Michael Gerber • Hey Dullblog, the Beatles fan blog

Joe Cocker and The Beatles

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-22T13:53:37-08:00December 22, 2014|Billy Preston, Cocker, Covers, Obituaries|

English rocker Joe Cocker. They don't tell you when you're young, how your world falls away person by person. The ever-morbid social network informs me that spasmodic English rocker Joe Cocker has died, after a long battle with lung cancer. According to the BBC, "Sir Paul McCartney said he was a lovely guy who 'brought so much to the world.'" Not sure why the lovely guy part isn't quoted too; maybe Paul swore a lot, and they paraphrased it as "a lovely guy." That's what happened in my world, at least. Cocker achieved the near-impossible: he made Beatles covers that [...]

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The Making of John Lennon

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-22T10:56:05-08:00December 20, 2014|books|

Now here's a book for Dullbloggers! After all the breath expended on the topic of John Lennon -- a large cloud of it by the man himself -- I'm dogged by the persistent feeling we're no closer to finding out what really made him tick. But there's a new book on Mr. Chief Beatle that approaches him from two new, and potentially very fruitful, directions: his hometown, and his relationship with Aunt Mimi. Francis Kenny's The Making of John Lennon is an "investigative biography" which attempts to untangle some of the knottiest strands of Lennon's personality, and place the man [...]

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John or Paul

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-17T12:49:52-08:00December 17, 2014|Documentaries, John and Paul|

Reader Nicole wrote in yesterday: "Sometimes I think I will scream the next time I hear or see Lennon VERSUS McCartney. However, this video has gained a little traction in the past day and it really interests me. Lennon storms it, but it's the way people answer and their reasons (sometimes given, sometimes not) which are the interesting bit, to be honest. Note the apologetic way some people answer McCartney, for example. Highly recommend it, not for stirring up contention between fans of either of them but because who answers, what their answer is, and why they answer the way they do [...]

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Blackbird by Beautiful Noize

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-15T11:41:07-08:00December 15, 2014|Covers|

Woefully behind on posting -- working on several new ones -- in addition to a roundtable discussion of John/Paul fan fiction (watch this space). In the meantime, please to enjoy this video sent in by reader Raffael Holzhauser. Raffael wrote: Here's a little music video of my band's cover (or let's say reinterpretation) of Paul's "Blackbird." I hope you enjoy it! I did, Raffael, thank you. Hope the rest of you enjoy Blackbird by Beautiful Noize. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3dbowVdpSU

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Where’s Ringo?

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-10T11:49:46-08:00December 10, 2014|Beatles merch, books, The Fest for Beatles Fans|

In Pacific Palisades, I think Back in October at LA's Fest for Beatles Fans, I was taking a final gallop through the merch bazaar before Kate came to pick me up. A few final hugs and handshakes for vendors I'd spoken with or seen talk about their books; a quick glance here and there to see if there had been anything I missed. Frankly, I'd already spent too much and was determined not to spend any more -- and then I found a charming book called "Where's Ringo?" It's a lively Waldo-style hunt-and-find, with each detail-crammed illustration taking place at [...]

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Do female Beatles fans understand John and Paul better?

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-08T14:00:31-08:00December 8, 2014|John and Paul|

Is everybody seeing the same thing? Even close? Commenter Linda asked a provocative question this morning which I felt was worth its own post. I'll paraphrase it: Do you think that female Beatle fans see the relationship between John and Paul more clearly, more accurately, more totally than male Beatle fans do? Here's Linda's comment: Do more women than men see the John and Paul relationship for what it really was? That is, not simply a “rivalry” or two “business partners” who were “very different” and just about every other person in their orbits were more important to them than [...]

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Whatever Gets You thru the Night…

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-07T23:00:07-08:00December 7, 2014|1974, John Lennon|

Recently we've been discussing the gargantuan "Time Lapse Photography" comment thread, which discusses Beatle sexuality, and specifically the erotic tension between John and Paul. It's clear that some existed; whether or not it was acted upon is a matter of endless fan speculation (hello Johnheartpaul! Thanks for the traffic!) but ultimately between those two men alone. This morning, while listening to Chris Carter's wonderful radio show "Breakfast With the Beatles," I had an interesting thought: perhaps the 1974 hit "Whatever Gets You Through the Night" is Lennon talking to himself about his (possible) bisexuality? Now obviously: this is total speculation, and shouldn't [...]

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What is Life Video Contest Entry

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-06T13:39:58-08:00December 6, 2014|George Harrison|

Yesterday, I got the most interesting email from two Beatle fans working in the international film business. Apparently the Harrison Estate is running a worldwide contest to name the "official music video" for the Harrisong "What is Life" Based in Spain, Victor Suñer and Óscar Turín have used facial tracking and 3D modeling tech to resurrect our pal George -- and create a nice little love story, too. Victor sent me the What is Life video, plus a Making of featurette, both of which I think you'll enjoy. It's very cool, and the affection they have for George Harrison -- and the [...]

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The Beatles in St. Louis, 1966

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-05T11:20:16-08:00December 5, 2014|1966, concert|

Meet the Beatles for Real is a favorite blog of many Dullblog readers, but that's not the only link. The blog's proprietor, Sara, is a proud product of the St. Louis metro area, just like yours truly. So when I heard that Sara is writing a book of fan memories of the Fabs' one and only concert in St. Louis, naturally I did two things: put her in touch with my Aunt (hi Mary!) who went to the concert; and I offered to post an Author Query on her behalf: Hello Beatlefans! This is Sara from the Meet the Beatles for Real [...]

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Help Dullblog Get to 100,000 Views!

By Michael Gerber|2014-12-02T10:30:40-08:00December 2, 2014|Housekeeping|

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 [...]

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About Michael Gerber