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This man's "Notes On" series is all over the place, and very handy it is too. Several of the descriptions I have seen characterise the series as a musicological analysis, but is Mr Pollack actually a musicologist, or is he e.g. a software engineer who spent a lot of time on Usenet? Is this his real name? Is he still alive? Does he exist, teach music, work in a university etc? Has he written anything else, does he have any publishing credits? I notice that a Google search for "'alan w pollack' -beatles" returns just 53 hits, and various permutations of his name, with or without the W, aren't very helpful. - Ashley Pomeroy 22:10, 19 July 2007 (UTC) reply

Heh, 3 years later, I came here to make exactly the same comment. I don't know. He's described as a "musicologist" everywhere, so I'd guess he at least has a BMus. I see an Amazon profile (he likes the Brooklyn Bridge), but nothing about his professional life.

It's a tricky one. Is he notable? Or is it just his Notes On... series that is notable? Perhaps the latter. Stevage 00:41, 20 August 2010 (UTC) reply

Ya it would be nice to have a little more background on his qualifications. Three years later, I'm browsing the 'net and I have no idea who this guy is. NevarMaor ( talk) 04:14, 14 September 2010 (UTC) reply

I am Alan W. Pollack. See the following link: http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/interview.shtml I am not a practicing musicologist by profession, but I do have the education and qualifications, including a PhD in music theory and composition from University of Pennsylvania. Awpboston ( talk) 16:58, 10 December 2010 (UTC) reply

Yet another voice-- this time in 2014-- whether knowledgeable about the minutae of Beatles' writing or not, I still question his notability here in the en.Wikipedia. Have his contributions and insight into their songs (esp. so late after their career as a band) been a necessity as a resource for other Beatles' articles? I also never heard of the man, and am willing to bet that many of the most dedicated, cautious, and professional editors here face this quandary-- I speak of the Beatles' Wikipedia editors. I have only provided light editing but photos of each here. No offense at all intended, Mr. Pollack, but this is an encyclopedia, with some highest ranked articles on DVD for school children to study. Already we have too many aspiring musicians trying to get their names mentioned in here, not to mention the almost one-hit wonders! It's the primary reason I choose to clean up articles already started, and adding text and references rather than creating new ones. This may merit discussion. -- Leahtwosaints ( talk) 21:35, 11 September 2014 (UTC) reply

Coo. For the record I think the "Notes On" series is super, on a par with the more recent Pushing Ahead of the Dame (which does the same for David Bowie and has been featured on TIME's website). It's an excellent example of good, original, self-published internet writing. Unfortunately it trickled out on Usenet in the early days of the modern internet so it hasn't had the recognition it deserved, but it has been cited in several print books and it's all over Wikipedia. I originally asked the question because Wikipedia itself has had problems with unqualified, inexperienced conmen bluffing their way into positions of power and influence, and although Pollack's writing seems authoritative to my untrained mind, what if the musical analysis is complete rubbish? The PhD suggests strongly that it's not. - Ashley Pomeroy ( talk) 16:30, 22 February 2016 (UTC) reply