Folks, I’ve broken our worshipful silence for the best of reasons: a line on some paying work! Dullblogger Faith Current contacted me yesterday, asking if I knew any bright-eyed types to help her research and collate a vast Beatles project. In the free-wheeling and democratic spirit that made this blog great, I asked her to write up a job listing, which is posted below. Hope everyone is well, and enjoys the last-ever (?) Beatles song, coming next week. I occasionally run across a Fabs-related tidbit, so don’t be shocked if you see a post every, er, Now and Then.—MG Hi everyone (and thank you ..read more

Folks, this piece was in the editorial queue before Nancy and I decided to put this site on hiatus. To honor my commitment to Faith, I post it here. Enjoy.—MG BY FAITH CURRENT  St. Peter’s Church, Woolton Village, LiverpoolJanuary 11, 2023 “You’re lookin’ for Eleanor then?” The voice startles me — I’d thought I was alone and anyway, disembodied voices in cemeteries tend to be startling on any account.  I spin around to see an old man regarding me with a cryptic smile. He’s wearing a thick woolen overcoat and carrying a walking stick. Standing in the mist at the edge of the churchyar ..read more

After much discussion over several months, Nancy and I have decided to put Dullblog in the deep freeze, at least temporarily. We may post occasionally, but comments will be off. We’ll be leaving it up as an archive—for now. Diverting as it has been, Dullblog has never really fit with the rest of my professional life, and my first impulse was to send the other writers their posts, then nuke the site from space. But my wife convinced me that there might be people—perhaps someone housebound, as I was when Devin, Ed, and I began this site in 2008—for whom HD is a form of solace and entertainment ..read more

After reading my post on LA’s legendary radio station KHJ, commenter @Hieronymus wrote, This is fascinating, Michael. We are roughly the same age and while I’ve been obsessed with the Beatles and 60s culture since I hit double figures, I only really started digging DEEP into the 60s (aside from the Beatles) around 20 years (I know, ONLY 20 years ago, ha!) but what I soon became aware of was how necessary that deep digging was to really understand the world I grew up in. I think we came into this world at the start of the slowing down of whatever the hell it was that started in the mid-50s in ..read more

KHJ billboard, LA, 1960’s. Yesterday quite randomly I stumbled upon this archive of recordings from Los Angeles’ legendary rock and roll radio station, KHJ. “Boss 93” started in 1965, and for fourteen years was beloved by young groovers like Quentin Tarentino, who used the station as part of the soundscape behind Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. (Here’s a nice appreciation from Los Angeles Magazine.) I started with this hour, from April 24, 1966. As I listened, it made me aware of a bunch of things: 1) The furious pace of change in The Beatles’ music. We talk about this a lot, but here you rea ..read more

The float right BEFORE the John and Yoko one. Folks, sorry about that — the site went down yesterday for the most prosaic of reasons, an expired credit card on Autopay. We’re all good now. …or are we? I must admit my first thought was all the attackery, hackery and miscellaneous jackery the site’s been suffering over the last year. But no angry Floyd or VU fans were involved. Thank you for all the concerned messages. My favorite was, “Elliot Mintz hasn’t come after you for talking about Yoko and kink, has he??” To be honest, the single best PR move the Estate could make is to release a state ..read more

Friend of Dullblog (F.o.D.) Stephen Kroninger has just alerted me to the following Beatle merch blowout. These figurines are a little better likenesses than usual and, at $6.99, how wrong can you go ..read more

Regular commenter Victoria has patiently untangled the saga of John Lennon’s diaries, sorting through books and clippings to present us with an account worthy of film noir. I hope you find it as fascinating as I did. BTW, forgive any typos or funky formatting; I’m having terrible trouble with the backend. Just note any in the comments and I’ll fix.—MG There are certain Beatles-related artifacts that are known to us, yet remain tantalizingly out of reach: one famous example is Japanese Jailbird, Paul McCartney’s 20,000-word account of his nine-day-long imprisonment in Japan in 1980 due to a po ..read more

I refuse to go to London unless I can see Paul’s Magic Piano. Folks, a contributor is planning a trip to the UK in January and sent me this list of places to visit. “Did I miss any?” This, I thought, is a job for the commentariat! Did she miss any? Where else should she go? London British library Paul McCartney exhibit Abbey Road Cavendish Kenwood AppleLiverpool 20 Forthlin Mendips Julia’s house Casbah Cavern (such as it is) Gambier Terrace Liverpool Institute/Inny Beatles Museum Museum of Liverpool (Beatles exhibit) Jacaranda Grosvenor Litherland St. Peter’s Church (need to email to see the ..read more

As John F. Lyons (@JohnFLyons2) wrote on Twitter: “They have a vacancy, and he couldn’t do worse!” Vote Ringo Starr on the Peace & Love Platform!     ..read more