Posted on 12/22/2004 11:56:06 AM PST by qam1
Greg Hassall and Charles Purcell do battle over the fab four.
FOR
OK, Ob-la-di Ob-la-da is the most annoying song ever written. And you won't find Revolution No 9 on too many iPods. But how many bands' dud tracks can you count on one hand? The Beatles deserve their place in the pop pantheon. They revolutionised the way pop music was written, recorded and talked about. They were funny, charismatic, hungry to learn and unafraid of controversy. They matured spectacularly over seven tumultuous years, then quit on a high note with the peerless Abbey Road.
They were a genuine band, in that the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. The three writers spurred each other on and checked each other's excesses (McCartney's sentimentality, Lennon's bile and Harrison's cod mysticism). In one throwaway B-side, Rain, they created the template for psychedelic Britpop, a genre lesser bands spend an entire career mining. Their refusal to write the same song twice resulted in a catalogue of breathtaking diversity, while producer George Martin gave the recordings a unique, uncluttered sound that refuses to date. And, as the age of the drum solo dawned, Ringo kept it real, underpinning the Beatles' sound with undemonstrative precision.
Greg Hassall
AGAINST
Pretty much everyone in the '60s must have been on drugs - that's the only reason I can imagine why the Beatles were so popular. They had about three decent songs: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Eleanor Rigby - and that other one, the one that doesn't suck. It's a riddle greater than the pyramids as to why a group of English fops with ridiculous hairstyles could make entire crowds of grown adults faint in awe. John Lennon? A prancing popinjay. Paul McCartney? A ponce. George Harrison? Vanity in the shape of a man. Ringo Starr?
A cool dude - the only one.
OK, so the Beatles recorded on top of a building. Big deal. OK, so they hung out with the Maharishi. Is that supposed to give their dire tunes spiritual worth?
"But they were a major influence in the history of rock'n'roll," some might bleat. Sure they were - but does that mean the baby boomers have to force their boring Beatlemania down our craws year after year, decade after decade?
I'm glad Yoko Ono helped split them up. She's the true heroine of this story. Too bad she's also a lousy artist.
And Wings. Don't get me started on McCartney's sad side project. That's another story.
- Charles Purcell
I have to admit that "Hey Jude" is one annoying song.
I was born in 1968, what do I care about the stinking Beatles?
I missed the whole free-love scene, so taken as a rock band, they just don't rock.....
The Beatles, like most of what came of that generation, sucked.
Charles Purcell must have been a Dave Clark Five fan.
I always liked the Stones a lot better.
My pledge: I will buy any new Beatle release. I will buy it even if it is only a repackaging of old material. I will buy it if they didn't even bother to repackage it. I may even buy multiple copies. I will buy it even if they are giving it away.
You want "sucked"? Try listening carefully for the crap that passes itself off as music today.
One of my least favorite. They, and the Doors, make me hate Classic Rock format radio.
These guys are only talking about the late stuff. If you know anything about the Beatles (MY day, BTW, and yes I did see them live)you have to go pre Sgt. Pepper.
So what are you saying? Do you like the Beatles or not?
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I'm curious to know what 21st Century bands are considered "good."
Donning my asbestos suit in advance....I ignored the Beatles whenever possible. There was too much really great R & B out there at the time for me to feel like I missed something.
Or as I ask my daughter (age 18) - do you see yourself humming a snnop dog "song" while you are driving 20 years from now?
I always thought the Beatles were good. And I was born in the mid-70's, not exactly their "prime era".
For sheer musical and cultural impact in history there is none that compare to the Beatles. Zip Zilch Nada Zero Goose Egg None.
I agree.
I'm a Kinks guy myself. Ray Davies could write rings around Lennon and McCartney.
Shadows Fall
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