Michael Gerber • Hey Dullblog, the Beatles fan blog

Why I love our commenters so much…

By Michael Gerber|2014-07-23T15:56:13-07:00December 19, 2011|1965, John Lennon|

This, just received today from commenter "Otto Didact," capping our conversation on the true/hidden meaning of "Norwegian Wood": I've heard from a very, very reliable source - literally the horses mouth - that "Norwegian Wood" was just a play on words as Lennon loved to do. It sounds an awful lot like "knowing she would" doesn't it. As in isn't it a nice knowing she would/will put out. Think about it. Much more clever and subtle, as The Beatles were, than burning down a house. How ridiculous. And Lennon at that time in his life wasn't getting blown off much. As in [...]

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McCartney as the Dickens of Rock

By Michael Gerber|2013-10-15T15:19:03-07:00November 3, 2011|Paul McCartney, Wings|

Macca and Boz.NANCY CARR • If you've ever wondered why Paul McCartney writes story songs and loves performing, or why his sentimentality sometimes runs away with him, I hope you'll enjoy these ruminations on his links to a Victorian forebear. Looking at Paul McCartney’s personal and artistic similarities to Charles Dickens helps explain a lot of things. It illuminates why McCartney is hugely popular but often critically reviled, why he is driven to make money despite his great wealth, and why he tirelessly performs live. Most importantly, it brings his particular gifts into focus. Often McCartney is compared to John Lennon and criticized [...]

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Happy birthday John

By Michael Gerber|2011-10-09T19:15:00-07:00October 9, 2011|John Lennon|

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Living In The Material World: review roundup

By Michael Gerber|2015-12-05T09:33:05-08:00October 8, 2011|George Harrison, Living in the Material World|

George with his other supergroup Just finished watching it myself. While I'm collecting my thoughts, I thought it might be helpful/fun to provide a list of some notable/thoughtful reviews. Enjoy, and suggest others.Salon—Matt Zoller SeitzUncut MagazineRoger EbertRichard CorlissMatt Blick (Beatles Songwriting Academy)...and since the editing of the film seems to be one of the few areas of contention about it, here's an interview with the editor himself, David Tedeschi.

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Robert Whitaker, ‘Butcher’ photographer, dies at 71

By Michael Gerber|2014-07-23T16:21:59-07:00September 27, 2011|Obituaries|

Nice obit from the blog Ironic Photos.

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Self-reference

By Michael Gerber|2011-09-24T22:02:00-07:00September 24, 2011|Uncategorized|

Can we attempt a complete catalogue of Fab Four self-referentiality? By which I mean things like: 1. "Glass Onion": "The Walrus was Paul" 2. John singing "She loves you" toward the end of "All You Need Is Love" 3. "I Am the Walrus": "...like Lucy in the Sky..."

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Interview with Lennon biographer Tim Riley

By Michael Gerber|2013-09-04T15:44:13-07:00September 22, 2011|biography, John Lennon|

Biographer says he's "unknowable," which is a hell of a thing for a biographer to say MIKE GERBER • It's Lennon-mas again, and there's a new bio out by Tim ("Tell Me Why") Riley. The Christian Science Minotaur has a nice little Q and A with him. Says Riley: "He’s really kind of like an American stuck in a British body. He was the most American member of the band." Will somebody finally acknowledge the scar of drug abuse that disfigured Lennon's life? The Q and A suggests Riley might; I hope he does, because—though a downer, and not part [...]

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Review of "Living In The Material World"

By Michael Gerber|2015-04-26T06:17:55-07:00September 14, 2011|Documentaries, George Harrison, Interviews, Reviews|

We're all water Pal o' Dullblog Shirley Wicevich was lucky enough to catch an advance screening of Martin Scorsese's new George Harrison documentary, "Living In The Material World." Here are her thoughts. HD: Where'd you see the movie, Shirley? SW: At the Telluride Film Festival over Labor Day Weekend; I've volunteered there for 6 years. First Ken Burns came out, and gave the prelude to what the audience was about to experience. Then he introduced the film's co-producers, George's widow Olivia and David Tedeschi. That night was the first time that Olivia watched the documentary at a public viewing. HD: [...]

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Why I love John Lennon

By Michael Gerber|2013-08-07T03:37:53-07:00September 10, 2011|1966, John Lennon|

So okay, as many of you have noticed, I do an awful lot of armchair psychoanalyzing of John Lennon, sometimes not to his advantage. But as I was browsing YouTube tonight, I saw this press conference (I think LA, 1966) which reminded me why he's my all-time favorite guy. Watch to the end. http://youtu.be/naV7T7qN80w

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Favorite unreleased Beatles track?

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-31T17:03:36-08:00September 3, 2011|George Harrison, The White Album|

I'm spending incredible amounts of time on another web project, but in the moments before collapsing into bed this evening, I realized how much I like this song: http://youtu.be/y0lmqGT5s7Q Which unreleased Beatles track do you like best? "Leave My Kitten Alone" is equally great, a worthy addition to Lennon's "I am destroying my throat" catalog. And then there's McCartney's demo for "Come And Get It"—a Number One, sure, but not meaningful enough. http://youtu.be/3PCF1ktVoAs Am I off my nut? Could it be that these were the songs that my generation discovered, the ones that were new in the 80s when I was a [...]

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