Psychedelia Archives - Hey Dullblog, the Beatles fan blog

Beatle Memories from Marijke Kroger of The Fool

By Michael Gerber|2021-08-23T12:32:42-07:00August 23, 2021|Psychedelia|

Artist Marijke Kroger of the Dutch art collective The Fool shares some wonderful memories here, including lots about our fellas. I've posted about the psychedelic moment in art and culture before, and what always strikes me is how brief it was. It began in earnest no earlier than 1965, and by 1968 was rapidly being replaced by a harder, more ironic, more intellectual style that is still in vogue today. After 1968, the post-Pop part of Warhol that made him dismiss Yoko Ono as "corny" became the dominant flavor of contemporary art. But the psychedelic moment was so powerful and distinctive that [...]

Comments Off

Beatle Cars

By Nancy Carr|2022-04-11T09:46:06-07:00April 14, 2021|1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, Magical Mystery Tour, Psychedelia, Sgt. Pepper|

One of the perks of the mega-fame and fortune the Beatles enjoyed in the 1960s was buying cool automobiles. I think that a look at one of the cars owned by each Beatle in the mid-1960s reveals something about the personality of each. On to the cars: Ringo owned this 1964 Facel Vega Facel II, which autoblog.com describes as "a brutally powerful, but supremely comfortable four-place coupe that didn't skimp on style. Power came from a thumping 6.3-liter Chrysler Typhoon V8 that turned out up to 390 horsepower and could scoot the Facel II to a reported top speed of 150 miles [...]

22

Global Beatles Day 2020

By Nancy Carr|2020-06-24T07:30:04-07:00June 24, 2020|1967, Beatle History, Beatles on the Web, Psychedelia, Television|

Tomorrow–June 25–is Global Beatles Day. Begun in 2009, this is a day "honoring and celebrating the phenomenon and ideals of the Beatles, collectively and individually, for their gifts to the world including their promotion of peace and love, of truth and youth, and of the expansion of human consciousness." This specific day was chosen because it's the anniversary of the Beatles' performing "All You Need Is Love" live on the BBC program Our World, in 1967, using the first live satellite TV link. If we ever needed a time to promote peace, love, truth, youth, and the expansion of human consciousness, I'd [...]

6

Starostin re-reviews Sgt. Pepper

By Nancy Carr|2016-05-02T15:09:50-07:00May 2, 2016|1967, Beatles on the Web, George Starostin, Psychedelia, Sgt. Pepper|

Online reviewer George Starostin has just posted another review of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, this time as part of his working down the list of the RateYourMusic site's "Top Albums of All Time" list. (Pepper is currently at #18). I love the whole review, but here are a couple of my favorite song-by-song comments: ʻLovely Ritaʼ - oh, that triumphant cry of "RITA!" leading into the piano solo break. It's one of McCartney's most Pythonesque numbers ever, a hilarious send-up of, let's say, "traditional British values", and the exuberant piano chords of the break are the climactic peak. Although the [...]

5

Flaming Lips’ “With a Little Help from My Fwends”: Sgt. Pepper’s through a 21st century blender

By Nancy Carr|2014-11-03T10:09:08-08:00November 3, 2014|1967, Covers, Drugs, Flaming Lips, Psychedelia, Sgt. Pepper|

Watch up for that blue goo--it really gums up the songs. NANCY CARR * With a Little Help from My Fwends, the Sgt. Pepper’s tribute album from the Flaming Lips and a bunch of their buddies, is a frequently painful listening experience that is also revelatory. It’s just that much of what it reveals leads to depressing conclusions about how the 21st century is shaping up. This is a true cover album, in the sense that Booker T. and the MG’s McLemore Avenue is, and that Mojo magazine compilations of various people doing songs from Revolver or Yellow Submarine aren’t. [...]

7

Starrtime: Defining Moments from Ringo’s non-Beatle movies (1)

By Devin McKinney|2015-10-21T20:19:44-07:00January 7, 2014|1960s, 1968, alternate history, comedy, Film merde, Psychedelia, Ringo, Ringo movies, Ringo Starr|

The two dozen or so films Ringo Starr has made outside of the Beatles may constitute, more than any other legacy, a hefty bequest to the genre known unofficially as film merde. In spite or perhaps because of this, a surprising number of the all-star extravaganzas that make use of our favorite drummer’s amenable presence and recognizable nose have generated cults of some size (at least, if you believe Internet commentators who themselves, rather than stating existing facts, may merely be hoping to originate such cults). If nothing else, some of them offer a window on that passage in cultural history when, [...]

7

“You, my pal, ROCK!”: Inspiration from the spam filter

By Nancy Carr|2013-12-12T12:26:44-08:00December 3, 2013|Housekeeping, Psychedelia, Uncategorized|

This flower is astonishingly functional! NANCY CARR • In this season of thankfulness, I am grateful to the Hey Dullblog spam filter. Whenever I clean it out I appreciate anew its kidneyesque work of protecting us all from poorly-worded importunities to buy pharmaceuticals, fake luxury items, or memberships to sketchy dating sites. The most garbled messages, however, attain a level of lunacy that I can imagine John Lennon giggling over and then weaving into a nonsense song, a la “Dig a Pony.” [After he’d bought some pharmaceuticals and fake luxury items, Michael G. adds.] Curiously, virtually all the robo-generated spam [...]

Comments Off

Smile vs. Sgt. Pepper

By Nancy Carr|2013-08-13T22:15:47-07:00August 13, 2013|1967, Beach Boys, Psychedelia, Sgt. Pepper|

The Boys away from the beach, 1967 NANCY CARR • I love the Beach Boys (not the way I love the Beatles, but still), so why can’t I wholeheartedly love Smile? I ask this question sincerely. I think Brian Wilson is a songwriter, singer, and bassist worthy of great praise. I understand why Paul McCartney was so blown away by Pet Sounds that he dreamed up the idea for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. I'm glad Smile has finally seen the official light of day, and I'm intrigued by the what-if game of wondering about what might have [...]

18