- Needed: Paid Research Assistant(s) for a Beatle Project - October 28, 2023
- From Faith Current: “The Sacred Ordinary: St. Peter’s Church Hall” - May 1, 2023
- A brief (?) hiatus - April 22, 2023
Admire the commitment, and note with pleasure that this is the Correct Period of the group
Friendies,
Last January, I set a secret goal for the site: 100,000 pageviews in 2014. This was a bit ambitious, but only a bit — probably 15% more traffic than we’ve gotten every year since 2008 when this little monster was born. This morning I checked our logs, and we need just 11890 pageviews to reach our goal.
So I’m asking: would you tell a friend about Dullblog? Forward a favorite (or unfavorite) post, or just let a Beatlefriend know we exist. We do our best to let the content drive our traffic — not SEO/keywords, or clickbait — and I think we’ve got a wonderful group of writers and commentariat. I’d like to grow both, this month and beyond.
The more traffic, and especially comments, that we receive, the more all of us want to post. There are lots of things I’d like to do with the site, but I know myself: only strong reader interest will force me to carve out the time and attention to get it done.
Also, the bigger, gaudier numbers we have, the easier it will be to get interviews — and the more Apple and ilk will actually seek us out. So much is happening in Beatle World that it’s impossible to know about everything, unless the doers/makers tell you. That’s started in the last six months, and it’s making the site better.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it: 11890. I’ll report back later and tell you how we’re doing.
Last month I was doing some chores, and had the kitchen radio on, listening to our local college station. A Beatle song came on. Then another one. And another. Finally, after two hours of non-stop Beatle music, I called in to the station and told the young DJ about heydullblog.
THAT’S the spirit, @Sam!
I’ve said this before but I don’t mind saying it again. This is the BEST Beatles related blog/ site on the web. I’ve visited many but there are only three that I check daily and Hey Dullblog is the most intelligent, with the best discussions, while also maintaining a respectful atmosphere. Yesterday I revisited this discussion https://www.heydullblog.com/paul-mccartney/time-lapse-photography/#comments from spring of 2013. I missed it the first time around but it was recently brought to my attention. It’s great discussions like this one that make this the best Beatles blog on the web. Hope you guys stay around forever.
Thank you, @Linda! We work hard on it, and keep doing it because people say the kind of things you just did. Means an awful lot to me personally to hear such praise, and I’m sure the other Dullbloggers as well.
What other Beatles blogs do you check? I’m always looking for ones to tout. Kenwood Lennon and Amoralto (get well, soon!) are two of my faves.
I also re-read that discussion, after seeing it getting some traffic; it’s a good ‘un. I’m always trying to figure out how to surface our great threads more effectively — the posts are often just a kickoff to the discussions, IMHO. Anyway “Time Lapse” reminded me to post about a theory I have regarding John Lennon in the post-India period, which may have been a contributing factor to his binary flip from seemingly liking Beatledom (Feb. ’68 and previous) to seemingly hating it (May ’68 and after).
I check Meet the Beatles for Real daily, for the photos and nostalgia. That one isn’t big on discussion however. I also lurk on this niche community called johnheartpaul. I check it once a week or so, to see if there are any discussion threads going. The discussion threads are few and far between but when one gets going it’s usually very interesting. It’s basically a slash fan fiction community which is something I have absolutely no interest in. But they also welcome any sort of post regarding John and Paul and those other posts are the reason I check it once in a while. They think very highly of Hey Dullblog by the way. Also I recently started getting a blog called Something New sent to my email. That one is very good but it’s only updated sporadically.
Yes that Time Lapse discussion was fascinating. Those are the types of discussions that are often on johnheartpaul, really anything regarding John and Paul and the various layers and dynamics of their complicated relationship and personalities. In fact they lauded the Time Lapse discussion and even started one of their own. Incidentally those Bailey photos have been discussed incessantly in that community.
posts are often just a kickoff to the discussions,
Oh absolutely! That’s what is so wonderful about them, all the twists and turns and different ideas that guide a great discussion.
Time Lapse” reminded me to post about a theory I have regarding John Lennon in the post-India period, which may have been a contributing factor to his binary flip from seemingly liking Beatledom (Feb. ’68 and previous) to seemingly hating it (May ’68 and after).
Oh I would love to read about it and I’m sure it will probably start another good discussion.
Linda, I’m just about to post something on behalf of Sara at Meet the Beatles for Real. Watch this space.
I would love to interview the people behind Johnheartpaul, to test a theory; my experience is that the millennial generation is much healthier about issues of gender and sexuality — there’s a freedom and fluidity there, a basic acceptance of people as they really act, that I unabashedly admire. If it’s millennials who are writing the slash, I wonder if this augurs a fundamentally freer view of the John/Paul friendship.
