Dullblog’s Top Posts of 2015
The Fabs look very strange on this, right? George looks like Brian Jones As everybody is still busily digesting their Beatle-related gifts (how many of you got "1+"? Anything else to review?), I will confine myself to a quick check-in/roundup. I'm happy to report that 2015 was a banner year for Hey Dullblog. Traffic was up over 43% from 2014. [...]
John Lennon: Witness for the (Marijuana) Defense
"Yoko, smell this flower! It's like I've never even smelled flowers before!" In 1969, Gerald Le Dain, a Canadian lawyer and Supreme Court Justice, headed a government commission on the “non-medical” use of cannabis and other drugs, with the ultimate aim to develop pertinent social policy. This commission, which ran from 1969 to 1972, was known as the LeDain Commission [...]
I Only Have Eyes For You (A Lennon Collage)
I found this photo in my archives and wanted to share it for those Dullbloggers who may not have seen it. It’s a photo collage John made for Paul, which Paul subsequently copied to Julian, who in turn added it to his Beatles’ Memorabilia book. (If you want the exact circumstances, I think Julian describes them there.) Any comments out there as [...]
Beatles Ashram is Now Open!
By law, this photo must accompany any article regarding the Beatles in India. It's always sorta been open to the public -- if you wanted to give a local five rupees and sneak over the wall -- but now the Indian government has made the Maharishi's old compound in Rishikesh a tourist attraction. In 1968, the Fab Four wrote most [...]
My Yoko Problem… and yours?
"Me and Yoko and a backing group…" In the thread regarding Ruth's excellent review, longtime Dullpal @Sir Huddleston Fuddleston wrote this: "I guess what I’m saying is, whatever the problem, it’s Yoko’s fault. A failed 'concept artist' took the most successful popular musician in history, by a long way, and made him think his work was shit. By comparison, it’s [...]
Allen Klein biography review by Ruth
No, no, he was really a nice guy, says the authorized biography Frequent commenter and house historian Ruth has sent in her review of Allen Klein: The Man Who Bailed Out The Beatles, Made the Rolling Stones, and Transformed Rock & Roll. Written with Ruth's trademark incisiveness and interest in Beatles historiography, it is posted below -- with our deep [...]
Four In Hand by John Lennon
This musical was brought to you by Purell. With all this talk of certain male sexual practices, I couldn't help but remember Four In Hand by John Lennon, the sketch he wrote for Kenneth Tynan's erotic revue "Oh! Calcutta!" First mounted (so to speak) in 1969, "Oh! Calcutta!" was a massive success — long runs on both sides of the Atlantic, [...]
Comments and the spam filter
Fished around in the spam filter today and retrieved two actual comments, one by ChelseaQW and one by Virginia Abreau de Paula –they’re now showing up in the appropriate threads. Everyone, if you submit a comment and it’s not posted within a few hours, please resend it. (Like George in "Blue Jay Way," we may be asleep—but there's also a chance the [...]
Why Those Screaming Beatlemania Girls Matter
Those videos of Beatlemania girls screaming have have always made me squirm. All that howling, weeping, and writhing bug me for multiple reasons. As a woman, they make me cringe because rock criticism defined itself against them: screeching gals over there, analytical guys over here. As a Beatles fan they make me wince because they (superficially) reinforce the argument made by many non-fans [...]