The McCartney II thread
Hey, realize I know very little about this album, so I decided to start an open thread on it. Any McCartney II-related thoughts out there?
Rolling Stones open thread
I'm taking the occasion of The Rolling Stones' 50th anniversary to declare the first-ever Hey Dullblog open thread. Any thoughts/opinions/stories about The Stones are welcome in the comments, especially if they have some relation to Our Guys, no matter how tangential. This is an experiment; if everybody has fun, we'll do more open threads. I'll start it off with what I immediately thought of this morning, when NPR told me it was 50 years since The Stones' first gig: You know, they're congratulating the Stones on being together 112 years. Whoooopee! At least Charlie and Bill still got their families. In the [...]
Me on Lennon on Huffpo
Lennon on the cover of Newsweek, Dec. 22, 1980. Guys, just wanted to let everybody know that an essay I wrote on the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's murder--and what I plan to do to commemorate it--is up at The Huffington Post. Welcome fellow Dullblogger Devin McKinney to The December 8th Project!
Prove Violence Doesn’t Work: Do Good in John Lennon’s Name This Dec. 8th!
This morning I had a great idea: "Wouldn't it be great if everybody who loved John Lennon and The Beatles did something nice in his name on December 8th? Something that he might've done, if he were still here with us...like donating to the ACLU; eating organic (or even macrobiotic) for a day; spending some extra time with a kid; making some art that showed love for people and hope for the world...Wouldn't it be wonderful to turn a tragic anniversary into something awesome? And wouldn't that show, once and for all, that violence doesn't work unless we allow it to?" Like [...]
Preview of LENNONYC: Jack Douglas
Friend Jamie Bryan turned me on to these unedited interviews from the upcoming "American Masters" program, "LENNONYC." I haven't listened to them all, but I just finished this one with Double Fantasy producer Jack Douglas, whom we have featured previously on Dullblog.It's spellbinding, especially beginning at around the 41:00 mark, where Douglas talks about the plans that John and Paul had to perform on Ringo's 1981 album. Douglas believes that would've become a full-fledged Beatles reunion, and given the context he provides, it's difficult to argue. (By the way, the first 4:45 is low-key hype from the people behind the show—pleasant enough, [...]
Comment from A Tiny Revolution
A sort of fan letter. (Above: Ringo's letter from Queen Elizabeth II, 1965, h/t to Kenwood)Folks, just in case it's interesting, I'm pasting a comment I just left over at A Tiny Revolution. As expected, the thread on Lennon/McCartney is interesting, and well worth adding to, if you're so inclined. Enjoy--MGRight on, AndyC. 1000% agree about Paul and Linda's impact on those two issues--especially in the UK--and the observation that the McC's impact has been specific, while Lennon and Ono's impact has been conceptual. I personally prefer the former approach.I'm skeptical of artists as agents of genuine social change (and [...]
Mike’s post reminded me…
...of this video for "I'm Steppin' Out," which I just saw a few days ago for the first time...
The Ballad of La Fortuna
Back when smoking was a thing people did in cafes. ED PARK • I read the news today—oh boy: "A Beatles Haunt, Café La Fortuna, to Close Its Doors." And I thought: that's sort of sad, I guess, but par for the course really, I used to go there now and again for coffee, dessert (honestly it wasn't the best coffee, wasn't the best dessert), usually after a movie, always liked the picture of John and Yoko, I'd forget about it and then see it and then feel that little distant connection...but really nothing to be sad about, right? Then [...]
Beatles singles that never were?
45 sleeve for "Coming Up"--very New Wave graphic design This morning, while listening to LA's version of "Breakfast with the Beatles"--I grew up with Terri Hemmert on XRT in Chicago, but I think Chris Carter's show might be even better--I was reminded how John Lennon had been roused to record again by Paul's single "Coming Up." Carter said that the first song Lennon wrote in this ego-pricked, ambitious state was "I Don't Wanna Face It," which later appeared on Milk and Honey. That got me thinking: both songs are good, but I think John and Paul working together would've made [...]