McCartney Archives - Hey Dullblog, the Beatles fan blog

Philip Norman’s McCartney “poem”; and an afterthought

By Nancy Carr|2016-05-13T13:28:14-07:00May 4, 2016|books, McCartney, Paul McCartney, Reviews|

In the same vein as Norman's 2005 Daily Mail "letter" to Paul, there's the doggerel he wrote and published in the Sunday Times back in the early 1970s. I've seen references to its being longer than the four lines I can find online, but those four lines are more than enough: "O deified Scouse, with unmusical spouse For the cliches and cloy you unload To an anodyne tune may they bury you soon In the middlemost midst of the road." So, nothing like now having a biography from a writer who once publicly wished for the subject's speedy death. I'm sure Norman [...]

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Lennon and McCartney On The Tonight Show, 1968

By Karen Hooper|2016-04-21T06:57:16-07:00April 20, 2016|1968, Apple, Lennon, McCartney|

Speaking of his appearance with Paul McCartney on the Tonight Show to announce Apple Corp., John Lennon said it “was the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever been on.” And if you listen to the audio portion (the video portion is no longer available), it IS truly cringe-worthy. Sitting with a slightly inebriated Tallulah Bankhead and a polite but clueless Joe Garagiola (who was subbing for Johnny Carson), John and Paul endured 22 minutes of embarrassingly vacuous questions (“Will you ever be able to top Sgt. Pepper?”, asked Garagiola) which made ME want to put a fork in my ear. An interesting backstory [...]

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McCartney and Critics

By Karen Hooper|2016-02-22T06:59:09-08:00February 19, 2016|1970s, Beatles Criticism, McCartney|

Mike and Nancy’s great posts about Starostin's critique of Abbey Road led to a lively discussion about how Paul McCartney is viewed and treated by music critics, particularly with respect to his early solo efforts. This is a great topic and one that I think deserves its own post. Why is it that Macca seems to run afoul of critics? Is there a particular set of reasons or circumstances we can pinpoint which would explain it? In their interview with author Tim Doyle, author of Man on the Run, Paul McCartney in the 70’s, Mike and Nancy asked a similar question: Why [...]

129

McCartney’s mullet

By Nancy Carr|2015-01-05T19:07:28-08:00January 5, 2015|Fashion, McCartney, Paul McCartney, Photos, Wings|

Sir Business-in-Front-Party-in-Back My latest internet rabbit hole, down which I can spend entirely too much time, is this Tumblr site, which bills itself "Paul McCartney's Mullet Appreciation Blog." The site's owners, Christina and Hannah, are entirely too modest in their description: "This is not a quality blog. All I will do is post photos of Sir Paul. And his mullet. And occasionally his legs." [I've reached out to them via Tumblr; maybe C and H will tell us more about their mission of mercy.--MG] They post lots of great stuff, like this picture of John and Paul: Bangor University, [...]

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Cries and Whispers, Crashes and Flutters: 10 Favorite Beatles Musical Micro-Moments

By Devin McKinney|2016-12-03T07:44:13-08:00November 27, 2013|1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, John Lennon, Lennon, McCartney, Paul McCartney, Ringo, Ringo Starr|

Recording "Real Love," 1994:Gut genius at work. DEVIN McKINNEY • We all know you can take the Beatles to the outer limit and upper extremity of significance—Best thing in universal history—and then narrow that unit to its subordinate but still-impressive absolutes: Best miracle of the 20th century; best socio-cultural force of the 1960s; Best group of the “rock era.” Having accepted all of that, you can, and we all have, then go superlative in descending levels of specificity: Best album; best song; best vocal performance—John; best vocal performance—Paul; best bass playing; best guitar solo; best everything else. But have we [...]

41

Current favorite song: "Blue Sway"

By Michael Gerber|2013-08-03T04:46:58-07:00January 26, 2013|1980, McCartney, McCartney II, Paul McCartney|

From McCartney II (1980). Paul McCartney is an amazing dude. Here I am, positively obsessing over his stuff for 40 out of my 43 years, and yesterday I stumbled upon this great tune, which I'd never heard. "Blue Sway" has proceeded to dominate my consciousness for 36-going-on-48 hours. Paul, please promise to use this awesome power only for good, never for evil. Whatever else you want to say about the man (and there's a lot to say, and we say it here) pop music just pours out of him. I feel very lucky to be living at the same time, [...]

15

The McCartney II thread

By Michael Gerber|2012-12-28T18:29:00-08:00December 28, 2012|1980, McCartney, McCartney II, solo|

Hey, realize I know very little about this album, so I decided to start an open thread on it. Any McCartney II-related thoughts out there?

16

Ram On!

By Devin McKinney|2015-01-19T20:36:27-08:00August 28, 2009|1971, Beatles tributes, McCartney, Paul McCartney, RAM uber alles, solo|

Get a room DEVIN McKINNEY • Speaking of which, did anyone else listen to this? Here's the tracklist: Earlimart :: Too Many People Frankel :: 3 Legs The Parson Redheads :: Ram On Bodies of Water :: Dear Boy Radar Bros. :: Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey Naptunes :: Smile Away Los Baby Fools :: Heart Of The Country Le Switch :: Monkberry Moon Delight The Broken West :: Eat At Home Amnion :: Long Haired Lady The Parson Redheads :: Ram On (reprise) Travel by Sea :: The Back Seat Of My Car It's the expected farrago of good, bad and [...]

2

Boo, Jon Landau!

By Michael Gerber|2014-07-05T20:45:35-07:00August 27, 2009|1971, McCartney, RAM uber alles|

Sometimes I transport myself I've been listening to RAM, one of the handful of solo Beatles discs I can listen to (others: All Things Must Pass, POB when I want to reaffirm the value of therapy). For kicks I unearthed this Rolling Stone review from 1971. Justly infamous, Jon Landau's review of RAM starts off as a pure hatchet-job in the standard "how dare Paul McCartney not be John Lennon" RS style, then ascends to a discussion of how The Beatles were better as a group, an observation that had to be tired even in 1971. If you sense a [...]

4

Opposites

By Michael Gerber|2015-01-19T20:27:51-08:00July 26, 2009|McCartney, The White Album, Wings|

I'm listening to my iTunes's "party shuffle" function. Just now it played "My Love," followed by (as a palate cleanser?) "Helter Skelter." I submit that "My Love" is the anti-"Helter Skelter." Can anyone think of a better pair? Try 'em for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SB3x6KtNi4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fvJEpdq8a8

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