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Post by B.E. on Mar 9, 2024 2:48:27 GMT
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 9, 2024 12:17:47 GMT
Phenomenal interview with Howie E by Ken S. A lot of Howie's statements in the past, maybe his whole perspective, has rubbed me the wrong way in the past. But he's been doing a lot of public good with his work for the group on the past few sets, and this book seems like another one. I wasn't really excited about the book before, but this gets me more so.
One thing I am curious to see in reality, though, is this:
I am curious as to whether or how demarcations are made between different sources. This reads as if Edelson edits them into single "answers," which I think would be misleading--at least from a historical or journalistic perspective. Shaping the narrative to give the "best" answer (as he and/or the group and/or the assorted powers that be) in 2024 by manipulating diverse historical sources that might be decades apart rubs me the wrong way unless the different sources are clarified.
It is of course editorially possible to combine and shape diverse quotes spanning decades into a more coherent or aesthetically pleasing answer/statement. But it doesn't seem accurate to do so. Quoting a single person from 1968, '93, and '18 is more like quoting three different people than it is like different quotes from the same person in the same interview.
I can't critique it seriously or fully because I am just going by what Howie seems to be saying, not by what's truly in the book. I'm interested to see it.
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Post by B.E. on Mar 30, 2024 17:14:07 GMT
An excerpt from the interview above regarding the timeframe the book covers:
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Post by B.E. on Mar 31, 2024 11:54:40 GMT
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Post by B.E. on Mar 31, 2024 14:00:01 GMT
Okay, I'm sold. Just ordered a copy. Can't wait 'til Tuesday!
My only concern now is that it arrives unharmed. While 99% of my orders do, I did have an issue with the similarly sized Imagine book a couple years ago (which arrived dirty w/out shrink-wrap) and a recent box set (one of the corners was damaged). You'd think they'd have this at Barnes and Noble on release day, but I'm not sure.
Anyway, especially for fans like me who don't necessarily have every book and magazine under the sun about the Beach Boys, this feels like "the one" to have. It's essentially the Beach Boys version of the Beatles Anthology.
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Post by lonelysummer on Apr 1, 2024 7:15:57 GMT
Our public library has it, so I will wait in line for a copy.
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Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 520
Likes: 532
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Post by Emdeeh on Apr 2, 2024 3:55:20 GMT
Just got my shipping notice, yay!
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Post by B.E. on Apr 2, 2024 23:35:38 GMT
My copy arrived! I just did a very quick flip-through and the book is absolutely beautiful! Aside from the pictures (I haven't read any text yet), I really like the inclusion of pages from Brian's notebooks during the early years; which include lyrics, potential tracklists, and arrangement ideas.
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Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 520
Likes: 532
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Post by Emdeeh on Apr 3, 2024 0:57:18 GMT
My copy arrived this afternoon. It's a coffee table book for certain -- big, beautiful, and heavy!
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 3, 2024 13:54:05 GMT
I was on the fence about this but just ordered it: if nothing else, it can sit comfortably beside my Beatles Anthology book. It's supposed to arrive this evening.
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Post by B.E. on Apr 3, 2024 14:28:26 GMT
I was on the fence about this but just ordered it: if nothing else, it can sit comfortably beside my Beatles Anthology book. It's supposed to arrive this evening. I had the exact same thought. And you won’t be disappointed.
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Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 520
Likes: 532
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Post by Emdeeh on Apr 4, 2024 0:38:40 GMT
A minor quibble: Is anyone besides me having difficulty reading the text in this book? As beautiful and comprehensive as this book is -- and it is very much so -- I find the publisher's type choices difficult to scan. A serif font for the body text and a different script font would be easier on the eyes for the physical task of reading. Sans serif may be popular for body text these days, but sometimes following graphic design trends can interfere with your message.
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 4, 2024 13:47:16 GMT
A minor quibble: Is anyone besides me having difficulty reading the text in this book? As beautiful and comprehensive as this book is -- and it is very much so -- I find the publisher's type choices difficult to scan. A serif font for the body text and a different script font would be easier on the eyes for the physical task of reading. Sans serif may be popular for body text these days, but sometimes following graphic design trends can interfere with your message. I know exactly what you mean, and in spots, I agree entirely. A lot of the time, the font is some shade of gray--sometimes darker, sometimes lighter. But especially when it's on the lighter side, depending on the background (which sometimes is plain white or off-white, but sometimes is gray, blue, or some other color), it can be difficult to read. In other cases, there are little sidebars not taken from interviews but other sources, that are italicized serif fonts, often smaller font size than the interview copy. Those can be difficult to read, too, depending on the colors used. I've found in my work that some (many?) graphic designers prioritize the original, the cool, or the aesthetically pleasing over the useful. I think that's a mistake in most cases--at least where text is concerned. The other thing I'm not keen on is the concern I raised above, before I'd gotten the book, about the combining of disparate quotes. They are indeed presented seamlessly without references or footnoting of any kind so that you may be reading Brian Wilson's or Mike Love's take on some subject, but the paragraph(s) may be two sentences from a 1996 interview, one or two from what is presumably a new interview, and one from the '70s. While this isn't dishonest on its face--the person speaking is the same person, and presumably he said it all--it does make me uneasy. Opinions and context change all the time, and I think it's worth clarifying them. The power of the editor(s) here was tremendous.
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 4, 2024 14:08:03 GMT
My only concern now is that it arrives unharmed. While 99% of my orders do, I did have an issue with the similarly sized Imagine book a couple years ago (which arrived dirty w/out shrink-wrap) and a recent box set (one of the corners was damaged). I don't know that I'd go so far as to use the term "damaged" for my copy, but there is one minor flaw that is a little annoying, considering the price of the book: the first 40 pages, right up until the section titled "Surfin" on page 41, all appear to have been folded over--but not creased--so that there is a noticeable fold about 1/3 of the way out from the spine of the book when you're looking at the left-hand page. At first I thought it was just an illusion, perhaps of some old source picture not having lay flat. But no, it's every page among the first 40.
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Post by B.E. on Apr 4, 2024 23:38:43 GMT
My only concern now is that it arrives unharmed. While 99% of my orders do, I did have an issue with the similarly sized Imagine book a couple years ago (which arrived dirty w/out shrink-wrap) and a recent box set (one of the corners was damaged). I don't know that I'd go so far as to use the term "damaged" for my copy, but there is one minor flaw that is a little annoying, considering the price of the book: the first 40 pages, right up until the section titled "Surfin" on page 41, all appear to have been folded over--but not creased--so that there is a noticeable fold about 1/3 of the way out from the spine of the book when you're looking at the left-hand page. At first I thought it was just an illusion, perhaps of some old source picture not having lay flat. But no, it's every page among the first 40. Dang! I'd consider returning it, but I also hate returning things. Fortunately, mine arrived unscathed.
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