Michael Gerber • Hey Dullblog, the Beatles fan blog

“I’ll have whatever Yoko’s having”

By Michael Gerber|2014-02-10T11:31:48-08:00February 10, 2014|1964, Beatles tributes|

I hate Beatle cheese worst of all cheese. So, much to my surprise I loved CBS' "The Night That Changed America: A Grammy Salute to the Beatles." And perhaps my favorite part were the cutaway shots to Yoko late in the evening, which showed her doing a couple of weird, great dance moves. There was a slow swim through the seas of consciousness, a sort of arm-waving move--what else? It was thoroughly awesome, and reminded me that the only real sticking point (she'll be relieved to know) between me and Yoko is how serious she always is. But it's truly never too late to [...]

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New York Beatlefans: Stop reading this and go to The Fest!

By Michael Gerber|2014-02-07T12:29:12-08:00February 7, 2014|1964|

The mothership. Longtime readers of Hey Dullblog know that I am just bonkers for The Fest for Beatles Fans, colloquially known as Beatlefest. The New York gathering, at Manhattan's Grand Hyatt Hotel from Friday to Sunday, kicks off this afternoon at 5:00 PM EST. It looks pretty incredible. Dig this line-up: Freda Kelly. She'll never tell...or will she? Will the combined rabid interest of several thousand Beatles fans finally get her to spill some serious beans? If I ever meet Freda I will shake her hand, but since I am in LA, someone must do it for me. HD readers, I [...]

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Lewisohn: Tune-In Extended Edition No Longer Available in the US

By Michael Gerber|2014-08-04T15:40:16-07:00February 2, 2014|biography, books, Mark Lewisohn, Tune In|

Sure, we're all smiling before we deal with the book business. Eagle-eyed commenter Sandy wrote, late last night: I don’t know if anyone is interested but here you go from Mark [Lewisohn]'s twitter today: “The extended edition of Tune In has sold out and is now unavailable. Another print may or may not be scheduled at some future time. The e-book (issued in two halves) IS still available, but it’s UK only. My US publisher, Crown, wouldn’t issue the extended book and couldn’t agree terms for the e-book. I’m sorry about that, for me and for everyone in US who [...]

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The Beatles without earmuffs

By Michael Gerber|2014-01-31T12:06:45-08:00January 31, 2014|1964, Uncategorized|

Does anyone else find this photo reeeally creepy? This past week, I've been watching the early James Bond movies obsessively, as research for a new novel. Personally, I prefer From Russia With Love over Goldfinger for two reasons: 1) I prefer gritty Cold War spycraft over glitz and gadgets; and 2) Bond takes a completely gratuitous swipe at the Fabs in the first section of Goldfinger, right before he gets karate chopped and Jill Masterson gets gilded. ("Skin suffocation" is debunked here.) The video's weird, sorry; the Beatles quip comes at about :30. The rest is a bizarre mini-cut of [...]

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John Lennon’s…

By Michael Gerber|2014-01-27T11:15:52-08:00January 27, 2014|John Lennon|

Back when smoking was a thing people did in cafes. This morning, as I tried to get over not being able to afford Kenwood, I found a couple of videos to share. From WNYC, here's "John Lennon's NYC"—a great little video showing the Lennons' local pharmacy, Cafe La Fortuna, 105 Bank Street (just around the corner from where I used to live!), and Madison Square Garden. For some reason, I love the idea of John Lennon chatting with his pharmacist. "Do you have any natural alternatives to Pepto-Bismol?" What other NYC venues should they have investigated? Smith's Bar? Do any [...]

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Jimmy Webb on Harry Nilsson

By Michael Gerber|2015-01-13T17:26:08-08:00January 25, 2014|Beatle-inspired|

Everything's OK with Harry N. Trolling the internet in the wake of another viewing of "Who In The World Is Harry Nilsson?" I ran across this interview with the legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb on Harry Nilsson. Nilsson fans are well-nigh enjoined to read it. Here's a nice meaty quote for you: [Harry] was proud of that [the famous screaming contest with John Lennon]. There was a lot of testosterone floating through the air, and John, in a way... Well, there are a lot of Lennon fans out there, God forbid I should say anything about John, but he kind of [...]

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The next generation of Beatlemaniacs

By Michael Gerber|2014-01-23T12:41:30-08:00January 23, 2014|Each One Teach One|

For me, Beatlemania is apparently a family trait, passed along the maternal line. MIKE GERBER • This morning my sister Katie wrote to say that my young nephew is listening to The Beatles. So I did exactly what any of you would have: I sent along the DVD of Yellow Submarine. It was simply an expression of my sympathetic nervous system, entirely unconscious and immediate. If he likes that, maybe I'll send him The Point. No less a personage than Sean Lennon got his first taste of The Beatles from Yellow Submarine...or so his pop said to Newsweek circa 1980: [...]

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I Saw Her Standing There Refracture Remix

By Michael Gerber|2014-01-21T14:32:06-08:00January 21, 2014|1963|

"Not bad, that." One of the little benefits (and there are many, let me assure you) of living where I live is KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic." I realize that I come off on HD as a curmudgeon whose musical tastes are pitifully narrow—and they are, because every time I listen to a smidgeon of the new music being created all around the world I think, "Wow that's great!!!"...And five seconds later I think, because I'm me, "Jesus, this tech-driven media oversupply screws musicians just like it screws writers. The audience is so fragmented, how can making this stuff ever be [...]

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Attention Original Beatlemaniacs!

By Michael Gerber|2014-01-15T15:20:53-08:00January 15, 2014|1964, Housekeeping|

Yes, convite them, why don't you? The following just came in over the transom: "I'm a journalist in a Portuguese daily newspaper called "i" (www.ionline.pt). I'm writing a feature about the 50 years of The Beatles in America and I'm trying to get in touch with people who might've seen them back then, live or on the TV. Could you help me?" Yes, Tiago, I believe we can! Any interested (and interesting) parties should contact him directly at tjppereira AT gmail DOT com.

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In which Mike’s ears play tricks?

By Michael Gerber|2014-01-12T20:55:58-08:00January 13, 2014|1963|

MIKE GERBER • In thinking about Devin's great post on favorite Beatle micro-moments, last week's "Breakfast with the Beatles" reminded me of one…which may or may not exist? I only doubt it because I can't seem to find corroboration via Google—which is, I suppose, a comment on what we've become (yes, I'm including you whether you like it or not). Anyway, it's an extra "something" in "I Want to Hold Your Hand”—a ghostly buried response that occurs at about 1:23 in this video. http://youtu.be/3MHkgwA8t-g Do you hear it, too? Maybe come over to where I'm standing...or hunch down to my height...Is this [...]

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About Michael Gerber