January 2014 - Hey Dullblog, the Beatles fan blog

The Beatles without earmuffs

By Michael Gerber|2014-01-31T12:06:45-08:00January 31, 2014|1964, Uncategorized|

Does anyone else find this photo reeeally creepy? This past week, I've been watching the early James Bond movies obsessively, as research for a new novel. Personally, I prefer From Russia With Love over Goldfinger for two reasons: 1) I prefer gritty Cold War spycraft over glitz and gadgets; and 2) Bond takes a completely gratuitous swipe at the Fabs in the first section of Goldfinger, right before he gets karate chopped and Jill Masterson gets gilded. ("Skin suffocation" is debunked here.) The video's weird, sorry; the Beatles quip comes at about :30. The rest is a bizarre mini-cut of [...]

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Variety agrees with Hey Dullblog: 2014 is the Year of Ringo

By Devin McKinney|2014-01-29T13:36:36-08:00January 29, 2014|David Lynch, Ringo, Ringo Starr, Todd Rundgren, Transcendental Meditation|

"Peace, wall." DEVIN McKINNEY • Ringo is on the cover of the latest Variety, heralding a celebrity profile by Assistant Managing Features Editor Steve Chagollan that is not only indifferently written but, typical for an age in which basic compositional standards are plummeting faster than an anvil lofted from the Empire State Building, is dotted with stylistic and factual boo-boos. (Ringo’s wife is referred to as “the actress formerly known as Barbara Bach”; what is she known as now, The Actress?) Still, the piece offers a brand-new, piping-hot array of Ringo opinions (he thinks Di Caprio is a lock for [...]

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“Revolution No. 9” as one of the top 5 Beatles songs? Get real.

By Nancy Carr|2014-02-06T06:53:30-08:00January 28, 2014|Beatles Criticism, Beatles lists, Reviews, The White Album, Tim Riley, Uncategorized|

NANCY CARR * Quick—what’s the most untypical song the Beatles released, and the one I’d bet 99% of Beatles fans listen to least? Well, that’s the one that Tim Riley, the author of Tell Me Why and a well-reviewed Lennon biography, calls the fifth best Beatles song in an article in this recently released magazine special. All together now: “Number 9, Number 9, Number 9 . . .” Of course any list of “The Top Five Beatles Songs” is, at this point in the 21st century, going to have to include a startling pick if it’s going to get any attention at [...]

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John Lennon’s…

By Michael Gerber|2014-01-27T11:15:52-08:00January 27, 2014|John Lennon|

Back when smoking was a thing people did in cafes. This morning, as I tried to get over not being able to afford Kenwood, I found a couple of videos to share. From WNYC, here's "John Lennon's NYC"—a great little video showing the Lennons' local pharmacy, Cafe La Fortuna, 105 Bank Street (just around the corner from where I used to live!), and Madison Square Garden. For some reason, I love the idea of John Lennon chatting with his pharmacist. "Do you have any natural alternatives to Pepto-Bismol?" What other NYC venues should they have investigated? Smith's Bar? Do any [...]

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Jimmy Webb on Harry Nilsson

By Michael Gerber|2015-01-13T17:26:08-08:00January 25, 2014|Beatle-inspired|

Everything's OK with Harry N. Trolling the internet in the wake of another viewing of "Who In The World Is Harry Nilsson?" I ran across this interview with the legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb on Harry Nilsson. Nilsson fans are well-nigh enjoined to read it. Here's a nice meaty quote for you: [Harry] was proud of that [the famous screaming contest with John Lennon]. There was a lot of testosterone floating through the air, and John, in a way... Well, there are a lot of Lennon fans out there, God forbid I should say anything about John, but he kind of [...]

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The next generation of Beatlemaniacs

By Michael Gerber|2014-01-23T12:41:30-08:00January 23, 2014|Each One Teach One|

For me, Beatlemania is apparently a family trait, passed along the maternal line. MIKE GERBER • This morning my sister Katie wrote to say that my young nephew is listening to The Beatles. So I did exactly what any of you would have: I sent along the DVD of Yellow Submarine. It was simply an expression of my sympathetic nervous system, entirely unconscious and immediate. If he likes that, maybe I'll send him The Point. No less a personage than Sean Lennon got his first taste of The Beatles from Yellow Submarine...or so his pop said to Newsweek circa 1980: [...]

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I Saw Her Standing There Refracture Remix

By Michael Gerber|2014-01-21T14:32:06-08:00January 21, 2014|1963|

"Not bad, that." One of the little benefits (and there are many, let me assure you) of living where I live is KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic." I realize that I come off on HD as a curmudgeon whose musical tastes are pitifully narrow—and they are, because every time I listen to a smidgeon of the new music being created all around the world I think, "Wow that's great!!!"...And five seconds later I think, because I'm me, "Jesus, this tech-driven media oversupply screws musicians just like it screws writers. The audience is so fragmented, how can making this stuff ever be [...]

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Attention Original Beatlemaniacs!

By Michael Gerber|2014-01-15T15:20:53-08:00January 15, 2014|1964, Housekeeping|

Yes, convite them, why don't you? The following just came in over the transom: "I'm a journalist in a Portuguese daily newspaper called "i" (www.ionline.pt). I'm writing a feature about the 50 years of The Beatles in America and I'm trying to get in touch with people who might've seen them back then, live or on the TV. Could you help me?" Yes, Tiago, I believe we can! Any interested (and interesting) parties should contact him directly at tjppereira AT gmail DOT com.

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In which Mike’s ears play tricks?

By Michael Gerber|2014-01-12T20:55:58-08:00January 13, 2014|1963|

MIKE GERBER • In thinking about Devin's great post on favorite Beatle micro-moments, last week's "Breakfast with the Beatles" reminded me of one…which may or may not exist? I only doubt it because I can't seem to find corroboration via Google—which is, I suppose, a comment on what we've become (yes, I'm including you whether you like it or not). Anyway, it's an extra "something" in "I Want to Hold Your Hand”—a ghostly buried response that occurs at about 1:23 in this video. http://youtu.be/3MHkgwA8t-g Do you hear it, too? Maybe come over to where I'm standing...or hunch down to my height...Is this [...]

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Will the Real Mr. Sellers Please Stand Up?

By Michael Gerber|2014-01-10T21:20:56-08:00January 10, 2014|1969, comedy|

Sellers, ready for his close-up MIKE GERBER • Devin's post earlier this regarding the "film merde" of Ringo Starr couldn't help but bring to mind Ringo's most accomplished co-star, Peter Sellers. Sellers is one of my favorites, as he seems to be for a lot of Beatlepeople; as with Monty Python, there's a lot of overlap between him and the Fabs, as much or more than any musical group: The Goon Show, his Beatles covers, the Peter Sellers Tape, The Magic Christian. All four Beatles were fans, but weren't close; nobody, it seems, was close with Peter Sellers. I recall [...]

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