Michael Gerber • Hey Dullblog, the Beatles fan blog

The Gospel of “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”

By Michael Gerber|2017-08-26T00:09:40-07:00August 26, 2017|Abbey Road, Beatle myth, Paul Is Dead (PID)|

"The E-Type on his left symbolizes individuality, whereas the Mini on his right means…" Longtime commenter Waterfalls wrote in recently with the following: "I wanted to ask the Hey Dullblog community their thoughts on the song 'Maxwell Silver Hammer', after reading some comments on Youtube where some thought the song was actually about a real murder (i.e., Joe Orton and Kenneth Halliwell) and others believe it's a clue in the Paul Is Dead movement, still others believe that it's only a goofy singalong for a laugh, nothing more. I like the song and I was in the last camp believing [...]

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A Deccagone mystery

By Michael Gerber|2017-07-24T11:57:07-07:00July 24, 2017|1962|

The Fabs, looking nothing like they did during the Decca audition Reader Craig Fenton wrote in today with the following interesting question: "When the Beatles' Deccagone Sessions are talked about [in historical sources], there are those that state the exact order they performed are as follows 1-15: "Like Dreamers Do" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) "Money (That's What I Want)" (Gordy/Bradford) (unreleased version) "Till There Was You" (Meredith Willson) (unreleased version) "The Sheik of Araby" (Smith/Wheeler/Snyder) "To Know Her Is to Love Her" (Phil Spector) (unreleased version) "Take Good Care of My Baby" (King/Goffin) (unreleased) "Memphis, Tennessee" (Chuck Berry) (unreleased version) "Sure [...]

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Screamin’ Jay Hawkins: “Monkberry Moon Delight”

By Michael Gerber|2017-02-19T22:14:11-08:00February 19, 2017|Ram|

Ran across this in the comments at the always-entertaining Dangerousminds.net, and felt moved to share. When Paul asked, Screamin' Jay Hawkins obliged. My life has been taken over by Bystander, but I hope to post more in the coming months. Carry on. https://youtu.be/bL6GJ10OBPE

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Deconstructing The Beatles, the movie

By Michael Gerber|2016-11-15T12:04:19-08:00November 15, 2016|Documentaries|

Enjoying your magical mystery tour...? Against all odds, and perhaps against our better judgment, life seems ever-so-slowly to be returning to normal. This morning I received an email from musicologist Scott Freiman, who lectures regularly on the Fabs, dissecting some of their most interesting albums in front of a live audience. Now Freiman's lecture on the White Album has been filmed and is being shown in many cities across the country starting on November 16th (that's tomorrow!). You can find a list of venues and book your tickets here. Don't be like me! Don't have something already planned for tomorrow [...]

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American Bystander #3 is available

By Michael Gerber|2016-10-07T20:35:17-07:00October 7, 2016|comedy|

If George were alive, he'd totally dig this magazine. I try to keep my non-Beatles activities separate from this blog, for obvious reasons. And being from the Midwest, I have a positive horror of self-promotion. (This has been exactly as helpful to my career as you might expect.) But several readers have asked me to tell everybody about my dayjob, on the chance that it is something y'all would like and want to support. I run The American Bystander, a print humor quarterly with an amazing roster of writers and cartoonists. Every issue is chock-full of people from The Simpsons, [...]

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Eight Days A Week

By Michael Gerber|2016-09-27T20:16:04-07:00September 27, 2016|Documentaries|

A room and a room and a car and a room: At least this room has wheels. Well, I finally went to see the much-anticipated Eight Days A Week last night at 10:00 in the p.m. Why so late? Because I've been working eight days, etc etc. I know the story, backwards and forwards, and so do you. So going in, I expected nothing, especially after reading Nancy's review which suggested a surface take. And a surface take it was indeed -- but I loved it. I think you should see it; in fact, I think every serious Beatles fan [...]

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Did Monoculture Make The Beatles?

By Michael Gerber|2016-09-19T10:09:16-07:00September 18, 2016|1967|

December 21, 1967: John, Paul and Ringo at the party celebrating the BBC's transmission of "Magical Mystery Tour." This morning, as I was shaving -- a marvelously quick operation now that I have a beard -- "Breakfast With the Beatles" played a blast-from-the-past radio ad touting the then-new LPs Magical Mystery Tour and Wild Honey. (So we can date the spot to late December 1967/early 1968). I suddenly felt a very warm feeling, a pang of entirely comfortable longing. How nice it would be to hear something like this on contemporary radio, something that I understand fully, by artists I [...]

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Death and the Beatles Fan

By Michael Gerber|2016-08-22T14:57:45-07:00August 22, 2016|Beatle-inspired|

I hope this fan is still with us. Stephen Kennedy's "Death and the Beatles Fan" has been called a Beatles-themed parody of The Seventh Seal... which makes it catnip for yours truly. (Seventh Seal is my mother's favorite movie, which I guess explains all my therapists.) Anyway, "Death and the Beatles Fan" was broadcast on Ireland's RTE Radio One last weekend; and reader Linda has kindly sent a link where you can listen to the play online. Tell us what you think in the comments! And brush up on your chess, it's later than you think. Stephen Kennedy next [...]

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Eight Days A Week trailer

By Michael Gerber|2016-06-20T12:53:16-07:00June 20, 2016|Documentaries|

Am I excited for Ron Howard's upcoming documentary, Eight Days A Week? Hell yes, I am. The story of the Beatles' touring years is the great untold portion of their career, and it deserves more attention. In part because the touring experience was what made them who they were; in part because we think we know what it was like; and in part because no one but them could ever truly know what it was like. In my generation, Touring Beatles (1962-66) were often dismissed as pop lightweights turned into artists by exposure to drugs and Bob Dylan. And that viewpoint has [...]

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Lewisohn with Conan O’Brien on Serious Jibber-Jabber

By Michael Gerber|2016-05-19T11:48:25-07:00May 19, 2016|Mark Lewisohn|

Geekin' out with Conan and Lewisohn. Comedy legend (and serious Beatle fan) Conan O'Brien has just interviewed Beatle legend (and serious Beatle fan) Mark Lewisohn on his chat show "Serious Jibber-Jabber." It's well worth a listen. "Most of the books you have read, upon which you base your knowledge," Lewisohn begins, "in terms of biography they only skim the surface. The writers will take a year or two. And in that time, they'll do six to nine months of research, six to nine months of interviews, and then they'll write. I always felt this was a subject that would merit [...]

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