50 years of Beatlemania

[MrGongGong]

http://sabotagetimes.com/music/the-beatles-at-50-why-i-hate-the-fab-four/

[teamsaint]

Well they don't seem too popular on this thread but I thought they were wonderful - first single I bought with my own pocket money was 'From me to You'. They were down to earth kinda guys, it seemed to me as a twelve year old. Some wonderful and lasting songs along the way and with the help of George Martin did some very unusual and pretty innovative things - a great range of music. Paul gets a bad press but the guy could write a song in just about any style and make a good job of it, John had a great way with lyrics and I think they were very fine vocalists and by the end George was coming into his own. For seven years they changed the face of popular music and while you may not like what they did all the time they have created a great catalogue of songs - personally I can stick on any one of their records and find loads to enjoy.

I agree.One way of thinking about a band or musician is by considering, as a whole, the body of work which they created. This seems to me one reason to return to the Stones records for instance, despite...well, you know....

As for the bad press around Macca...well he's not my all time favourite personality, but his contribution to the biggest pop group of all time is surely immense, and he deserves judgement on his music , not his life story. (Wouldn't be too many core rep composers who would stand up to close character scrutiny?!)

The question of how inventive they were is also a really big question. As far as I am concerned, what mattered is that they took their audience to new places. Plenty of others in pop/rock were doing equally interesting things in 1966/68, but the beatles had the biggest audience, and the grabbed the opportunity to use that audience.
That is an important role, and what , as they are getting mentioned, OMD did in introducing a certain British audience to things like Kraftwerk.

I'd rather have seen Buddy Holly than the Beatles though...

[MrGongGong]

As for the bad press around Macca...well he's not my all time favourite personality, but his contribution to the biggest pop group of all time is surely immense, and he deserves judgement on his music , not his life story.

I couldn't give a monkeys about his life story
It's his fakery that gets me

and in order to judge the music
I give you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpevZ0-wUYQ

Which is fine if that's your bag

[gurnemanz]

I was 14 in 1963 and I've still got the records I bought. I subscribed to the Beatles Monthly mag. These are now collector's items, which my mother threw out while I was away at university, by which time I had subscribed to Gramophone instead and the Beatles were more or less finished. I can still listen to their songs now with huge pleasure.

Many highlights: I wanna hold your hand - (with ref to the girl next door); a camping holiday in Yugoslavia and Italy in Summer 68 with some student friends as first Russians tanks invaded Prague then we heard Hey Jude for the first time on the beach via Radio Luxembourg; Prof Wilf Mellers' Beatles lectures at York University.

[teamsaint]

Gongers,I'm not sure a world where we are all judged by our worst work is such a great idea.


(The great Ted Bates, the man who built Southampton FC into the footballing giant that it is today always used to talk about how he built teams around his players strengths, and found ways to deal with their weakneses)

what is this fakery? does it afflict only sir p?

[Beef Oven!]

I couldn't give a monkeys about his life story
It's his fakery that gets me

and in order to judge the music
I give you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpevZ0-wUYQ

Which is fine if that's your bag

So faced with the choice of only being able to push one of them off a cliff, who would it be, Bob Dylan or Paul McCartney?

[teamsaint]

So faced with the choice of only being able to push one of them off a cliff, who would it be, Bob Dylan or Paul McCartney?

I reckon Zimmo would go Like a rolling stone, leaving the fool on the hill?

cliff might not want them pushing off, anyway.

[MrGongGong]

So faced with the choice of only being able to push one of them off a cliff, who would it be, Bob Dylan or Paul McCartney?

