From: saki@evolution.bchs.uh.edu (saki)
Newsgroups: rec.music.beatles
Subject: Welcome to rec.music.beatles
Date: 3 Jan 1995 06:20:12 GMT
Organization: Little to none

Archive-name: Beatles-FAQ
Last-modified: 3 January 1995

You're here---the most intense collection of Beatlemaniacs anywhere
in Usenet-land.

You don't have to be rabid yourself to enjoy the proceedings. An
elementary interest will do. For newcomers and others, we offer a
few guidelines, explanations, and suggestions.

WHAT WE DISCUSS

Simple---the Beatles, also known as the Fab Four, the Fabs (to use
George Harrison's sardonic phraseology), and the Boys (used by some
particularly besotted fans). But any group relating to the Beatles
is also fair game. You're welcome to bring into the discussion any
British Invasion band (Rolling Stones, Animals, etc.) or any contemporary
American band (Beach Boys, Turtles, etc.); and especially any of the
Beatles' antecedents (Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly et al),
*as long as* there's some reasonable or perfunctory Beatles connection.

For modern rock *only* (anything post-1970), try rec.music.misc. For
fifties or sixties rock, try alt.rock-n-roll.oldies. There are now
mailing lists for both the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys. Please
email me for information on how to access these groups.

Rec.music.beatles is a forum for exchange of information and opinions.
You'll find that it's easy to get around without a map...but some
background information will serve you well. Knowing the basic
album releases (now available on CD) will help; so will a passing
familiarity with the Beatles' film output. "A Hard Day's Night",
"Help!", "Magical Mystery Tour" are all recommended; "Let It Be"
is currently out of print but may be available in some video parlors;
and the documentary "The Compleat Beatles" is well worth the time, as
is "The Beatles First U.S. Visit" video.

R.m.b tends to be rather text- and sourcebook-based. You'll see people
refer to various references to settle discussions. A book list is also
available for your perusal but a brief list would include prime
Beatles scholar Mark Lewisohn's "The Beatles: A Recording History"
(called The Book by many r.m.b. regulars), and his new release,
"The Complete Beatles Chronicle", William Dowlding's "Beatlessongs", 
a compendium of knowledge about each official musical release,
and any of the reasonably well researched biographies of the Fabs
(all have their flaws but the most dependable are Ray Coleman's
"Lennon", Philip Norman's "Shout!" and Hunter Davies' "The Beatles".)

It's recommended that you avoid reference works written by people
whose scholarship is suspect or who are out mainly for gossip and
innuendo (Albert Goldman, Geoffrey Giuliano), unless you're prepared
to keep it in perspective.

Very commonly-asked questions may already have been covered in the
frequently-asked-questions-and-topics note (called NEMS) or posted
in the weekly FAQ: 

	-How did the Beatles get their name?
	-Who was the fifth Beatle?
	-Is Paul really dead?
	-Is Linda Eastman an Eastman-Kodak heiress?
	-Are the remaining Beatles getting back together?
	-...and so on.

Ask for NEMS (or any other from the list below) if you wonder
whether your query is appropriate for the net. You may also be
well served by reading r.m.b. for several weeks before sailing in
with your question. Some topics never seem to die. And some can never
be settled, viz., was John better than Paul, could Ringo really play
drums, why wasn't George a better guitarist, etc. Pick your battle
carefully; you may be surprised at the energy it takes to win!

If you have a question about lyrics, go ahead and ask, but there
are several good lyric books out, notably Campbell and Murphy's
"Things We Said Today" and Alan Aldridge's "Illustrated Lyrics".

In recent years, some unauthorized Beatles recordings have emerged
on the bootleg market, and these often receive much attention on
the net. Please remember that these are illegal recordings; U.S.
law prohibits selling, trading, broadcasting, and purchase of
these items. Discussion goes on nevertheless, but it's considered
a breach of net etiquette to ask someone publicly to reveal where
they purchase bootlegs, if they admit to doing so. Likewise you
may work for a government agency or an institution/university which
may disapprove of your discussing contraband in public. Please
keep this in mind and act accordingly, with utmost tact, before
plunging into the bootleg discussion yourself.

We are a polite bunch of people; flame wars are almost unknown
in rec.music.beatles, and we ask your cooperation in keeping it
that way. Comments about a person's spelling, nationality, or
mental capacity are usually irrelevant to the topic at hand,
although in the heat of the moment it may seem otherwise to
you. Other newsgroups have their protocols, which may differ
significantly from those of r.m.b. We strive for a higher
plane of conduct. If you must get antagonistic with someone, 
please do it via email. If email is unavailable to you, please
go take a walk until you cool down. 

Many books about the Beatles are available through an organization
in New Jersey called Beatlefest. They sponsor yearly Beatles
conventions in Newark, NJ (March), Chicago (August) and Los Angeles
(November). For information or a catalogue, call 1-800-BEATLES. Don't
be surprised, but your local university or public library may also
have a good collection of sourcebooks. Check the on-line or card
catalog.
--------
AVAILABLE NOTES:

- Are you new to this newsgroup, or new to the entire Usenet world? Ask
  for "Introduction to rec.music.beatles", wherein you can learn how this
  newsgroup works, guidelines on how to post, etc. (INTRO). Last update:
  1 December 1994.

- Where's your area of interest? New or old releases? Collectibles? 
  Current availability of books, music, videos? Ask for the FAQs to see
  if your question has been asked. These Frequently-Asked-Questions 
  may answer your query. Nems I is for starters. And if you're ready
  for the graduate-level Frequently Asked Questions, ask for Nems II. 
  (Specify NEMS I or NEMS II). Last update: 1 December 1994 (NEMS I);
  1 December 1994 (NEMS II).

