and is the product of conversations and collaborations between the four Beatles that go on to this day. The long-mythologized John Lennon demo was first worked on in February 1995 by Paul, George and Ringo as part of The Beatles Anthology project, but it remained unfinished, partly because of the impossible technological challenges involved in working with the vocal John had recorded on tape in the 1970s. For years it looked like the song could never be completed. But in 2022 there was a stroke of serendipity. A software system developed by Peter Jackson and his team, used throughout the production of the documentary series Get Back, finally opened the way for the uncoupling of John’s vocal from his piano part. As a result, the original recording could be brought to life and worked on anew with contributions from all four Beatles. This remarkable story of musical archaeology reflects The Beatles’ endless creative curiosity and shared fascination with technology. It marks the completion of the last recording that John, Paul and George and Ringo will get to make together and celebrates the legacy of the foremost and most influential band in popular music history.
From Wikipedia: The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960, comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat, and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways. The band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting, and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionized many aspects of the music industry and were often publicized as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements.
Led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the Beatles evolved from Lennon's previous group, the Quarrymen, and built their reputation by playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over three years from 1960, initially with Stuart Sutcliffe playing bass. The core trio of Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison, together since 1958, went through a succession of drummers, including Pete Best, before inviting Starr to join them in 1962. Manager Brian Epstein molded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their domestic success after they signed with EMI Records and achieved their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. As their popularity grew into the intense fan frenzy dubbed "Beatlemania", the band acquired the nickname "the Fab Four". Epstein, Martin or another member of the band's entourage was sometimes informally referred to as a "fifth Beatle".
By early 1964, the Beatles were international stars and had achieved unprecedented levels of critical and commercial success. They became a leading force in Britain's cultural resurgence, ushering in the British Invasion of the United States pop market. They soon made their film debut with A Hard Day's Night (1964). A growing desire to refine their studio efforts, coupled with the challenging nature of their concert tours, led to the band's retirement from live performances in 1966. During this time, they produced records of greater sophistication, including the albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). They also enjoyed further commercial success with The Beatles (also known as "the White Album", 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). The success of these records heralded the album era, as albums became the dominant form of record use over singles. These records also increased public interest in psychedelic drugs and Eastern spirituality and furthered advancements in electronic music, album art, and music videos. In 1968, they founded Apple Corps, a multi-armed multimedia corporation that continues to oversee projects related to the band's legacy. After the group's break-up in 1970, all principal former members enjoyed success as solo artists, and some partial reunions have occurred. Lennon was murdered in 1980, and Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001. McCartney and Starr remain musically active.
The Beatles are the best-selling music act of all time, with estimated sales of 600 million units worldwide. They are the most successful act in the history of the US Billboard charts, holding the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart (15), most number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart (20), and most singles sold in the UK (21.9 million). The band received many accolades, including seven Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award (for Best Original Song Score for the 1970 documentary film Let It Be), and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and each principal member was individually inducted between 1994 and 2015. In 2004 and 2011, the group topped Rolling Stone's lists of the greatest artists in history. Time magazine named them among the 20th century's 100 most important people.
All My Loving
I Want To Hold Your Hand
Please Please Me
I Saw Her Standing There
She Loves You
My Playlist
Sports Star
Our daughter-in-law Cristi played both lacrosse and field hockey at Gettysburg College. It won’t surprise me if our granddaughter Sommer follows in her mother’s footsteps. If she does, Sommer can also be inspired by another field hockey player from the Keystone State.
I was quite impressed with the story of how Erin Matson became head coach at her alma mater, UNC, right after graduating. Now that she has coached her team to the NCAA National Championship, I am even more impressed. Not bad for a 23-year-old fresh out of college. Sommer, take note!
From Wikipedia: Erin Matson (born March 17, 2000) is an American former field hockey player and the current head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels field hockey team. A standout player on that team from 2018 to 2022, she led the Tar Heels to win four NCAA Championships. Matson is one of only two players to be selected in the U.S. Women's National Team at age 16.
Matson grew up in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and started playing field hockey in 2006. Her mother, Jill, played field hockey and softball at Yale, and her father, Brian, played baseball at Delaware. Matson played as a midfielder and graduated from Unionville High School in 2018.
Erin Matson, 23, becomes youngest college head coach to win a national championship by Ben Church of CNN
Erin Matson became the youngest college head coach to win a national championship after the 23-year-old guided the University of North Carolina to the field hockey title on Sunday.
In what one US newspaper touted as “arguably the greatest story in college athletics,” the Tar Heels needed a double-overtime penalty shootout to beat the Northwestern Wildcats 2-1 at the Karen Shelton Stadium, securing the program’s 11th national championship and its fifth in six years.
Last year, she led UNC to a national title. Now, at 23, she’s the head coach by Brendan Marks of The Athletic
Erin Matson knew her proposal was bold. Audacious, even. But she was steadfast in her conviction as she surprised North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham with a visit to his office last August. She wanted him to consider her for the UNC field hockey coaching position.
Two issues, though:
The job wasn’t open; Karen Shelton had been the Tar Heels’ head coach for 40-plus years, winning nine national championships in that span.
Matson was 22 years old — and an active player on the team.
Picture Pun
Plenty of good seats are still available.
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