Beatle-inspired Archives - Hey Dullblog, the Beatles fan blog

All You Need Is Love–And To VOTE!

By Nancy Carr|2020-11-03T07:57:41-08:00November 3, 2020|Beatle History, Beatle-inspired, Politics, Uncategorized|

Please, if you're legally able to do so in the United States, get out and vote today. If you have an absentee or mail ballot, drop it off at an authorized collection place (preferably one that is attended by an actual person), and track the status of your ballot online. I believe that most of us who contribute to or read this blog are drawn to the Beatles at least in part because their music offers us a measure of hope and encouragement. They wrote plenty of songs about sadness, and even despair. They didn't shy away from the complexity of reality, [...]

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Mob Psycho 100 and the Beatles’ Mop Tops

By Nancy Carr|2020-09-12T08:41:14-07:00September 12, 2020|21st century references, Beatle-inspired, Beatles on the Web, cartoon, fans, Fashion, Television, Uncategorized|

A few days ago Eric Trump inadvertently sent the anime series Mob Psycho 100 to the toppermost of the Twitterverse when he Googled "mob." He signally failed to grasp why the popularity/relevance algorithm Google uses put images of the show early in the search results. Fans of the show reacted with predictable glee, and the Mob Psycho 100 Twitter account posted this, featuring an image of Shigeo Kageyama, the character familiarly known as "Mob": Doesn't that image remind you of someone? Or four someones? Doesn't it seem as though that look might be a merchandising opportunity for, I don't know, maybe a [...]

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Cirque de Soleil’s “Love” at the Mirage

By Nancy Carr|2020-09-10T10:58:03-07:00June 30, 2020|Beatle-inspired, Beatles tributes, concert, Covers, Covers, Live, Sgt. Pepper|

Back on March 7, my husband and I saw Cirque de Soleil's Beatles-themed show Love at the Mirage hotel and casino in Las Vegas. I've been meaning to write this post for a while now, but the way things snapped shut right after that trip due to covid-19 has made it hard to figure out what to say about the experience. Please bear with this somewhat rambling account. I'd wanted to see the show for quite a while, and my husband proposed that we finally just go to Las Vegas for a weekend. We could combine seeing Love with catching up with [...]

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Willy Chirino, “My Beatles Heart”

By Nancy Carr|2019-08-07T11:00:44-07:00August 7, 2019|Beatle-inspired, Beatles tributes, Covers, Covers, Uncategorized|

Willie Chirino's 2011 collection of Fab Four songs, My Beatles Heart, is one of the few cover albums I listen to regularly all the way through. Chirino is a Cuban-American musician, singer, and songwriter who lives in Florida and was involved in the salsa-based "Miami Sound" back in the 1970s and 80s. I'm not familiar with much of his other music, but I highly recommend My Beatles Heart. I love the way Chirino uses Latin rhythms and instrumentation on these covers and the creativity he shows in referencing other Beatles songs within a cover. On the "Yellow Submarine" version below, for instance, [...]

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“Yesterday,” the film: slight but fun

By Nancy Carr|2019-08-07T00:51:32-07:00July 24, 2019|alternate history, Beatle-inspired, Film, Movies, Uncategorized|

"Yesterday" is wildly implausible, to a degree that makes "Back To The Future" look like a serious exploration of the theory of relativity. It's a sheer waste of time to ask yourself any of the innumerable questions raised by the macguffin that is the film's premise. But if you're willing to suspend your disbelief, it's a pretty fun romp. That's my take, anyway: opinions are certainly divided. Great credit must be given to the cast. Himish Patel's intense likability makes scenes work that really shouldn't. Kate McKinnon steals every frame she's in, as an evil music executive. And Ed Sheeran is believably [...]

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Interview with Jay Goeppner of the the Beatle Brothers

By Nancy Carr|2021-07-23T07:28:33-07:00August 28, 2017|Beatle-inspired, concert, Covers, Covers, Interviews, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, The Fest for Beatles Fans|

Chicago-based singer Jay Goeppner pours his fervent love for the music of the Beatles, and John Lennon, into every performance. His voice, and his energy onstage, are almost eerily similar to Lennon's. I've seen several of his Beatle Brothers shows, and can testify that the only time I've gotten a stronger Beatles vibe was at Paul McCartney's concerts, since rock and metal concerts have always been my favorites and I even look for metal concerts near me every time I can. I caught up with Jay by phone recently, as he was returning from a last-minute road trip to fill in for [...]

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The Beatles, Sean Spicer, and the Chicago Women’s March

By Nancy Carr|2017-01-23T17:29:00-08:00January 23, 2017|Beatle-inspired, concert, Covers, Politics|

Saturday was a tale of two crowds: the kerfuffle over the inauguration audience and the turnout for the women's marches around the country and around the world. Given that the facts / "alternative facts" in question concerned crowd size, it's fitting that the ever-popular Beatles featured in a couple of the memes generated in the wake of Sean Spicer's statements to the press about the audience for the inauguration. The Women's March in Chicago this past Saturday, which I participated in, did have one actual link to the Beatles: members of the local cast of "Hamilton" performed "Let It Be" at the rally. I didn't [...]

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Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles”

By Nancy Carr|2017-01-06T05:50:32-08:00January 6, 2017|21st century references, Beatle-inspired, John Lennon, Other bands, Paul McCartney|

Please welcome back guest Dullblogger J.R. Clark, who sent in these thoughts on the hit song and video "Black Beatles." If you're not a fan of contemporary hip-hop music or the Mannequin Challenge, you may be unaware of “Black Beatles,” the recent Billboard Hot 100 number-one single by brothers Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi, the duo known collectively as Rae Sremmurd (Ear Drummers spelled backward). The song name checks John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and although it does not musically resemble a Beatles song, there are sly lyrical references to the song “Day Tripper.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8m9zhNAgKs In October 2016, “Black Beatles” became the [...]

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Election reflections, Beatle-inflected

By Nancy Carr|2016-11-14T09:46:56-08:00November 14, 2016|Beatle-inspired, Eastern religions, Politics|

Like many Americans, I’ve found this week emotionally exhausting. In the aftermath of this election, blogging about the Beatles seems ridiculous, so I offer these reflections with the hope that they may be helpful. However angry we may be, may we return no one evil for evil. May these times make us stronger and more determined to oppose injustice with love, and not hate, in our hearts. ___ Because my mind remains an ill-disciplined jukebox apparently no matter what is happening in the world, I had lots of bits of songs in my head all this week. Music, like literature, is one [...]

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Beatles mystery: “She’s Leaving Home”

By Nancy Carr|2016-09-22T07:33:20-07:00September 20, 2016|1968, Beatle-inspired, Beatles fiction, books, fans, Uncategorized|

William Shaw's She's Leaving Home is a Beatles-linked police procedural mystery. It's also a deep dive into the turmoil of late-60's London. And an examination of two detectives struggling with their identities and social roles. If that makes the book sound overstuffed, it's because it is. But overall it's an enjoyable read for Beatles or mystery fans who are prepared to skim a bit. Beatles novels are as various as the songs on the White Album, ranging from the simply parodic (Alan Goldsher's Paul is Undead) to the thriller (Phil Rickman's December) to the realistic slice-of-life (Philip Gillam's Here Comes the Sun). But alternative history leads the field, with [...]

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