Early in 2019, inspired by the recent release of the 50^th anniversary edition of the Beatles’ White Album, I decided to make a classic rock album. I don’t mean I decided to produce a new edition of an existing album, or to record cover versions of the songs on that album. I mean I decided to go back in time and participate in the making of a classic rock album. Of course, this would have been impossible, but I could imagine, and I could do something while I imagined, to help me imagine.

I’m not a rock musician or a recording engineer, but I am a maker of objects, so I made 100 pretend reels of audiotape out of cardboard—the big, 10 ½” reels used in recording studios. I considered making 50 reels for the 50^th anniversary of the White Album, but 50 wouldn’t have been enough. I wanted a big project—big like the White Album, which has 30 tracks on it. I got my big project: each reel took three to four hours to make. I also made pretend microphones, a paper mache 8mm movie camera, reels of film, and film boxes—even paper mache cigarette packs. I kept a written record of my work and imagined that the words I wrote weren’t words but the music recorded on the 100 reels. This written material became not a rock album but a book that I released on November 22, 2024, 56 years to the day after the Beatles released the White Album. Order from Lulu (paperback $16) or Amazon (hardcover $20; paperback $12).

Drop the needle and let me know what you think.