Michael Gerber • Hey Dullblog, the Beatles fan blog

Preview of LENNONYC: Jack Douglas

By Michael Gerber|2014-07-23T16:22:59-07:00October 7, 2010|1980, Double Fantasy, John Lennon|

Friend Jamie Bryan turned me on to these unedited interviews from the upcoming "American Masters" program, "LENNONYC." I haven't listened to them all, but I just finished this one with Double Fantasy producer Jack Douglas, whom we have featured previously on Dullblog.It's spellbinding, especially beginning at around the 41:00 mark, where Douglas talks about the plans that John and Paul had to perform on Ringo's 1981 album. Douglas believes that would've become a full-fledged Beatles reunion, and given the context he provides, it's difficult to argue. (By the way, the first 4:45 is low-key hype from the people behind the show—pleasant enough, [...]

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Nowhere Boy: The first Mid-Atlantic Beatles biography?

By Michael Gerber|2013-08-09T00:00:59-07:00October 1, 2010|biography, John Lennon, pre-Beatles|

Poster for "Nowhere Boy," the Lennon biopic, 2010. If you love The Beatles, the idea of a movie based on John Lennon's teenage years is guaranteed to cause mild discomfort, as your leaping heart presses against your rising gorge. (Of course, we all agree that a comedy/mystery based on Lennon's later life is completely OK. By the way, thanks to the hundreds of people who downloaded Life After Death for Beginners yesterday. I hope you all enjoy it.) Faced with Nowhere Boy then, the logical left-brain is definite: "The world does not need John-Julia slash." At the same moment, however, [...]

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Reminder: Mike’s book is FREE today!

By Michael Gerber|2010-09-30T19:00:00-07:00September 30, 2010|books, Lennon|

Hey folks! I'm happy to say that hundreds of you have taken advantage of my catastrophically bad business sense, and downloaded Life After Death for Beginners. Even better, I'm already getting emails from people telling me how much they're enjoying it. THIS IS AWESOME(no punctuation, for extra breathlessness)Seriously: Life After Death for Beginners would not have turned out as nicely as it did without all the things I've learned from the posters and commenters here at Dullblog. It is such a pleasure to be able to say thanks in this way. Please take me up on it!And now, off to see "Nowhere [...]

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Thursday, 9/30/10: Imagine Mike’s book for free!

By Michael Gerber|2014-07-23T16:23:06-07:00September 27, 2010|books, free, John Lennon|

Because I am still not quite clear on the whole "capitalism" thing, I'll be offering my satirical Beatle noir mystery, Life After Death for Beginners, as a free download this Thursday, September 30. While I'm off watching a preview of "Nowhere Boy" at the Egyptian, you can get three years of my freakin' life in convienent .epub or .mobi format without paying a red cent.The softcover lists for $14.95, and the ebook for $4.99, but not for you, and not this Thursday. To quote the press release: LADFB stars Tom Larkin, an impossibly famous rock icon who dies tragically at the hands [...]

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Comment from A Tiny Revolution

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-30T23:42:00-08:00September 21, 2010|1980, John Lennon|

A sort of fan letter. (Above: Ringo's letter from Queen Elizabeth II, 1965, h/t to Kenwood)Folks, just in case it's interesting, I'm pasting a comment I just left over at A Tiny Revolution. As expected, the thread on Lennon/McCartney is interesting, and well worth adding to, if you're so inclined. Enjoy--MGRight on, AndyC. 1000% agree about Paul and Linda's impact on those two issues--especially in the UK--and the observation that the McC's impact has been specific, while Lennon and Ono's impact has been conceptual. I personally prefer the former approach.I'm skeptical of artists as agents of genuine social change (and [...]

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More on Lennon and McCartney

By Michael Gerber|2014-02-25T19:46:28-08:00September 19, 2010|1968, John and Paul, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, The White Album|

The Beatles during their "Mad Day Out," 1968 Shenk's series in Slate provoked this interesting post from my good friend, the progressive pundit Jonathan Schwarz. Check out the comments section, too--I left one, and it's usually very vigorous. BTW, enjoy the thematically appropriate "Mad Day Out" pic.

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Mike’s post reminded me…

By Michael Gerber|2010-09-18T19:57:00-07:00September 18, 2010|1980, Double Fantasy, John Lennon|

...of this video for "I'm Steppin' Out," which I just saw a few days ago for the first time...

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Page Six on Sean Lennon

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-30T20:31:56-08:00September 18, 2010|john and yoko|

If I could give Sean Lennon one single gift in his life, it would probably be to never appear in a gossip column. The hand he's been dealt has got to be so surpassingly alienating and weird, that seeing himself reflected in the media's funhouse mirror must make it even more difficult.What did George once say? “The nicest thing is to open the newspapers and not to find yourself in them.”So why am I posting this photo from gossip central Page Six, which recently touted Sean and model Charlotte Kemp as "the new John and Yoko"? Mostly because I like Sean's prepster [...]

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Shenk on Lennon/McCartney

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-23T18:58:16-08:00September 16, 2010|1965, John Lennon, Paul McCartney|

Lennon and McCartney by David Bailey, 1965. My favorite photo ever of John and Paul, taken by David "Blow Up" Bailey in January 1965. Speaks volumes. In analysis that is almost Dullbloggian in its grain of detail, Joshua Wolf Shenk addresses the Lennon/McCartney collaboration in this multi-part series in Slate. Take a look; if you're reading this blog, you'll really enjoy it. This article--part of a series on famous collaborations--was forwarded to me by my own dear collaborator Jonathan Schwarz. Jon and I wrote a bunch of humor back in the 90s. You can read Jon's own "Yesterday" (or "Help!" [...]

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Socal Dullbloggers: Beatles on the Pier!

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-30T20:35:27-08:00August 27, 2010|Uncategorized|

The Beatles in LA, 1964. The Santa Monica Pier has just turned 100, and as part of a summer-long music series, they're running a three-day festival of all things Beatle. Sound-alike bands, booths, hints of karaoke, they say there are movies...all on the Pier, which is gorgeous and great fun. I really hope this tradition takes root. I cruised by the venue yesterday, and talked to some very nice memorabilia vendors ("Flip Your Wig" game, anyone? Yours is worn out by now, I'm sure) and Gillian Lomax. Gillian used to run the news department of our local "Breakfast With [...]

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