Beatles Impact on the Economy
Kneel before Zod The Beatles are responsible for one out of every 100 jobs in their home city of Liverpool, according to a new report by the City Council. The Beatles impact on the economy of the city is simply immense; the report estimates that John, Paul, George and Ringo bring in about £82 million worth of trade annually. Gulp, [...]
Magical Mystery Band: The Beatles and God
by Chris Dingman, guest Dullblogger I was born on April 3, 1964, the week The Beatles saturated the US pop charts like no act before or since, claiming the first five songs and fully fourteen percent of the top 100. But I wouldn’t hear them until some years later, when they would spark my first ideas of God. Chris Dingman -- [...]
The Beatles Swan Song
Where's John? Didn't really matter, did it? I'm delighted whenever Nancy gives us some Starostin news -- he's a brilliant critic, and a fluid writer as well. He is a guy I'd like to sit around listening to albums with, and that's not something I could say about a lot of music critics (Lester Bangs, for example). But I do, [...]
Starostin reviews “Abbey Road”
George Starostin, who by my calculations must sleep four hours or less per night to work an academic job and find time to review as many albums as he does. Indefatigable reviewer George Starostin, of the Only Solitaire blog, has just posted a review of the Beatles' Abbey Road. This one is part of his "Important Album Series," in which [...]
Try some, buy some
Donald Trump's use of "Revolution," though egregious, is far from the only time the spirit of John Lennon's been pressed into service to sell something. The Lennon commercial pasted below is objectionable on so many levels, not least dubbing and vocal impression (have they ever heard John talk?): https://youtu.be/4Ph4rZU0Ns4 And here's a 1992 Nike ad featuring "Instant Karma" (ironic, that): https://youtu.be/AmmpbSlr8UQ And [...]
Trump and the Beatles
This is just to say how disheartening I found it to hear the Beatles' "Revolution" played twice at Donald Trump's victory rally in New Hampshire last night. I realize that his use of the song is perfectly legal, and that it probably won't make a dime's worth of difference to the way anyone votes. And we seem long past the point where candidates even [...]
John and Yoko at the Fillmore
Frank Zappa tells an interesting story about John and Yoko and their guest appearance at Zappa’s 1971 live album concert at the Fillmore East. After briefly meeting them through a reporter, Zappa invited John and Yoko to come to the Fillmore that evening to jam with the band. Nervous but buoyed by cocaine, The Lennons played with the Mothers for nearly an hour [...]
The Lennon Audio Diaries
In the fall of 1979, John sat down with a tape recorder and began to tell his life story. But these Lennon audio diaries were a non-starter: in true Lennon fashion, he got bored after 1.25 minutes and let his thoughts drift to his usual preoccupations—Paul McCartney, his mother Julia, and his fear of professional redundancy. According to Rolling Stone magazine, the [...]
Ringo and Paul raid the costume box
Hey Dullblog readers, Today I share with you the greatest, most ridiculous Beatle pictures that might exist anywhere. What is the context for these? I have NO idea (I randomly found them on tumblr). And I love them so much BECAUSE I have no context for them. Please do not rain on my parade and explain them, unless your explanation is completely fictional and [...]