- The Compleat Book List...well, as complete as we can get it. Updates
  and emendations welcome. Compiled by Steve Carter and saki. Ask 
  for ALLBOOKS. Last update: 1 March 1994.
 
- A smaller booklist for those just starting out, or those wishing to
  peruse a few titles at a time (ask for SOMEBOOKS). Last update:
  1 December 1994.

- A considerably pithy treatise on the "Paul Is Dead" myth (PID),
  with new information on possible origins of the hoax!
  Last update: 1 March 1994.

- Doug Sulpy's excellent and studious intro to the best bootlegs
  as they appeared to him in 1990. (ask for RARE). Last editorial 
  update: 1 March 1993.

- Scott Galuska's reknowned list of Beatles songs covered by other
  artists, now administered by Ross Clement; ask for COVERS. Last 
  update: 15 November 1994.

- Harold Somers' Guide to Britishisms/Americanisms in the Beatles'  
  music; ask for BRITGUIDE. Last update: 1 March 1994.

- A traveler's guide to Beatles sights and sites in Liverpool and
  London; ask for TRIP. Last update: 1 July 1993.

- Beatles Novelty Records, compiled by moko. Ask for NOVELTY. 
  Last update: 31 May 1993.

- Video Beatles, a guide to available appearance of the Boys in
  film and television appearances, written by Ed Chen. Ask for
  VIDEO and specify Part I (Beatles), Part II (Solo) or both. Last
  update: VIDEO I (April 1994), VIDEO II (July 1994).

- A long reference---in alphabetical order, no less---of British
  musical groups, from the early 1950's to the British Invasion;
  ask for BRITPOP. Last update: July 1992.

- What Goes On---a comprehensive compendium of recording anomalies,
  oddities, mistakes, misapprehensions, melodic curios. Ask for
  ANOMALIES. Last update: 17 January 1994.

- Beatlesesque Groups---a listing of names and albums/CDs of
  groups or singers whose sound is reminiscent, or downright
  imitative, of the Fabs; written by Robert Berry. Ask for
  ESQUE. Last update: 1 March 1994.

- Variations---Joe Brennan's comprehensive, eminently scholarly and
  intensely readable 5-part compendium about variations in the Fabs'
  recording oeuvre. Ask for VARIATIONS. Last update: 2 May 1994

- Things We Said---A list of commonly misunderstood phrases and
  lyrical bits from the Beatles' compositional/recording songbook.
  Ask for SAID. First version: 1 May 1994.

These notes can be sent to you via email. Send your request to:

saki@evolution.bchs.uh.edu

and indicate in your message which notes you'd like. I'll send them
to you by return email as quickly as I can manage.

If you prefer to use FTP (file transfer protocol) to download these
notes to your system, without the bother of email, please read the
following. If you are unfamiliar with FTP, read your on-line MAN
pages for "ftp" or ask your system operator for help. Not all sites
have FTP capability.

NOTE:   Alan Pollack's "Notes On ..." series is archived at the 
	FTP site bobcat.bbn.com (or, numerically, 128.89.2.103).
	Administrator is clements@bbn.com.

	You can get the Notes from this machine, *not via email*.
	Also available are the articles above, if you prefer FTP.

	Use "ftp" as follows:
		ftp bobcat.bbn.com
		(user name) anonymous
		(password) your-name    [please? Not just "guest", etc.]
		cd beatles
		cd noteson   [for Alan's notes]  or cd welcome [ for saki's]
		dir
		get <whatever you want>

	Also in the "noteson" directory are:
		i)      Alan's "README" file describing the series,

		ii)     The file notestar.z which is a compressed
			"tar" file of all the notes so far.

	Also in the "welcome" directory are:
		i)      A "README" file describing the various files,

		ii)     The file introtar.z which is a compressed
			"tar" file of all the "welcome" files.
	Cautions:

		i)     Be patient.  The file transfers may be slow.

		ii)    Please respect all copyrights on these files.

                iii)   The "Notes on..." series is not available
                       via email. Please don't ask.

		iv)    The files "notestar.z" and "introtar.z" mentioned
			above are only useful if you have Unix-
			compatible "uncompress" and "tar" utilities.
			If you do fetch these files, use "binary"
			mode in your FTP program.

PLEASE NOTE: beatles.cselt.stet.it:/pub/beatles is a mirror site
             for bobcat.bbn.com. If bobcat is unavailable to you,
             try to access these files at beatles....

World Wide Web sites are listed regularly by David Haber, a keeper of
one such Web page, and in the weekly FAQ, posted on Fridays.
-------------------------------------
	FOR LYRICS/GUITAR CHORD FANS: 
------------------------
			Lyrics are not archived at bobcat.bbn.com because
			of copyright restrictions. There is, however, one
			site where the administrators seem not to care
			about preserving such sanctities, and if you wish
			you can search for Beatles lyrics there at cs.uwp.edu
			(in directory pub/music/lyrics); chords to Fabs'
			songs may be at ftp.nevada.edu (in directory
			pub/guitar/Beatles). Not all songs will be 
			available at all sites.	These files aren't maintained
			by anyone in r.m.b., so please don't ask us for help.
------------------------
And one more thing: now that you've read everything and are ready
to post, do try to remember several points of netiquette:

1. Please edit your Subject line if it needs it.

2. Please be nice to your fellow rmb'er.

3. Please don't quote a previous article in its entirety.

4. Please keep your .sig shorter than your article.

5. Please don't shout...UNLESS YOU MUST! :-)
--------------------------------------------
-- 
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"I guess by now you've got the gist".
--------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   saki@evolution.bchs.uh.edu (saki) 
