The Beatles

Yesterday

But, honestly, their best does not top the best songs from the Stones or Zepplin or Pink Floyd.

They are all equally great, though.

 

?

 

Or Salt-N-Pepa

 

With a little help from Cary Grant and LSD

 

That's sort of where I am. I don't mind listening to the Beatles. I've owned a few albums. My wife is a huge Beatles fan and has a John Lennon shirt that has been on its death bed (irony, huh?) for about 20 years. They made a lot of good songs. I might like more Beatles songs than Elvis songs. But I don't like any Beatles song more than my favorite 3-5 Elvis songs. I hope that clarifies my position on the Beatles.

 

1. Hard Days Night
2. Back In the USSR
3. In My Life
4. Day In the Life
5. Help!

In that exact order.

BTW, it really is a to-each-its-own thing with Beatles records. I've never gotten the big fuss over Revolver. To me, it's a very uneven record. Lots of great, very forward-looking songs, but a lot of filler (Dr. Roberts? Please.) IMO, their best, most complete album was Rubber Soul. Never get tired of it.

 

Bubbler -- that's great your kids have been introduced to the Beatles. I, too, have enjoyed pulling out a Beatles CD or LP ( ) and showing my fourth and sixth-grader that Paul McCartney and John Lennon have songs that are, oh, a bit better than "Wonderful Christmastime."

I used to raid my parents' record collection as a 9, 10 and 11 year old and play Rubber Soul, Sgt. Peppers, the White Album. It was a good place to start learning about pop music then, and it still is. As others have said, you put on a Beatles record and there are few, if any, clunkers on there.

When I reached my mid-20s (uh, that was a few years ago, unfortunately) and started playing guitar, I gained a much greater appreciation of how talented the Beatles were as musicians. Their songs sound so simple and effortless ... until you try to play them.

Oh, and Bob Cook ... long live Terri Hemmert and WXRT!

 

One of the greatest lines I ever heard was in an interview with George where he was asked what it was like to be a Beatle. He said, "I can't answer that. What's it like to not be one." It was in that Beatle documentary on ABC about 15 years ago.


Fucking Yoko.

 

That's the one I'm talkin' bout!

I will say, this is the best example of late Beatles rocking out a live performance ... in fact, it's as late-period as she comes.

 

my take is that for some, "the beatles" are too "pop-y," not gritty enough, as opposed to, say, "the stones" or "the who." paul may have been two pretty.

they're prodigous songwriters who turned out an amazingly large catalog over a seven-year period, during which their evolution as artists was something to witness.

i agree that "rubber soul" may have been their best. another point: i contend that no other rock band i can recall have TWO of the greatest rock-out voices EVER. mccartney and lennon were amazing vocalists.

 

Favorite Beatles song: Let It Be.

The favorite is easy. I'd dither over a top 5 list for days, however.

The story in the opening post reminded me of when I was a kid. My dad bought me a Van Morrison album (a greatest hits CD) for Christmas whe I was about 13. I whined that it was Old People Music and studiously did not listen to it throughout high school.

I didn't really start absorbing pre-1990 music until about mid-way through college (my "gateway" was Springsteen's "The Rising" after 9/11, which led me to his older work, which led me to other artists) but that Van Morrison album is now one of my favorites, and one of the few CDs I haven't sold off as I've slowly but surely converted all my music to my computer.

The Beatles, however, I got into a lot sooner. For some reason, they've stayed "cool" and somehow acceptable for basically everyone to like, which sadly shapes a lot of musical taste in high school.

 

I go back and forth between Revolver and Rubber Soul as the best. I think if I'm in a party mood, it'd be Rubber Soul, but Revolver when in a mellow mood.

And I know most people think of Something and Here Comes the Sun as George Harrison's best song. But I would opt for Taxman and I Want to Tell You off Revolver, a largely Lennon-free album