About Michael Gerber

is Blogmom of Hey Dullblog. His novels and parodies have sold 1.25 million copies in 25 languages. He lives in Santa Monica, CA, and runs The American Bystander all-star print humor magazine.

"I’m 15 and I feel like 80"

By |2020-02-04T22:31:41-08:00January 14, 2013|1964|

Well, sister, I'm 43 and feel like 15. Or 180. It changes from moment to moment. Spending time with the folks sure makes me feel young. They're coming of age at this point, and require personal care. I was a bit worried at first because they didn't want to move out of the house, but after some research I learned about Home Care Assistance Raleigh. They're right nearby at Home Care Assistance 9050 W Olympic Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211 (310) 857-4740 so I set up a meeting and they seemed nice and professional enough. They've been working with my parents for [...]

Counterpoint on Magical Mystery Tour

By |2014-07-23T11:57:52-07:00January 3, 2013|Uncategorized|

For everyone who loves "Magical Mystery Tour" (the film) or has come to appreciate it over the years, there's someone who still hates it -- Jim DeRogatis, a Chicago critic who broadcasts on NPR's WBEZ, is a case in point. If you're interested in reading his vilification of the movie (and a lot of the album), you can do so here: http://www.wbez.org/blogs/jim-derogatis/2013-01/revisiting-one-beatles’-worst-mistakes-104650Here's the executive summary: "Nearly half a century on, the fascinating thing about "Magical Mystery Tour" the film is the rare glimpse it offers into one of the best rock bands of all time at its unaldulterated worst. And make no mistake: [...]

Yoko Ono on the Breakup

By |2014-12-27T11:33:31-08:00December 29, 2012|1970, John and Paul, John Lennon|

"They were getting to be like Paul's band, which they didn't like," quoth the Yoko, via The Huffington Post. The interview's from 1987, and it's from Rolling Stone, so we can expect it to be simple-minded and St. Lennon-ish; but this canard deserves a bit of scorn. Can I? Thanks.Oh what a shame it was for Paul to run roughshod over those other three grown men, forcing stuff like "Hey Jude" and Abbey Road on the world. Why, instead of wasting all that time, John and Yoko could've given 500 more interviews, and filmed countless more asses. Or John could've continued to explore [...]

Yet more banging on about Magical Mystery Tour

By |2015-09-01T10:53:04-07:00December 18, 2012|1967, Magical Mystery Tour|

Magical Mystery Tour pie chart, 1967 This blog seemed to go through a phase where every second post was about how awesome Ram was/is. Go back and check the stream; it was amazing. Went on for months. And I support that, not just because Ram is awesome, but because this ol' world of ours is big enough to have one place where Ram-love flows freely, without fear. In that same spirit of being just bleeeaaagggrhhh…without in any way demeaning the White Album!—I present the following. This evening while trying to avoid doing my wife's Bialetti pot, I read this Slate review of [...]

Ravi works George out

By |2013-08-09T00:15:46-07:00December 16, 2012|1968, George, Obituaries|

Reader Rupa S. pointed me to this great clip of George Harrison and Ravi Shankar from 1968 (before George decided to stick to guitar). RIP, Ravi Shankar. Glad to be alive at the same time you were. http://youtu.be/t79aI-I6ucA

Several Sides of Searchin’

By |2012-12-06T01:27:00-08:00December 6, 2012|1962|

Alvin Robinson. I'm going through a bit of a Northern Soul period (c'mon, I'm always going through one of those), and found a nice version of the song "Searchin'," performed by Alvin Robinson in 1961.But of course readers of this blog might remember it from the guys' ill-fated Decca auditions…...which is much closer to the Coasters' original.

Did Yellow Submarine beget The Simpsons?

By |2016-02-28T13:35:31-08:00December 4, 2012|1966, 1967, 1968, Obituaries|

Simpsons writer Josh Weinstein argues so in this (hotly debated) article for The Guardian. Without Yellow Submarine there would never have beenThe Simpsons, no Futurama, no South Park, no Toy Story, no Shrek. No animated anything that enables us to laugh at ourselves while being highly entertained. Naturally, I want to believe him. In my opinion, The Beatles (and -related) are that clear, burbling spring from which all good things flow. Of course the comments are alive with internet types, people who obsessively leapfrog each other in truth-owning appeals to obscure authority, who defiantly declare that Yellow Sub was/is shite and the REAL breakthroughs were the [...]

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