The Beatles: What am I missing?

[bobarian]

Originally Posted by icehog3

I'm an Aunt Bea man.....

The other Bea is very dissapointed.

[MNSmoker]

You like what you like. Different strokes and all that jazz. You don't like The Beatles, and that's OK. Personally I love The Beatles and I think they're the greatest band of all time.

I'd like to preface this by stating that I'm 29 years old, so I never got to experience The Beatles music when it was first released. My dad and uncle are gigantic Beatles fans, so I've grown up with The Beatles my whole life.

The Beatles essentially started out as a pop band, but the progression that the band made musically over their career is nothing short of amazing to me. They encompassed many different genres of music and were a very experimental group. I'm still blown away by how creative that group was. With songs like "The Long and Winding Road", "Eleanor Rigby", "Yesterday" and "A Day in the Life", I'm still in awe of these songs after listening to them a thousand times over. And the songwriting of these guys was brilliant! I still get goosebumps every time I hear the song "In my Life".

And then there's the whole social aspect of the group's impact and the following British Invasion, but I'm too young to speak on that directly.

I'd also like to add that a small, but important, part of The Beatles success was the direction and musical addition of George Martin. He produced practically all of The Beatles albums and had a direct influence on the group and how their music progressed over the years.

Again, to each their own. And I love Led Zeppelin BTW

[irratebass]

Originally Posted by blugill

I'll start off by saying I don't get it. I'm 41, listened to them on the radio when they were on the radio. Was a paperboy in high school and frequently heard the radio documentaries about their life and times every weekend but I don't get it.

I'd be perfectly happy to never listen to another Beatles tune and not regret it. I know a lot of people still listen to them, but I find their stuff tired, dated, and not really relevant today.

Now Led Zeppelin on the other hand!

Originally Posted by MNSmoker

You like what you like. Different strokes and all that jazz. You don't like The Beatles, and that's OK. Personally I love The Beatles and I think they're the greatest band of all time.

I'd like to preface this by stating that I'm 29 years old, so I never got to experience The Beatles music when it was first released. My dad and uncle are gigantic Beatles fans, so I've grown up with The Beatles my whole life.

The Beatles essentially started out as a pop band, but the progression that the band made musically over their career is nothing short of amazing to me. They encompassed many different genres of music and were a very experimental group. I'm still blown away by how creative that group was. With songs like "The Long and Winding Road", "Eleanor Rigby", "Yesterday" and "A Day in the Life", I'm still in awe of these songs after listening to them a thousand times over. And the songwriting of these guys was brilliant! I still get goosebumps every time I hear the song "In my Life".

And then there's the whole social aspect of the group's impact and the following British Invasion, but I'm too young to speak on that directly.

I'd also like to add that a small, but important, part of The Beatles success was the direction and musical addition of George Martin. He produced practically all of The Beatles albums and had a direct influence on the group and how their music progressed over the years.

Again, to each their own. And I love Led Zeppelin BTW

I agree with Smoker on all accounts, I was around the beatles all my life, my stepdad was the biggest fan I ever met. I didn't get to fully appreciate them until I was in my late 20's I had heard their big hits, but never REALLY listened to them then I started out slowly and discovered just how brilliant these 4 guys were, as someone and a lot of people have already said they were doing stuff that no one else had done. They re-invented the wheel when it comes to music, all of their stuff was so original and groundbreaking.

As smoker mentioned George Martin gave them an AMAZING sound, throw on Revolver put your headphones on and just listen to dynamic sound seeping in your ears, then put in an Eagles, Cars or Fleetwood Mac (just throwing a few randoms) the production cannot be touched. Same with Jimi Hendrix, NO ONE sounds like them the way they were produced.

But away from the production they were just brilliant musicians. I have always felt like they were 4 aliens who came to Earth made amazing sounds then left us too briefly.....but that's just my

[Bill86]

I'll toss my hat into the "not a Beatles fan" group. I mean a few of their songs are good but I don't get it.

Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones

I don't think there is a single moment of any day I wouldn't want to hear the Stones or Floyd.

I'm not a Stones fan either. The Beatles came up with better stuff in their heroin addicted, acid crazed period than the Stones anyway. During their kid-pop days the Stones were more edgy. I'm not a fan of the total separation mixing that the Beatles used in their production unless it is for special effect. They never thought of putting the drum kit at the bottom of a stairwell and the mic at the top (Levee Breaks). Pink Floyd and Zep also explored many genres of music and were very creative songwriters, though Floyd was sometimes pretty far out there, Animals will always be one of my favorites. I was a complete Beatles nut when I was a kid and can still sing along with almost every song that I hear so maybe I should re-explore my album collection. Antique music now.

