"Paul leaves the Beatles" and other news

- Below are two articles that ponder the events and aftermath of April 10, 1970, the day Paul announced the breakup of The Beatles:

The first, from a Christian publication called World Magazine, attributes the band's divorce to "sin." Let's consider this. Now if one is allowed to define "sin" as "human failings," then I suppose this interpretation has merit. Some of the lesser points of human nature - ego, selfishness, envy, etc. - certainly contributed to the dissolution of The Beatles. At the same time, I suspect that the author of this piece, Matt Ristuccia, is suggesting that because The Beatles were not devout Christians and because they had such easy access to many of life's indulgences, they collectively led a decadent, self-serving existence, and this fact, more than any other, was at the heart of their breakup. Ristuccia likely thinks that if The Beatles had acknowledged their "need for redemption" and accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, then maybe their fate as a band would have been different. I don't find this convincing at all. Approaching it in Christian terms, just because one believes that Christ died and rose for humanity's sins doesn't necessarily mean that he or she will lead a highly virtuous life. Had The Beatles all converted to Christianity, it would have been no guarantee against them growing weary of one another and ultimately disbanding. Positing the opposite (or something close to it) results in an argument that ignores the particular circumstances The Beatles found themselves in at the end of the 1960s, circumstances that made their breakup rather likely.

The second asks, "Should the Beatles have worked it out?"

- Relatedly, Time analyzes the "Top 10 Band Breakups."

- Revisiting the message behind George's "Taxman" in the context of 21st Britain and its "new pro-tax political consensus."

- Famed rock 'n' roll photog Jim Marshall, "the only photographer allowed backstage at the Beatles’ last concert," has died at the age of 74.

- Here's Wired's list of the greatest pop-music concept albums, one of which, inescapably though not untouchably, is Sgt Pepper’s. Side note: I too would have given Dark Side top honors.

- Madonna has eclipsed The Fabs as the UK's most played pop-act over the last decade.

- Lastly, here's an update on EMI's situation.