On the Beatles
I’ve noticed a certain Johnny Rotten-esque snotty attitude toward the Beatles developing on the Internet and elsewhere, and I’d like to say a few things about it. First of all, understand that the Beatles were never a proper band while I was alive; I was born one year after they broke up, so I’m not talking about some misty watercolored memories of my high school here. They are not the band of my generation. Neither are they something my parents listened to: my mother was into singer-songwriter Urban Cowboy type stuff from the likes of Crystal Gale, Jesse Colter and Kris Kristopherson, and my stepfather at the time listened almost exclusively to soft r&B (Peaches and Herb, George Benson, etc.). I found The Beatles by myself.
And they are awesome. A more lightning-strike melding of the musical impulses of four diversely talented individuals you’d be hard-pressed to find. Every man played a part, and it was beautifully played. I think some of the growing coolness toward The Beatles comes from the simple fact that to younger generations, they’ve always been around. Their music has been covered, analyzed, parodied, ripped off, used in commercials and cartoons, and basically been stripped of its charm. To these kids, The Beatles have always been around, and they’re bored of them. That’s understandable, but…kids, you have to understand that these songs didn’t exist until somebody wrote them. These perfect melodies didn’t just form on their own: they were crafted by four bewilderingly talented and prolific boys from Liverpool starting 50 years ago.
And people who say, ignorantly, “I don’t like The Beatles” are neglecting another truth: there are more than one version of The Beatles. You don’t like the Fab Four, mop-top period? Okay, fine, here’s the folksy, original songwriting-embracing Rubber Soul and Revolver period. You don’t like that? Fine, here’s their experimental, psychedelic era. Oh, you don’t like that? Fine, here’s their more mature, Abbey Road period. Oh, you don’t like that? Okay, try their funky, serious, end-of-the-road Let It Be version. Depending on what album you choose, and which songs from it, The Beatles are about a dozen different type of bands.
Oh, but you just “don’t like” The Beatles.
Well, then, I guess you just don’t like music, kid. Enjoy your Nickelback concert.
