FEATURED AUTHOR

Thomas MacFarlane

Musician/Author/Lecturer

Thomas MacFarlane completed his doctoral studies at New York University where he has taught courses in music composition and arts analysis. He now teaches a Popular Music Studies class at William Paterson University. His research explores the connections between recording technology and music composition.

Biography

Thomas MacFarlane completed his doctoral studies at New York University where he has taught courses in music composition and arts analysis. He now teaches a course at William Paterson University that deals with Popular Music in a global context. Thom's research explores the connections between recording technology and music composition. He is the author of The Beatles’ Abbey Road Medley: Extended Forms in Popular Music (2007), The Beatles & McLuhan: Understanding the Electric Age (2012), Experiencing Billy Joel: A Listener’s Companion (2016), and The Music of George Harrison (2019). Thom has also contributed chapters and articles to various studies on popular music and has given presentations at international venues such as New York University, the University of Leeds, the University of Glamorgan at Cardiff, and the Université Paris-Sorbonne.

Education

PhD, New York University, 2005

Areas of Research / Professional Expertise

Popular Music, Music Composition, Arts Analysis, Media Arts

Websites

Books

Featured Title

Sgt. Pepper and the Beatles - 1st Edition book cover

Articles

Interview with film composer Ira Newborn

Published: Sep 29, 2016 by Experiencing Billy Joel: A Listener's Companion
Authors: Thomas MacFarlane/Ira Newborn
Subjects: Audio, Music

A conversation with composer Ira Newborn regarding his own career and his work with Billy Joel

A Mosaic Approach to Abbey Road

Published: Mar 01, 2016 by VOLUME! THE FRENCH JOURNAL OF POPULAR MUSIC STUDIES
Authors: Thomas MacFarlane
Subjects: Media and Cultural Studies

An application of a mosaic approach to the song/track 'Because' from The Beatles' Abbey Road (1969)

Interview with Michael McLuhan

Published: Oct 26, 2012 by The Beatles and McLuhan: Understanding the Electric Age (2012)
Authors: Thomas MacFarlane/Michael McLuhan
Subjects: Audio, Art & Visual Culture

An extended interview with Michael McLuhan regarding his father's work

John Lennon and Yoko Ono Meet Marshall McLuhan

Published: Oct 26, 2012 by The Beatles and McLuhan: Understanding the Electric Age (2012)
Authors: Thomas MacFarlane
Subjects: Audio, Media and Cultural Studies, Art & Visual Culture

A complete transcription of the filmed conversation between Lennon, Ono, and McLuhan in December 1969

Magical Mystery Tour: Mono Or Stereo?

Published: Oct 01, 2009 by Journal on the Art of Record Production
Authors: Thomas MacFarlane
Subjects: Media and Cultural Studies

An exploration of The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour (1967) using the ideas of Marshall McLuhan

"All Together Now: The Simultaneous Worlds of Sgt. Pepper" in Summer of Love: The Beatles, Art and Culture in the Sixties

Published: Aug 27, 2008 by Summer of Love: The Beatles, Art and Culture in the Sixties
Authors: Thomas MacFarlane (1 chapter)
Subjects: Media and Cultural Studies

An exploration of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band using the ideas of Marshall McLuhan

"Sgt. Pepper's Quest for Extended Form" in Sgt. Pepper and the Beatles: It Was Forty Years Ago Today

Published: May 01, 2008 by Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series
Authors: Thomas MacFarlane (1 chapter)

An assessment of the Sgt. Pepper album in terms of the Beatles' continuing attempts to expand musical form.

Interview with Peter Brown

Published: Nov 16, 2007 by The Beatles' Abbey Road Medley: Extended Forms in Popular Music
Authors: Thomas MacFarlane/Peter Brown
Subjects: Audio, Music, Media and Cultural Studies

A conversation with Beatle associate Peter Brown