Beatlemania

[zayg]

I figured we should have a thread on arguably the most popular band of the past 100 years.

I never really got into them until earlier this year. One day I listened to the Magical Mystery Tour CD that my parents got me when I was a child while stoned, and it finally all clicked with me more than just simply thinking it was good music. I have this endless struggle where I can't really determine which album is my favorite. Lately I've been jamming the White Album and Abbey Road a lot. However, I think my favorite has to be Rubber Soul. It is crazy how amazing that album is when the stuff that came directly before it I find hard to listen to.

So guys, what are your favorite albums and songs? Who is the biggest qt (George obv), and who is the ugly duckling of the group (sorry Paul)? Are you a Yoko hater? Do you also steal Beatles LPs from your parents' vinyl collection?

[hooplah]

hey there

i LOVE the beatles. they will forever and always be one of my favorite bands of all time. i have the white album and let it be (both japan pressings i guess, i got them off ebay with my first paycheck ever and they came with all sorts of stuff in japanese) on vinyl.

my favorite songs include

- across the universe
- a day in the life
- oh! darling
- something (probably my favorite love song of all time tbh, just really absolutely perfect)
- happiness is a warm gun (so good.)
- while my guitar gently weeps
- all my loving
- all you need is love (esp the part at the end where they sing 'she loves you')
- i want to hold your hand (so sweet)
- girl (v haunting, also probably the best part of the movie across the universe, though short: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOZcFdYolOw)
- in my life (sang this song for my dad's 60th birthday, he went around telling everyone i wrote it haha)

the beatles have played a fundamental role in my growing up. i think i got into them around freshman or sophomore year of high school. i knew all the old standards like yesterday and hey jude, but the first song i really really truly fell in love with was oh! darling, which remains to this day probably my favorite beatles song. there is a beatles song for every mood, i'm positively sure of it. i just love following their progression throughout the years. i love their twee, sweet love songs and their darker more psychedelic stuff as well. i think objectively, a day in the life is probably their best song, but i can't be sure as their oeuvre is just so massive. i love that they were champions of social progressivism, i love their attitudes and their vibes. i don't idolize them as saints. i like that they were human. and i just can't really get along with people who claim the beatles are overrated or not very good. i love the beatles.

[dzogchen]

I have over 13k scrobbled beatles tracks, all of them authentic scrobbles.

ask me anything.

http://www.last.fm/user/simon_lalala

[SteevMike]

beatles thoughts:

-the long and winding road is an extremely boring song

-She Said, She Said is good ammo when boring people go on about how untalented ringo was

-i have fewer problems with yoko ono than i do with john lennon

[chilljin]

being born in liverpool i appreciate the beatles but i just can't enjoy listening to them ever anymore

[UnwashedMolasses]

Top 9 Underappreciated Beatles Songs

9. Happiness Is A Warm Gun - fractured, fuzzed out, cynical, the best of the Beatles at their worst
8. Why Don't We Do It In The Road - mellowed out head-bobbing blues with an excellent vocal from McCartney
7. Tomorrow Never Knows - sitar is instantly dated but drum pattern and technical effects are hugely ahead of their time
6. Please Please Me - the first song that made a group of some Liverpool dudes "The Beatles"
5. I've Just Seen A Face - simple, pared down and sweet, true acoustic Beatles
4. Because - the Beatles flexing both their harmonic and compositional muscles
3. Hey Bulldog - released only on the Yellow Submarine soundtrack, a rock song only they could write
2. Dear Prudence - sublime bass work creates a much groovier effect than typical in such a beautiful song
1. Blue Jay Way - displays the early talent of Mr. Harrison and describes a kind of naively fatalistic despair

"I Am The Walrus" is definitely worth a listen, if only for the way John articulates the line "Mister city policeman sitting pretty little policemen in a row" - this kind of precisely off-kilter vocal performance is brilliant in the same way as Beyonce's "Drunk In Love".

If you can't tell, I'm a fan. Seems like I may be one of the only people who grew up thoroughly indoctrinated by parents in the music without rejecting it in later years. I've read biographies and played every song in their discography, which makes me sound more rabid than I am - their music is not something I consistently listen to, instead representing a massively comforting legacy that as a musician there's almost no choice but to respect.

Point of discussion so I'm not just rambling: how much does the Seinfeld effect alter today's perception of the Beatles? Is that a bad thing or an inevitability?

Last Fun fact: Eleanor Rigby (which could also be considered underrated despite its more widespread popularity) was covered by Wes Montgomery (woops, thanks ;D), perhaps most famous of jazz guitarists. The intro to Anderson's cover features an orchestral re-interpretation of the main theme, which was then sampled by Sisqo in "Thong Song".

[zayg]

The bass work in Dear Prudence really gets me every time.

I think I started to really listen to the Beatles after I read Norwegian Wood. Jammed a lot of Rubber Soul while high last year. I pretty much burnt myself out on Magical Mystery Tour too. Been digging the medley on Abbey Road though...I have She Came In Through The Bathroom Window in my head all day during class.