Michael Gerber • Hey Dullblog, the Beatles fan blog

The American Bystander #2

By Michael Gerber|2016-04-08T12:26:47-07:00April 8, 2016|comedy|

I look high, I look low... Where is Mike?" I'm sure many of you are not asking. But others may be concerned. "Where am I supposed to get my daily quota of digs at the White Album? Who can I turn to for frank, unashamed love for the Fabs' psychedelic period? Not to mention egregious and off-topic references to Peter Cook and Peter Sellers? Some bad person is trying to make me listen to Let It Be, and I need reasons not to! Help!" It's like this, Beatle peedles: After a near-decade of under- and straight up un-employment, my life [...]

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Ray Cathode is George Martin and Maddalena Fagandini

By Michael Gerber|2016-04-01T17:34:32-07:00April 1, 2016|George Martin|

Spotted something neat on the Twitter feed of musician Michael Penn today: this oh-so-1962 single, recorded by a post-Goons pre-Beatles George Martin and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop's Maddalena Fagandini. Can someone please tell me what a "time interval" is? Apparently "Time Waltz" was a reworked time interval. https://youtu.be/mhVYEgMrxOg In addition to his humble roots, George Martin's buttoned-up demeanor and BBC diction hid just how widely his mind did range. The Fabs were beyond lucky to pair up with him. It is the intellectual range of the Beatles which makes them so endurably fascinating to me. (And maybe to you, as well.)

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Commenting Standards on Hey Dullblog

By Michael Gerber|2016-03-24T10:31:33-07:00March 24, 2016|Housekeeping|

Your commanding officer, Mr. Paul McCartney They all laughed when we stepped up to the mic, but when we began to sing... Hey Dullblog is the most popular Beatles fan site on the web, with about a thousand visitors a day. This means that we're getting lots of new commenters, which we love. But now's a good time to remind everybody that Dullblog's a bit different than the rest of the internet: comments here are expected to be constructive, substantive and civil. Constructive meaning part of a good faith attempt on our all parts to learn more, and understand better, [...]

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Paul Is Dead Open Thread

By Michael Gerber|2016-03-24T10:17:55-07:00March 24, 2016|Paul Is Dead (PID)|

Worst Hanukkah EVER In case you hadn't noticed, here at Dullblog, we live to serve. One of the topics that seems to be of persistent interest — particularly to Beatle fans under 40 — is the theory that Paul McCartney died in 1966 and was replaced by a lookalike. (My personal theory is that Paul committed suicide so he wouldn't have to go through the Get Back/Let It Be sessions.) While there are lots of places to discuss PID on the internet, I'm creating this open thread so that people who want to dig into all the ins-and-outs of this [...]

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George Martin Tribute on Twenty-First Century Radio

By Michael Gerber|2016-03-21T12:21:08-07:00March 21, 2016|Interviews|

"We have a ghost in our house in the country...he smokes a pipe." Commenter Linda sent me some interesting links to last night's two-hour George Martin tribute on Twenty-First Century Radio, hosted by Dr. Bob Hieronimus. Baltimore-based radio host and artist Hieronimus seems to be somewhat Art Bell-ish, but with a definite Beatles bent (he's written a whole book on Yellow Submarine). Hieronymus interviewed Martin six times between 1995 and 2007. Says Linda, "This is definitely interview material I have not encountered before — George Martin and Dr. Bob discuss ghosts, life elsewhere in the universe, ecological concerns... a departure from the [...]

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Benjamin Levi Marks has a new Anthology cooking

By Michael Gerber|2016-03-20T12:45:36-07:00March 20, 2016|Anthology|

Beatles at Twickenham, 1969 This morning, I awoke to a nice comment from Benjamin Levi Marks, the world's pre-eminent scholar on the Get Back/Let It Be sessions. : "Hey! Long time since I checked in. I have finally retired, which frees up a lot of time and energy. This allows me to move forward with my dissection of one month of the Beatles’ career (January, 1969). I certainly fit your blog subtitle to the ‘T’ (People who think about the Beatles maybe a little too much). Mea culpa! Like many of us, I read and was bowled over by the [...]

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George Martin, King of the Bond Theme

By Michael Gerber|2016-03-19T14:41:22-07:00March 19, 2016|George Martin|

"Name's Martin. George Martin." Some of you know that I'm a very big, but very picky, fan of James Bond. So much so that -- if Bystander ever gives me a couple months' off -- I'm planning a novel designed to be the ultimate Fleming-era Bond book. It should be great fun. But even I did not know that George Martin produced Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger". Add this to 1973's "Live and Let Die," and it's clear that, in addition to all of his other accolades, Sir George has to be considered the King of the Bond Theme. https://youtu.be/Fy_PJODH3p0 https://youtu.be/IqdqAAzjgDE

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First 1000 Words: 16 in 64

By Michael Gerber|2016-03-16T22:15:54-07:00March 17, 2016|First 1000 Words|

Marti presents the plaque, 1964. From 16 in 64. Folks, print publishing may be dying (says the publisher of a magazine) but one subgenre is going quite strong — books about The Beatles. It's a rare month that I don't receive an email from a publisher, publicist or author telling me about a book they're sure Dullblog readers will enjoy. We try to cover as many of them as possible, but so many slip through the cracks. Ivor Davis' book, for example, has been glaring at me for years (in a way that Ivor himself would never). So I've decided to open [...]

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All You Need Is Love: Martin’s Greatest Accomplishment?

By Michael Gerber|2016-03-14T10:46:51-07:00March 14, 2016|George Martin|

George Martin, rocking out, 1967 David Yearsley over at Counterpunch has a wonderful appreciation of George Martin's work on the Summer of Love anthem "All You Need Is Love." Unfortunately Apple has taken down the linked video -- maybe they think your momentary frustration will spur a quick purchase of "1+"? Instead of making you think, "Jerks." Yearsley writes, It was only fitting that the fifth Beatle so often out of frame should be the first member of the band to be introduced, if namelessly, to the live world audience. Martin comes off in this quick shot not only as [...]

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Why not add something to a comment?

By Michael Gerber|2016-03-10T11:45:10-08:00March 10, 2016|Housekeeping|

Folks, many of you have asked for the ability to add images, video, and other files to your comments, so I have shelled out the princely sum of $25 and bought an addon that does that very thing. I would love it if our comments regularly contained supporting materials -- this would make them an even more useful reflection of the aggregate intelligence of our commentariat. If you think of it, why not add something to a favorite comment of yours, or to a thread you feel would be enriched?

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About Michael Gerber