Michael Gerber • Hey Dullblog, the Beatles fan blog

The Future of Beatlefest

By Michael Gerber|2015-07-25T17:31:14-07:00July 23, 2015|The Fest for Beatles Fans|

Mark Lapidos with Paul and Linda McCartney, 1976 ...and yes, I know it's The Fest for Beatles Fans. But to me, it will forever and always be "Beatlefest," because that's what it was when I was 14 and the world still made some kind of sense. So now that we've set an appropriately crotchety tone for this post, onward. (Actually, not quite yet. The ungainly name that Mark Lapidos' wonderful convention has been shackled with since 2002 brings up something to keep in mind as you read: what Beatlefest was, is, and will be, is entirely up to the 800-pound [...]

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Los Angeles Beatles fans: Wanna go see a movie?

By Michael Gerber|2015-07-25T17:21:48-07:00July 20, 2015|Beatles in LA, Movies|

There's something a little anime about this poster. The Beatles flying towards you, presumably screaming One of the more dubious pleasures of our current age is the ability to meet the people who create the things you like. This streamlines the disillusionment process in ways our ancestors considered unimaginable. Imagine if John, Paul, George and Ringo could've met Elvis as impressionable teenagers in 1957, instead of getting famously underwhelmed that night in 1965. Why, there might have never been a Beatles... "Mum, did you know my English teacher Skyped with Elvis?" "I don't know if you should believe everything Mr. [...]

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McCartney Esquire interview

By Michael Gerber|2015-07-17T10:20:18-07:00July 15, 2015|Paul McCartney|

Commenter @Hologram Sam posted this interview in a comment thread a couple of days ago, but after reading it, I thought it was interesting enough to surface on the front page. There's actually some freshness to the intro (who called Paul "the most Beatley Beatle of them all" and can I shake his/her hand?). This bit I found both fluid and fascinating because, well, what Beatlefan hasn't wondered what in blazes do they do all day?: "His touring routine is well established: breakfast, a workout, perhaps a massage, then meetings with his team. If the weather's clement and security conditions are favourable, a bike [...]

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Man Plays Yesterday During Brain Surgery

By Michael Gerber|2015-07-17T11:38:10-07:00June 8, 2015|Beatle-inspired|

I just had to forward this. Yeah, he's kinda slow on some of the chord changes, but...STILL IMPRESSIVE. I'm putting this into the category "Beatle-inspired" because, holy moley that's fandom. Somewhere, John Lennon is miffed because the guy isn't playing "I Am the Walrus." https://youtu.be/zgs6viZaMOM

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Wanna Live-Tweet Something?

By Michael Gerber|2015-05-17T21:54:36-07:00May 17, 2015|Movies, Uncategorized|

(We all live in a) Twitter Submarine Yesterday, my dear wife learned via Twitter that a group of people would be queueing up the 80s Henson-and-Bowie fever-dream Labrynith on Netflix at 4:00 pm PST, and then live-tweeting it. She had a ball, and it got me to thinking: should we do this on Hey Dullblog? Unfortunately the only directly Beatle-ish offerings on Netflix are Nowhere Boy and Good Ol' Freda, either of which would be fun, but not the crazed free-for-all of, say, The Beatles Anthology. If we widen it out a bit, there's Who is Harry Nilsson (and Why is Everybody [...]

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Ziggy Stardust was McCartney? Could be…

By Michael Gerber|2016-01-11T18:33:13-08:00May 16, 2015|Beatle-inspired, David Bowie, John and Paul|

J.R. Clark, guest Dullblogger • Of the many personas David Bowie created during his entertainment career, perhaps none was more memorable and influential than the protagonist of his song, “Ziggy Stardust”. The song tells the story of a musician in a rock band who becomes famous. The fame makes him conceited; he seizes control of the band from the other members, and the fame ultimately destroys the band and the musician. David Bowie, 1971 Rock music fans in general, and Bowie fans in particular, continue to debate which musician(s) Bowie drew upon for inspiration in writing the song, including Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Marc Bolan, Gene [...]

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Call for Submissions!

By Michael Gerber|2015-12-30T11:50:10-08:00March 29, 2015|Housekeeping|

Hey folks! As you might have noticed, Dullblog's content flow has been lighter over this last month or so. Nancy and Devin do what they can, but they have day jobs, bless 'em, and my new gig (I'm writing for The Huffington Post's new weekly satire show) makes it impossible for me to spew as prolifically as I have in the past. So: lemons. But we here at Hey Dullblog would like to make some lemonade. We are, for the first time in the seven-odd years of the site, officially calling for submissions. Any of you who would like to write a [...]

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1965: The Most Revolutionary Year In Music

By Michael Gerber|2015-03-11T22:00:15-07:00March 11, 2015|1965, books|

Gentle Readers, the following is an excerpt from Andrew Jackson's "1965: The Most Revolutionary Year In Music." You'll have to read the book to decide whether his title speaks the truth, but in the meantime here's Andrew's take on The Beatles, Dick Lester, and the little-known bit of 60s cinema called "The Knack…and How to Get It." My only question is -- having seen the movie once, about 20 years ago -- is Ray Brooks obviously John Lennon? The author is giving a reading tonight (Thurs 3/12) at Los Angeles' Book Soup. And of course, videos, playlists, and more excerpts can be [...]

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Lennon: Through a Glass Onion

By Michael Gerber|2015-02-22T13:06:32-08:00February 22, 2015|Beatle-inspired, New York City|

In a rather shocking display of feckless self-absorption, I just discovered in my inbox a months-old email touting the musical performance Lennon: Through a Glass Onion. Musicians John R. Waters and Stewart D'Arietta are performing a slate of Lennon's work -- written both with and without his Beatles -- at the Union Square Theatre, on 100 East 17th Street. Just the kind of thing Dullblog readers would want to know about, right? Apparently not. Apparently my disjointed mewlings are far more important than an actual professional performer, singing and playing some of John Lennon's songs, for cash money, in Lennon's adopted hometown. [...]

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Give Greece a Chance

By Michael Gerber|2015-02-12T11:55:39-08:00February 12, 2015|Politics|

Thousands of Greek citizens have gathered in Athens' Syntagma Square in front of the Greek Parliament, where they hope to prevent a continuation of austerity policies. The protest signs have a bit of a Beatle flavor. One, two, three, four, can I have a little more? Everybody's talkin' about ministers and sinisters Somewhere, John Lennon is smiling. You can read more about the situation here -- suffice to say that the government just passed a budget that pisses off both citizens who are tired of cuts to pensions and services, and lenders who wanted a quicker paydown. But [...]

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About Michael Gerber