What Is This Blog?
So, you are wondering what is this blog and its deal is. In short, this blog is as stated by the tagline on the banner: a Beatles’ fan site. To be a bit more specific, this fan site is a repository of articles by me, The Acrylic Mystic.
My intention is to make the articles be opinion pieces, observations I’ve made, discussions about oddities and minutia, and book reviews–all somehow related to The Beatles. I think it would be fun to talk about some of my personal experiences related to The Beatles, too. (Though, I often feel as if I talk about myself too much.)
Though, even during this early phase of this blog, I am realizing that my focus is going to to fixate heavily aspects of the fandom (especially with fan fan projects). I’ve noticed that there’s a certain, uh, weirdness with what The Beatles fandom is and how it is addressed. By that, I mean that the idea of what it constitutes is so unclear and all over the place compared to other fandoms. I suspect that has a lot to do with how the demographics of this fandom are all over the place and diverse. Weird thing is that I tend to avoid participating in fandoms of media that I like. But I enjoy watching them from afar.
I’ve noticed that none of those YouTubers who talk about fandoms have ever tackled The Beatles fandom. I think that they’re really missing out on something huge. Historians and anthropologists have only scratched the surface in reporting on the fandom, too. This blog will help push me into taking time to learn more about what those historians have said. I want to see how my observations correlate and collaborate with their research. I guess I have it in my head that I’ll be filling in some gaps left by those researchers.
Considering that, this site is going through an extensive period of growing pains, I still have yet to pin things down. That is, the focus of my articles might change ever so slightly. I might consider other general categories to cover or learn that certain ideas aren’t working out.
I doubt that I’ll ever have any image or other multimedia galleries. Also, figure that there are plenty of other sites out there that act as a repository to song lyrics and other similar information. Therefore, neither of will be a focus. And I can tell you for certain that I won’t be doing a cut and dry cataloging of history, either. There are many resources, some good and some bad, that already do that, too.
By no means am I claiming that I am reinventing the wheel. I know that there are plenty of sites out there that have done things that I plan to do, be it in a similar or different fashion. And considering the distance I have historically kept from others, I might be repeating things out of sheer ignorance. But I suspect that I still will have a fresh twist on many things and will introduce other things. I’m just hoping that whatever hubris I may have will not end up shooting me in the foot.
Why Did You Choose This Theme?
Honestly, I can’t exactly remember why I chose this theming specifically. A lot was going on at once when I decided on this theme. Yes, the theme is related to The Beatles. And second, it’s a based on the song “Savoy Truffle,” a song on the White Album by George. (I don’t point that out to insult anyone’s intelligence, as I understand that many of you know that fact. But considering how young this blog is, I’m not quite sure of how fanatical or aware my audience will be.)
The banner and icons were made by me. I based the candy designs off of the artwork from the Mackintosh’s Good News candy box. I believe this box was used during the 1960s. This the candy collection the George referenced for the song’s lyrics.
The color choice is based on a different assortment of chocolates that were made by Mackintosh’s, Week-End. I chose the orange, green, and purple used throughout this blog from the lettering found on the box for these chocolates. From what I can tell, the particular image I referenced depicts the design of packaging used by Mackintosh’s in the 1950s.
Why Did You Make This Blog?
I’ve wanted to create this blog for a long time. While my artistic focus is primarily with two-dimensional visual artwork, I like to write, too. I’ve wanted to create a larger body of work. I believe that creating is a purpose of mine. I have difficulty with following through with things, and for once, I want to commit to something.
Also, I feel as if there have been gaps in the conversation about The Beatles. I’ve noticed that people have a nasty tendency of thinking that all has been discussed about popular media and people who have been known about for decades, despite evidence being shown otherwise. With the release of Get Back, I think many people are starting to understand that this pervasive thought is delusional.
Being someone who has been a fan of George in particular for decades, I’ve been acutely aware of this for a long time. I’ve noticed just how much he had been (and still is, to an extent) glossed over and that has made me notice other glossed over elements, too. Sure, not all I’ll talk about will be deep or profound—in fact, many posts will be about nonsense—but I hope to touch upon points that some have never even considered.
But to be absolutely frank, I chose create this blog when I did because I had bought some textbooks about The Beatles, and I desired to write them off in my taxes. I’ve intended to profit off of this blog since I first had the idea, as I’m dirt poor. And regardless of what I had been told as I was growing up, I’ve come to realize that I should do work based on what I actually like doing, not trudge through something soul-crushing, if I can avoid it.
I See the Medium and Substack Icons in the Footer. Why Do You Have This Blog?
My idea to create this blog came to me before creating those accounts. I decided to create those accounts for the sake of cross-posting articles from here just so I can get more eyes on them. I like the thought of having this blog as the primary location for these articles. Having your own site as opposed to relying solely on social media allows for more autonomy and customization. I won’t be cross-posting every post that I write here. Plus, I will likely condense posts that address one particular subject together.
Updates Whenever I Find Time (for now)!
