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'll try to explain it: Beatles music is the aural equivalent of great literature, in that you can listen to it on hundreds of different levels, and each time you listen, you can discover something new, or notice one little part that contributes so much to the whole. Not every Beatles song is a masterpiece, of course, but a surprising number of them are, especially their studio work. The craftsmanship that went into their music is simply outstanding.
That ranks as one of the most stupid analogies I've ever read.
The immensity of your ignorance is bursting forth every time you comment on the Beatles. It's one thing to say "I don't like them", which bears to be respected because that is your choice.
It's another thing altogether different to say they "sucked", because you simply haven't a clue as to what went on between 1962 and 1970.
I don't think The Beatles "suck", but certainly not the musical messiahs many seem to think they were.
Some CDs in my car:
Steely Dan
Blackball
Dire Straits
Rich Mullins
Blindside
Project 86
Dryve
East West
I discovered the Beatles a good 10 years after they split, but to this day, their music stands as classic. They deserve all the accolades they got and more.
Me too. Personal favorites: "Waterloo Sunset," "God's Children," "Alcohol," "Oklahoma, USA," "Sunny Afternoon," and "20th Century Man."
I'm also a big fan of "Low Budget" and "One for the Road," but that was a different era completely.
Norwegian Wood is a total ripoff of the Dylan classic 4th Time Around from the Blonde on Blonde record.
I laughed my A$$ off at all my silly friends who were buying up every Beatle record they could find to spin them backwards for the "Paul is dead" clues. It was even more entertaining than when Iron Butterfly showed up for a concert at Penn State (1969)with NO INSTRUMENTS because they'd been confiscated that day in Canada. The organist got up to the mike and asked if anyone would be willing to loan them guitars, amps, drums, etc.
Although a few of Paul's solo efforts were less than average, there were a couple standouts -- Band on the Run and Wings Over America. The latter was recorded during the 1976 tour. .....an amazing show (I saw the L.A. Forum gig).
If you like 70's and 80's rock, it is absolutely an absurdity to say that the Beatles sucked. They only paved the way for everything rock that came after them.
THREE GOOD SONGS? AHEM.
Yesterday. Getting Better. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Get Back. While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Two of Us. Here Comes the Sun. Let it Be. Maxwell's Silver Hammer. When I'm Sixty-Four. Blackbird. Revolution (not #9). Across the Universe. Long and Winding Road. Eleanor Rigby. Penny Lane. Magical Mystery Tour. Strawberry Fields Forever.
Get the point? That's a lot more than three.
In my opinion only......
To say that the Beatles suck is like saying that the BeeGees suck. In order to say that, one must only listen to their top 40 hits.
If one would like to appreciate either band, one must listen to all of their music.
I know the top 40 stuff of the Beatles. Those songs are part of the soundtrack of my life. Because of an older sister who won a "Hard Days Night" album from WIXY 1260 in Cleveland, the songs are familiar and comforting. I am not a big fan, but they did change our culture. I can't say for the better.
The BeeGees are the same. Because of the "Saturday Night Fever" era, people think their music is garbage. However, listening to the "Nights on Broadway" era of their music is my favorite.
But all in all, it's opinion, nothing more. If someone is stating an opinion, I feel that they should hear the entire library.
bands break up and go away because they run out of things to say...see "pearl jam"...Stones have survived because they never had anything to say to start with
Blind Guardian
Charon
Iced Earth
Nightwish
Angel Dust
Sorry couldn't resist... :0)
He wrote that about me.
FWIW, my 11 year old grandaughter loves to play the stuff on the piano.
"The Hives, Vines, White Stripes, Franz Ferdinand, Evanescence"
are you serious? these bands suck it.. royally!
His one-liners (the extent of the words in his works) would be great in 20-second soundbytes.
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