[madwilliamflint]

Bunch of overrated guttersnipes.

Did their time, practiced their ass off, were really tight and were one of the stepping stones on the path to the discovery of rock and roll. So they have their place.

But good lord does their music make my ears hurt.

[shilala]

I feel exactly the same way, both the Beatles and Zep. I usually get skewered for saying I don't care if I ever hear another Pink Floyd song again. I've had more than enough.
Same as always, to each his own, smoke what ya like...

[OLS]

Doesn't "get" Elvis, lol.

It's simple. In order to "get" Bix Beiderbecke, you have to have tolerated whatever came a generation
before him. In order to get Buddy Holly, you had to understand what came one or two generations behind
HIM. In order to "get" Elvis, you needed to know about Count Basie, the big bands, and 50 other 1940s acts
branching into whatever stuck up white milktoast music people were digging 20 years before him. In order to
get the Beatles, you have to get Elvis. Everything built on or was a Violent reaction to everything that came
before it. People who like Hip Hop listen to the Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash and think "people actually
LISTENED TO THIS??" Elvis was a gigantic innovator not only because of what he did, but what color he was
doing it. He took music that people wanted to get into (but couldn't) or wouldn't, because it was "colored
music" When they found out he was a white kid, the lid came off the whole deal. The Beatles listened to Elvis
and tried to copy and out-swing him. With music you either like it or not. No need to question why you don't
get it. But it is very enriching to study American popular music since the 1880s and see the tree grow.

You may not know this, but in England, before Buddy Holly and Elvis, the popular british bands at the
time were playing a music that equates to Dixieland Jazz (skiffle). Yes, the people in the Rolling Stones
were playing skiffle before they heard these records. Can you imagine what those race records did to
those kids when they heard them?? Talk about blowing the lid off of something.

Originally Posted by shilala

I feel exactly the same way, both the Beatles and Zep. I usually get skewered for saying I don't care if I ever hear another Pink Floyd song again. I've had more than enough.
Same as always, to each his own, smoke what ya like...

Ack!!!! Skewer him!!!!

[OLS]

Originally Posted by shilala

I feel exactly the same way, both the Beatles and Zep. I usually get skewered for saying I don't care if I ever hear another Pink Floyd song again. I've had more than enough.
Same as always, to each his own, smoke what ya like...

I am like this in that I can't listen to classic rock to save my life. I heard it new, I heard it as the
alternative to the new 70s and 80's am POP, I heard it as the 'classic alternative to alternative.
I have heard it over and over til I am blue in the face with it. That's why I latched on completely to punk
and alternative music. I didn't care what it was as long as it was NEW. That was great stuff in the 60s
and 70s, but don't make me listen to it now. I made it even worse on myself when I was in the service.
I had already lived the genre, then I would go down to the Sound Shop at the Gulfport mall and buy 'cutouts'.
People who are old like me remember cutouts. They were out of print record albums that had been lined up
in long stacks and had a circular saw run over the right hand corner, removing a half inch piece of the album cover.
For a buck apiece, I bought all these records, 100's of em and played them all over again for ten MORE years.
Yeah, I am done with classic rock, lol.

[ktblunden]

Some bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis, and Led Zeppelin had such an impact on music at the time they came out that they will forever be remembered as some of the greatest artists ever. For people of their time periods, they were. They played stuff people had never heard before. They contributed to and influenced music as it sounds today. However, the newer generations have their own music they identify with, and the older acts don't always hold up after all this time has passed.

I don't begrudge people who think Led Zeppelin is the greatest band ever, but I also ask that they don't begrudge my opinion that I can't stand their music. I think you can respect the influence of the older acts without being forced to like and worship their music. There is a tendency on both sides of the aisle to look down on the other for either "living in the past" or for "not respecting the past." Both sides need to realize that everyone's taste in music is different.

All that being said, I really like later Beatles stuff. Their early songs are way too formulaic and trite for me, but the later stuff has some really impressive songwriting and structure.

