The newly-released issue of Rolling Stone names what its editors believe to be the top 500 rock and roll songs of all time — an ambitious task that’s certain to provoke debate and fistfights. Lord knows I disagree with their choice for the greatest song ever — “Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan – but disagreements are part of what makes these kinds of lists so much fun to begin with. (Here’s the top five.)
While I might quibble with their pick for number one, I’m thrilled that the group with the most songs on the list — a total of 23 — is the Beatles. Their highest-rated song is “Hey Jude” at number eight, with “Yesterday” clocking in at lucky number 13. In fact, “Yesterday” still holds the record as the most recorded song in pop history.
Let’s take a peek at one of those versions right now, shall we? Here’s “Yesterday” as it was meant to be done: by the VentriloChoir, a sea of ventriloquists and their dummies:
Have a good weekend!
– was genuinely flattered when I approached her with a hardcover copy of her book I had brought with me from DC. “Thanks for buying the book,” she inscribed on the title page, “ – and in hardback!”
), to whom I owed huge thanks for some advice he had given me on Project Blue Harvest. We chatted over fruit and bagels about our projects (he’s in the midst of edits on his Kurt Vonnegut bio) and he didn’t even flinch when I nearly splattered hot coffee into his lap.
was the result of more than 15 years of writing and research. Strouse talked about learning finance, choosing a subject, and sticking with a project that nearly engulfed her.
– gave the conference several hours of her time and participated in an incredibly useful session on How To Deal With The Family of your chosen subject. While three of the panel’s participants gave valuable advice on how to work with family, friends, and heirs, Kelley told one funny story after another about the hows and whys of covering your ass. (“I ask the hard questions first,” she said, “because I’m always afraid they’re going to throw me out.”)
. Stiles ran point in a session on self-editing, which evolved into an entertaining discussion on a variety of topics, from narrative arcs to the future of publishing (which included a heartfelt tangent on why self-published books, unfortunately, have a tendency to suck). Stiles also reiterated the point — with a funny story about a long digression on Nigerian steamboats in an early draft of his Vanderbilt biography – that not all your research drives your narrative, no matter how interesting you think it might be. “It was like someone had dropped another book right into the middle of mine,” Stiles said. Out it went.
— the debut novel of my pal 
