All is well!

By |2023-03-02T10:56:56-08:00February 28, 2023|Uncategorized|

The float right BEFORE the John and Yoko one. Folks, sorry about that -- the site went down yesterday for the most prosaic of reasons, an expired credit card on Autopay. We're all good now. …or are we? I must admit my first thought was all the attackery, hackery and miscellaneous jackery the site's been suffering over the last year. But no angry Floyd or VU fans were involved. Thank you for all the concerned messages. My favorite was, "Elliot Mintz hasn't come after you for talking about Yoko and kink, has he??" To be honest, the single best PR [...]

From Victoria: The Lennon Diaries: A Multi-Decade Adventure

By |2023-01-09T18:47:08-08:00January 9, 2023|Uncategorized|

Regular commenter Victoria has patiently untangled the saga of John Lennon's diaries, sorting through books and clippings to present us with an account worthy of film noir. I hope you find it as fascinating as I did. BTW, forgive any typos or funky formatting; I'm having terrible trouble with the backend. Just note any in the comments and I'll fix.—MG There are certain Beatles-related artifacts that are known to us, yet remain tantalizingly out of reach: one famous example is Japanese Jailbird, Paul McCartney’s 20,000-word account of his nine-day-long imprisonment in Japan in 1980 due to a pot bust. But the Holy [...]

Ian Leslie: “Notes on Peter Jackson’s Get Back”

By |2023-01-02T14:24:49-08:00January 2, 2023|Uncategorized|

Four unidentified musicians, ca. 1969 Through the magic of the internet (actually my friend @comicthief on the rapidly decaying Twitter) I stumbled upon this chunk of fine writing by Ian Leslie on Peter Jackson's Get Back. So many solid insights here, I'll forgive the insane length. I always feel so bad castigating contemporary writers for their prolixity; it's just contemporary style. But ye gods, we need Doctors Without Borders, but for Editors. Leslie warns you right up top, then makes it too good to stop reading in the middle. Unfair! :-) Anyway, read it. It's Dulbloggy, and you'll enjoy it.

Itinerary for a Beatle-themed trip to London and Liverpool

By |2022-12-08T14:48:47-08:00December 8, 2022|Uncategorized|

I refuse to go to London unless I can see Paul's Magic Piano. Folks, a contributor is planning a trip to the UK in January and sent me this list of places to visit. "Did I miss any?" This, I thought, is a job for the commentariat! Did she miss any? Where else should she go? London British library Paul McCartney exhibit Abbey Road Cavendish Kenwood AppleLiverpool 20 Forthlin Mendips Julia’s house Casbah Cavern (such as it is) Gambier Terrace Liverpool Institute/Inny Beatles Museum Museum of Liverpool (Beatles exhibit) Jacaranda Grosvenor Litherland St. Peter’s Church (need to email to see [...]

Revolver Deluxe Edition Open Thread

By |2022-10-30T16:53:19-07:00October 30, 2022|Uncategorized|

I lasted approximately thirty seven hours before I broke down and listened to the new mixes from Revolver Deluxe—thanks, bad influences, you know who you are. I was trying to hold out until Christmas morning. And I still plan to unbox the physical item on 9 am sharp December 25th. But in the meantime, here's a thread to contain all the burbling. It's worth burbling over. To prime the pump, go check out this article on Slate, which I liked—rather unexpectedly so because Slate's motto should be "Where interesting topics go to die." And this interview with Giles Martin on the "how" [...]

From Victoria: Oracle’s spoken: John Green’s Dakota Days (1983)

By |2022-10-18T11:53:39-07:00October 18, 2022|1980, books, john and yoko, Reviews, Uncategorized|

When Victoria, a regular commenter here on Dullblog, asked if she could write up a review of John Green's out-of-print book Dakota Days, I immediately said "yes!" I remember reading it as deep background for my comic novel Life After Death for Beginners, and finding its glimpses into soothsaying and John and Yoko fascinating and maddening in equal measure. Here are her thoughts. Enjoy.—MG The Dakota, a Renaissance Revival building constructed in the 1880s, is well-known as a glamorous and sought after residence, and as the site of supernatural happenings in Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby. Beatles fans know it, however, as John [...]

Various musings on Lennon and Addiction

By |2022-12-29T12:05:04-08:00October 7, 2022|Uncategorized|

E arlier this week, reader @Maya wrote me, knowing full well the flood of words that this would cause: “Hey, just wondering your thoughts on this video. At around the 1:20:00 mark, Lewisohn says that he thinks John and Yoko weren’t addicted to heroin? This is really throwing me and has got me worried about his third volume, should it ever be released.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ-BMzJyGGA Having listened to the relevant bit, @Maya, I have to say I’m worried too. Strap in folks, this is gonna be a long one--I don't have time to write it shorter. A couple of things to [...]

Try it, you might like it

By |2022-09-24T16:52:52-07:00September 24, 2022|Uncategorized|

(And now, a brief word from our sponsor…) The latest issue of my print humor magazine, The American Bystander #23, is all about the Seventies. Given that so much of this blog talks about that very distinctive time, I thought I'd hondle everybody. Try it, you'll like it—and at just $5 for a PDF and $20 for a print edition, how wrong can you go? Needless to say, buying one's a great way to support this site, which isn't cheap to host. Also, dig that parody cover; it's not a Gerber production without Beatle references dontchaknow. But there's a deeper level of [...]

Reader question: “Thoughts on Prisoner of Love?”

By |2022-09-23T11:33:46-07:00September 21, 2022|Uncategorized|

"Hmm...I did not know that" Reader @Maya writes in to ask: "Hi, Michael. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on the cancelation of Peter Doggett’s book on Lennon’s Dakota Days, Prisoner of Love: Inside the Dakota with John Lennon that was meant to be released April of last year. It would have been so great to have a book on Lennon’s life in the late 70s that wasn’t marred by accusations of total unreliability, so I was very disappointed to see that it had been not just delayed, but completely canceled. It has started to legitimately frustrate me. If it [...]

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