[Ashcan Bill]

Originally Posted by shilala

I feel exactly the same way, both the Beatles and Zep. I usually get skewered for saying I don't care if I ever hear another Pink Floyd song again. I've had more than enough.
Same as always, to each his own, smoke what ya like...

There are two groups from the "era" I've never had any use for. Floyd and the Bee Gees. The first I've always kinda considered to pretty much be stoner music, although I always preferred Ozzie when indulging. The second, I just don't know what the hell to call it.

Originally Posted by OLS

I am like this in that I can't listen to classic rock to save my life. I heard it new, I heard it as the
alternative to the new 70s and 80's am POP, I heard it as the 'classic alternative to alternative.
I have heard it over and over til I am blue in the face with it. That's why I latched on completely to punk
and alternative music. I didn't care what it was as long as it was NEW. That was great stuff in the 60s
and 70s, but don't make me listen to it now. I made it even worse on myself when I was in the service.
I had already lived the genre, then I would go down to the Sound Shop at the Gulfport mall and buy 'cutouts'.
People who are old like me remember cutouts. They were out of print record albums that had been lined up
in long stacks and had a circular saw run over the right hand corner, removing a half inch piece of the album cover.
For a buck apiece, I bought all these records, 100's of em and played them all over again for ten MORE years.
Yeah, I am done with classic rock, lol.

My beef with the so called "classic rock" stations are their extremely limited play lists. They take 100 songs from a period that produced tens of thousands, and keep playing them over and over until it becomes nauseating. I always wonder about the IQs of the people that put together the play lists. When was the last time you heard Savoy Brown on "classic rock" radio?

[ktblunden]

Originally Posted by Ashcan Bill

My beef with the so called "classic rock" stations are their extremely limited play lists. They take 100 songs from a period that produced tens of thousands, and keep playing them over and over until it becomes nauseating. I always wonder about the IQs of the people that put together the play lists. When was the last time you heard Savoy Brown on "classic rock" radio?

Agreed 100%. I lump all radio stations in with this, even satellite radio. I found XM to be so fresh when I first got it, but I've come to the conclusion that those stations have their standard playlists as well and day-to-day you hear the exact same songs (often times at the same time of day as well).

[Bruins Fan]

Originally Posted by blugill

I'll start off by saying I don't get it. I'm 41, listened to them on the radio when they were on the radio. Was a paperboy in high school and frequently heard the radio documentaries about their life and times every weekend but I don't get it.

I'd be perfectly happy to never listen to another Beatles tune and not regret it. I know a lot of people still listen to them, but I find their stuff tired, dated, and not really relevant today.

Now Led Zeppelin on the other hand!

You answered your own question,your only 41 and was not around in the 60's to see and be part of what was going on,it was sex,drugs,and rock and roll.
The Beatles were the tip of the spear that changed music

[The Poet]

You obviously don't realize it, brother, but the title of your thread states more than you likely intended. You ask, "What am I missing?", and not "What's all the fuss?". On some level, you seem to grasp that this is YOUR problem (or issue, if you prefer) and not the problem of those who DON'T "miss it".

As others have stated, you almost had to be there. I could go on for days, but there's not much point to it. Simply realize that, long after both you and I are dead, people will still be listening to The Beatles.

[ArgusP2]

A time, a place, and a state of mind.

I've listened and enjoyed all the groups and soloists mentioned above, except Miley Beiber, and I'm sure a few others of this generation's pre-teen sensations. I grew up mostly on Led Zepplin, Rush, Who and Rolling Stones. I've also grown to appreciate bands like Coldplay, Silversun Pickups and yes, Josh Grobin. It all depends on how each band, soloist or song spoke to you.
The Beatles, then and to some extent now, made a connection, just as the songs of today speak to us now (or don't).

A time, a place, and a state of mind.
Rocky Patel: What am I missing?

Just sayin'

[Starscream]

Originally Posted by maninblack

The Stones were the best British band in my opinion. But they've overstayed their welcome.

I prefer Queen myself.

[pektel]

Originally Posted by RevSmoke

They were doing things nobody was doing. Don't compare them to today.

EXACTLY. Listen to the other music being performed at that period in time. They were game changers.

Moreover, music today may very well have been HUGELY different if it weren't for the beatles.

[AD720]

[Parshooter]

Originally Posted by 14holestogie

If you listen to their earliest stuff next to their later stuff, the growth these guys showed in their 6-7 year life was unparallelled.

Thanks to drugs.