Uncategorized Archives | Page 7 of 12 | Hey Dullblog, the Beatles fan blog

Krall does Paul: McCartney cover on “Wallflower”

By Nancy Carr|2015-04-21T13:37:55-07:00March 9, 2015|Covers, Diana Krall, Paul McCartney, Uncategorized, Unreleased/Outtakes|

NANCY CARR * On her new album "Wallflower," Diana Krall covers "If I Take You Home Tonight," a song Paul McCartney wrote while working on "Kisses on the Bottom" but didn't release. (Not clear if he recorded a version.) I think the romantic ballad blends in seamlessly with the late 1960s to 1970s songs that make up the rest of Krall's album. Listen for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIKrLDyBmGc I can see why McCartney didn't use this on "Kisses," but why didn't he put it on "New"? To my ear it's far better than either "Hosanna" or "Looking At Her," which I think are the two [...]

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“Art of McCartney” tribute album mostly meh

By Nancy Carr|2014-11-25T07:56:03-08:00November 25, 2014|Beatles tributes, Bob Dylan, Covers, Paul McCartney, Uncategorized, Wings|

NANCY CARR * The recently released "Art of McCartney" tribute album could have been--should have been--so much better. Lots of songs and lots of artists, many of them big names. But the album suffers from two major problems: the track list is weighted toward songs that have been covered a lot (often better than here), and too many of the performers stick so close to the original arrangements that at times the effect is Karaoke Night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For example, both Billy Joel cuts, "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "Live and Let Die," are virtual reenactments of [...]

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Imagine Beatles chocolates

By Nancy Carr|2014-04-22T09:51:50-07:00April 22, 2014|Beatle-inspired, Beatles merch, Paul McCartney, Ram, The White Album, Uncategorized|

Linda, I need another chocolate stat! NANCY CARR * Spring is finally here, and the holy people are out smelling the grass in the meadow. It’s the perfect time to have a Monkberry Moon Delight chocolate, courtesy of the folks at Imagine Chocolate. Appropriately, it has plenty of nuts. And it's part of the "Sir Paul" assortment, of course. If you're not feeling that much sweetness, you could try something from the White Album assortment. But you'll have to have them all pulled out after the Savoy Truffle. [Note: I found these by happenstance while looking up the lyrics [...]

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The Beatles without earmuffs

By Michael Gerber|2014-01-31T12:06:45-08:00January 31, 2014|1964, Uncategorized|

Does anyone else find this photo reeeally creepy? This past week, I've been watching the early James Bond movies obsessively, as research for a new novel. Personally, I prefer From Russia With Love over Goldfinger for two reasons: 1) I prefer gritty Cold War spycraft over glitz and gadgets; and 2) Bond takes a completely gratuitous swipe at the Fabs in the first section of Goldfinger, right before he gets karate chopped and Jill Masterson gets gilded. ("Skin suffocation" is debunked here.) The video's weird, sorry; the Beatles quip comes at about :30. The rest is a bizarre mini-cut of [...]

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“Revolution No. 9” as one of the top 5 Beatles songs? Get real.

By Nancy Carr|2014-02-06T06:53:30-08:00January 28, 2014|Beatles Criticism, Beatles lists, Reviews, The White Album, Tim Riley, Uncategorized|

NANCY CARR * Quick—what’s the most untypical song the Beatles released, and the one I’d bet 99% of Beatles fans listen to least? Well, that’s the one that Tim Riley, the author of Tell Me Why and a well-reviewed Lennon biography, calls the fifth best Beatles song in an article in this recently released magazine special. All together now: “Number 9, Number 9, Number 9 . . .” Of course any list of “The Top Five Beatles Songs” is, at this point in the 21st century, going to have to include a startling pick if it’s going to get any attention at [...]

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Phil Rickman’s “December”: Wrestling with Lennon’s ghost

By Nancy Carr|2013-12-07T07:50:41-08:00December 7, 2013|1980, Beatle-inspired, Beatles fiction, books, Double Fantasy, John Lennon, Reviews, Uncategorized|

It's hard to write Beatles-related fiction without backing yourself into a corner NANCY CARR * What Beatles fan who was alive in 1980 hasn't wished he or she could have done something to prevent Lennon's murder? And what thoughtful Lennon fan hasn't been troubled by the contradictions manifested in Lennon's personality and life? Those questions drive Phil Rickman's 1996 novel December, a worthy read for this time of year despite its flaws. The book's action starts on December 8, 1980, not at the Dakota in New York City, but at a decrepit abbey in the Welsh countryside where a band fraying [...]

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“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 [...]

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Beatles at the BBC, Volume 2: clearly enjoyable

By Nancy Carr|2013-11-17T05:47:17-08:00November 16, 2013|1964, BBC, Uncategorized|

Just before Paul warned George not to stick that Rickenbacker into John's ear NANCY CARR * I've been listening to "On Air: Live at the BBC Volume 2" pretty continuously the past few days, and it's great fun (unsurprisingly, for anyone who's heard volume 1). Of particular note is the astounding clarity of the sound. The warmth and immediacy of the recordings is a large part of what makes the set such a pleasure to listen to. What a superb job of mastering and transferring. "Volume 2" has more between-song talk than "Volume 1," which provides a fascinating window into the [...]

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McCartney, “New,” and “generic genius”: rebutting Ben Greenman

By Nancy Carr|2013-10-16T15:34:36-07:00October 15, 2013|Paul McCartney, Uncategorized|

The new McCartney album, "MEM." NANCY CARR • The "New" album is the occasion for Ben Greenman of The New Yorker to opine about Paul McCartney's "generic genius." That's very much "generic" as in "bland and undistinguished," not as in "genre-spanning." Greenman asserts that the album's title is "almost comically inaccurate," but appears unaware that his own critique recycles cliches about McCartney that are drastic oversimplifications when they're not flat-out false. Now, I haven't heard the whole album yet, so I'm not going to speak to Greenman's assessment of it. What I want to discuss are his sweeping statements about McCartney's [...]

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Full of turtle thoughts

By Ed Park|2013-08-01T04:56:16-07:00July 13, 2013|Revolver, Uncategorized|

As mentioned before, my introduction to a new edition of Russell Hoban's Turtle Diary compares it to "Eleanor Rigby." A version of the essay can now be read at Slate.

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