Death and the Beatles Fan
I hope this fan is still with us. Stephen Kennedy's "Death and the Beatles Fan" has been called a Beatles-themed parody of The Seventh Seal... which makes it catnip for yours truly. (Seventh Seal is my mother's favorite movie, which I guess explains all my therapists.) Anyway, "Death and the Beatles Fan" was broadcast on Ireland's RTE Radio One last [...]
McCartney shakes it in St Louis
Waiting to sit in the stands of the sports arena. Paul McCartney proved he could still play, sing, and shake it at his show in St Louis last Saturday night. Looking loose and sounding in fine voice, McCartney was clearly having a capital time with the capacity crowd at Busch Stadium. And–almost unbelievably, given the high winds, lightning, and sheets [...]
Eight Days A Week trailer
Am I excited for Ron Howard's upcoming documentary, Eight Days A Week? Hell yes, I am. The story of the Beatles' touring years is the great untold portion of their career, and it deserves more attention. In part because the touring experience was what made them who they were; in part because we think we know what it was like; and in [...]
Starostin on the White Album
The tireless George Starostin, still working his way through Rate Your Music's list of "Top Albums of All Time," has just published a new review of the White Album (currently #25 on the list). As usual, there's plenty of substance in Starostin's review, and I highly recommend it. These lines particularly stood out to me (ellipses mine): "A typical 'complaint' against The [...]
McCartney and Starr on Orlando attack
McCartney on stage in Berlin After the June 11 mass shooting attack at Orlando's Pulse nightclub, both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have publicly expressed their solidarity with the victims. This isn't a surprise, but it's a welcome reminder that in this time when so many seem driven by fear and hatred of those who are different, there are still [...]
Interview with Chip Madinger, coauthor of Lennonology: Strange Days Indeed
In this conversation with Hey Dullblog, Chip Madinger talks about the genesis, process, and future of the ambitious Lennonology project he has undertaken with coauthor Scott Raile. Thanks to Chip for answering our questions, and to Mary Klein, who recently reviewed Lennonology: Strange Days Indeed for HD and helped write the questions. You can learn more about the book, and purchase it, [...]
Lewisohn with Conan O’Brien on Serious Jibber-Jabber
Geekin' out with Conan and Lewisohn. Comedy legend (and serious Beatle fan) Conan O'Brien has just interviewed Beatle legend (and serious Beatle fan) Mark Lewisohn on his chat show "Serious Jibber-Jabber." It's well worth a listen. "Most of the books you have read, upon which you base your knowledge," Lewisohn begins, "in terms of biography they only skim the surface. [...]
Drugs and Differences
Given the comments on a recent thread beginning here, we've decided to resurface a great post by Nancy on the topic. Originally posted 3/13/13.--MG On the apparently unstoppable "How Do You Sleep?" thread, Peter Deville commented that "it's interesting to note that the growing differences within the band coincided with a divergence in their individual drugs of choice, having made the collective [...]
Tony Barrow 1936-2016
The Beatles and Tony Barrow, 1963 Former Beatles press agent Tony Barrow has died at age 80. A member of the group's original Liverpool gang, Barrow was part of the Beatles' story from 1961-1968. Record reviewer for the Liverpool Echo from the age of 17, Barrow was working for Decca when Brian Epstein called for some advice regarding a pop [...]