Tough call mate
but I reckon Macca goes first
Dylan is a poet who sings (and a poor substitute for Tom Waits)

the fakery ?
Is that he claims not to be able to read music notation when more of less everything he has done has included people reading off scores. I'm not saying that notation is essential for all music BUT FFS he pretends that somehow this will get "in the way of his creativity maaaaan" so off the cliff he goes !
I mean,he had the god that is Alan Civil playing in the studio and didn't even bother to ask him what the dots meant Lazy, ignorant and rude (pretending to be Scottish as well)...... and another thing....... give me WHISKY

Many highlights: I wanna hold your hand

Wasn't that specially written for MrPee and OXOboy as part of the Winter Olympics opening ?

[cloughie]

I agree.One way of thinking about a band or musician is by considering, as a whole, the body of work which they created. This seems to me one reason to return to the Stones records for instance, despite...well, you know....

As for the bad press around Macca...well he's not my all time favourite personality, but his contribution to the biggest pop group of all time is surely immense, and he deserves judgement on his music , not his life story. (Wouldn't be too many core rep composers who would stand up to close character scrutiny?!)

The question of how inventive they were is also a really big question. As far as I am concerned, what mattered is that they took their audience to new places. Plenty of others in pop/rock were doing equally interesting things in 1966/68, but the beatles had the biggest audience, and the grabbed the opportunity to use that audience.
That is an important role, and what , as they are getting mentioned, OMD did in introducing a certain British audience to things like Kraftwerk.

I'd rather have seen Buddy Holly than the Beatles though...

ts Buddy Holly was a great influence on both the Stones and the Beatles and who knows what he would have done had he lived. Interesting that The Crickets (some with Bobby Vee) covered early Beatles tracks in the USA. As for the Beatles v Stones debate - it still goes on - I'd hate to be without either. You mention the 1966-8 era The Beatles had peaked by then with Rubber Soul/Revolver/Sgt Pepper - the White Album was not their best but George Harrison's input around and after this time was good. What made the Beatles good in their evolution was the catalyst and arranger, George Martin.
Macca's 50+ years of songwriting has it's highs and lows - then he's no different to others in that respect - Jagger/Richard have not come up with many gems since 'Start me up'. What did OMD write?

[teamsaint]

which is fine Gongers, but doesn't address the business of judging composers by their worst work?

We cut endless numbers of musicians endless amounts of slack don't we? and we just go back to the good stuff. Of course if there is no good stuff, thats a different story.

Cloughie: the question of what Buddy would have gone on to do is one that I return to frequently,in a way that I don't with any other musician. (though I accept this is my failing).

[cloughie]

the fakery ?
Is that he claims not to be able to read music notation when more of less everything he has done has included people reading off scores.
I mean,he had the god that is Alan Civil playing in the studio and didn't even bother to ask him what the dots meant

I guess George Martin had most to do with that!

By 'eck GG Macca seems to have rattled your cage heavily over the years!

[MrGongGong]

which is fine Gongers, but doesn't address the business of judging composers by their worst work?

Ok
How about "Mull of Kintyre" then

and OMD had a song about the phone box at the end of our road
which is more than can be said for the comedy variety troupe that "macca" headed up

(That's A JOKE by the way)

I guess George Martin had most to do with that!

probably because "saint" Paul was too busy washing his hair or some other tosser activity and couldn't really give a toss about MUSIC ? how can one be SO disinterested ?
Effing Boy Bands

[Beef Oven!]

Ok
How about "Mull of Kintyre" then

and OMD had a song about the phone box at the end of our road
which is more than can be said for the comedy variety troupe that "macca" headed up

(That's A JOKE by the way)


probably because "saint" Paul was too busy washing his hair or some other tosser activity and couldn't really give a toss about MUSIC ? how can one be SO disinterested ?
Effing Boy Bands

Doesn't Denny claim to have written that pile of pooh? Mull Of Kintyre, I mean.

[MrGongGong]

Doesn't Denny claim to have written that pile of pooh? Mull Of Kintyre, I mean.

I think you might me mixing me up with someone who gives a sh...............

[Beef Oven!]

I think you might me mixing me up with someone who gives a sh...............

Although if you could get your name on the royalties cheque, you'd give a sh... alright!