Speaking of old threads, commenter Michael just made a comment about a blog post Luca Perasi (of the “McCartney Recording Sessions” book) wrote about “Ram”: http://www.beatlebrunchclub.com/articles/archive/ram_pauls_most_significant.asp?c_target=%2Farticles%2Farchive%2Fram_pauls_most_significant.
He linked it to my post on “Ram’s Resurgence” — the first one I did for HD, back in June of 2011 (https://www.heydullblog.com/paul-mccartney/rams-resurgence/). Linda, I agree with you that it’s the discussion aspect that makes HD unique. This is one internet venue where I consistently feel challenged to rethink and explore my ideas about music. Given the insane qualities of much online commentary, the people who comment on this blog are to be commended very highly.
This is why I’m such a fan of the “Recent Comments” feature. There is so much good material in the archives, and I like the fact that a discussion from 2010 or 2011 can be continued and found.
@Sam, are there any blogs that do a better job surfacing this content? At least 50% of the total of Dullblog is comments, maybe more.
are there any blogs that do a better job surfacing this content?
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This is my Beatle site.
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I actually spent about twenty years avoiding reading about JPG&R. I’d read too many second-rate biographies, as well as magazine articles written by people with grudges against Paul or George. And after the 1980 assassination, books by charlatans who claimed to be channeling lost Lennon diaries, etc. So I pretty much gave up on the subject for a long time.
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I find HeyDullBlog endlessly fascinating because you all (as well as commenters) provide a good balance of fact and opinion. A healthy skepticism of Yoko (and the John&Yoko legend) without being ugly about it. A genuine love of the music. Open-mindedness and wit. So it’s fun for me to be reading about the Beatles again.
@Michael as for the age of the slash writers I believe it varies. The members of the community seem to range in age from 17 to 60 something. Some of them write and read slash, some are only there for the discussions, and some are interested in both. But the age range is definitely that wide. I would say that the majority are in an age range of 30’s, 40’s and some 50’s. I guess it comes down to how open minded and intuitive a person is, regardless of their age.
Well that is fascinating, @Linda. What percentage of it is straight-up erotica, and what is merely speculative fiction? I’m trying to figure out the role that J/P slash plays for the people who write it.
Any Johnheartpaul’ers willing to speak on this? Were people writing J/P slash before the internet, I wonder?
Michael I have only read a few fan fictions on the site and that was several years ago. As a rule I don’t read the fictions not because they aren’t good, but because I simply don’t have the patience to read fan fiction. I don’t particularly enjoy reading things like that. First of all I find them extremely smutty and x rated, which brings me to another reason why I don’t like them. I just don’t believe that John and Paul were sexually involved. Maybe I’m wrong and if I am that’s fine. I don’t care either way. I think they were in love and had a deep connection, and I believe there was a definite erotic component to their connection. However I just don’t believe that it was ever taken into the realm of a full blown sexual relationship. So I don’t care for discussions that treat their relationship as if it’s a given without any speculation, that they were closet homosexuals who were conducting a sexual relationship behind closed doors. Those discussions annoy me because they cross a line for me, between fact and fantasy. Same for the fan fictions. They are just too fantastical for me to ever enjoy that type of thing. The few I did read however, were very well written and well characterized as far as getting their basic personalities right. They are not speculative though. If they were I might enjoy reading them. The majority of them are full on erotica with an NC17 rating and seem to feature John and Paul as a fully realized, 6 on the Kinsey scale, gay couple. Nothing wrong with this type of thing of a person enjoys it but I prefer reality based discussion posts over the fan fiction. Also it might interest you that just about 100% of the community members whether they are there for fiction or the discussions, are women. The ages vary as I’ve pointed out, but there are no men at all. That seems pretty significant. Are women m
Wow sorry. I submitted my reply without finishing it! That’s what happens when you are doing 20 things at the same time. I was just going to finish with the question, Do more women than men see the John and Paul relationship for what it really was? That is, not simply a “riivalry” or two “business partners” who were “very different” and just about every other person in their orbits were more important to them than each other, but rather two creative partners, who were equal in every way, with just as many similarities as “differences”, and more importantly, had a deep bond that resembled a marriage. Is it possible that more women acknowledge that as fact? Just wondering.
Want more traffic? Why don’t you announce interesting postings on ‘expectingrain’? I check it daily, and quite frequently it refers to Beatles-related topics.
The Beatles-examiner might be interesting from time-to-time.
It is as with trade and prostitution, you got to go out, and show yourself. Later today I will reveal the relation to this ‘reply’ and the “Whatever Gets Thru The Night” posting.
Hope you will make it to 100.000.
Thank you, @Rob! I will check out those sites.