Michael Gerber • Hey Dullblog, the Beatles fan blog

Piracy means no new Beatles?

By Michael Gerber|2015-02-09T09:31:38-08:00June 20, 2012|bootlegs|

[Update August 2013: I just found this elegant little video from a group trying to discourage music piracy. It's Beatles-authorized, and makes the point that "[l]oving The Beatles is a shared experience." And I'd add a sweet, life-affirming one, too. How many of those do we have anymore? That's why we do Dullblog.] http://youtu.be/K0_MeHq8o-o As an admitted collector of Beatle bootlegs, you might think that I have a free-and-easy attitude when it comes to downloading music. But I don't, and why I don't was expressed very nicely by Niall O'Conghaile over at Dangerous Minds: "I may be wrong, but I believe that [...]

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Yes, we are perverse

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-30T21:42:42-08:00June 19, 2012|comedy, Help|

Not only did we not do the seemingly obligatory "Paul is 70" post, we are going to share with you the following much less well-noted events: "Rishikesh George" made of felt (via Dangerous Minds)-- Rishikesh George by Felt Mistress --as well as the sad news of Victor Spinetti's death. I always feel a slight resentment towards the people of my childhood imagination when they die, but I am trying not to hold it against him. He was 82. Lord knows how old that makes me. Best not to think about it. I met Vic once (that's what people were calling [...]

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The Beatles and Mad Men

By Michael Gerber|2015-11-02T10:13:30-08:00June 13, 2012|1967, Beatle-inspired, Sgt. Pepper, Television|

The original Mad Men. Look at that hat, for example; that's MAD. Did Matthew Weiner follow the structure of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in the recently-completed fifth season of “Mad Men”? Yi! News site contributor Emily Viviani thinks so, and has developed this thesis over three posts, the first of which you can read here. Thanks go to commenter Craig for drawing the attention of Hey Dullblog to her pieces. -- Nancy Carr Viviani's case Some of the parallels Viviani draws are interesting (“At the Codfish Ball” as a take on “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!”, [...]

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The Rutles: Cheese and Onions

By Michael Gerber|2013-12-05T14:52:53-08:00June 10, 2012|Rutles|

http://youtu.be/ePaHG6g7uFw Just in case you'd never seen it.BTW, Kate and I went to see the newly refurbished "Yellow Submarine" last month, which looks gorgeous. That recent viewing reminds me just how wonderful and detailed this parody really is. Two thumbs up from the toughest parody critic you know. :-)

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By Michael Gerber|2012-06-07T01:58:00-07:00June 7, 2012|Uncategorized|

There's just one

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John Lennon’s favorite movie?

By Michael Gerber|2013-08-07T04:11:06-07:00June 7, 2012|john and yoko, John Lennon|

El Topo poster by Graham Humphreys. Reading this post on "El Topo" at BoingBoing.com made me recall that I read somewhere it was John Lennon's favorite movie. Anybody ever seen it? Should I seek it out? I have an insatiable desire to watch pre-1980 movies, especially foreign ones, but I have a low tolerance for symbolism (Bresson's "Au Hasard Balthazar," for example, left me cold...well, the humans did. The donkey was superb). Opinions? Here's the movie's page on Rotten Tomatoes—surprisingly positive for an underground flick, right? Here's the trailer… http://youtu.be/ceHH3QGXvNw While researching this post, I ran across this post, which [...]

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"There’d be no Stones without The Beatles"

By Michael Gerber|2013-08-07T03:25:12-07:00June 2, 2012|Beatles vs. Stones|

Been saying it for years, glad Mr. Richards agrees. Around 2:20 of this interview with Hunter S. Thompson. Just a little something for the next time you're having the old Beatles vs. Stones debate. http://youtu.be/iTq4fEHiJhI

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Ticket to Ride, Ed Sullivan, 1965

By Michael Gerber|2014-01-08T16:31:39-08:00June 2, 2012|1965|

J & P on the same mic. Any other instances you can remember? [Updated January 2014: Apple's taken down the original clip, so here's one of them doing the song for "Blackpool Night Out." Two Beatles, one mic, as noted in the comments.] http://youtu.be/JgyWUQOicuY

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Our Comment Policy, and the Future of Dullblog

By Michael Gerber|2016-02-19T21:46:12-08:00June 1, 2012|Housekeeping, Uncategorized|

Flower Power. Hi folks! We're getting a LOT of comments these days, which we love. Hologram Sam just sent a yawp of protest over a couple of his comments not appearing, so I wanted to set down what our guidelines are, because I realized that we haven't ever done that. 1) We love comments. Love 'em. 2) We approve 99% of readers' comments. 3) The only comments we don't approve are ones which we feel a) don't add anything substantive to the discussion, and b) are uncivil, e.g., "Yoko is a beeyotch." Ms. Ono-Lennon may or may not be a [...]

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Keep ‘Em Out vs. Let ‘Em In: An Angle on Lennon & McCartney

By Michael Gerber|2013-10-15T15:17:24-07:00May 23, 2012|John Lennon, Paul McCartney, solo|

John and Paul face off, 1969 Some thoughts about an aspect of Lennon's and McCartney's solo music, prompted by some recent re-listening. -- Nancy After the break up, each Beatle pursued his own musical sensibilities pretty much unchecked. Here I want to look at a difference between Lennon’s and McCartney’s solo music that hasn’t gotten much critical attention: Lennon’s tendency to write songs of rejection and McCartney’s tendency to write songs of invitation. Since we’re considering Lennon and McCartney, everything is maddeningly complicated. Presenting them as opposites or complements overlooks all the ways their music overlaps, and focusing on a [...]

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