Thread: Ask me about The Beatles!!!

Originally Posted by Universal Mind

Well, John did throw water balloon condoms at priests when he was a teenager, but that's different.

hehe i read about that, but wasnt it Paul?
EDIT: never midn it was John

Why are they so overrated?

Oh, I don't know, only because they completely altered the course of music? Every modern band that you listen to has been influenced, however indirectly, by the music of the Beatles. The Beatles were geniuses and innovators. 500 years from now, when people take music history classes and learn about 20th century music, it's the Beatles they will be discussing.

No one says you have to personally like them, but denying their influence is ignorant to an unimaginable degree.

Originally Posted by DuB

500 years from now, when people take music history classes and learn about 20th century music, it's the Beatles they will be discussing.

I agree with that. The Beatles will be remembered the way Mozart and Beethoven are remembered. But I also think people will be discussing the classic rock renaissance that followed because of the Beatles' influence.

Originally Posted by DuB

Oh, I don't know, only because they completely altered the course of music? Every modern band that you listen to has been influenced, however indirectly, by the music of the Beatles. The Beatles were geniuses and innovators. 500 years from now, when people take music history classes and learn about 20th century music, it's the Beatles they will be discussing.

No one says you have to personally like them, but denying their influence is ignorant to an unimaginable degree.

Nice job captain obvious, the Beatles are influential.

You didn't answer my question. (The question in particular was: why are they so overrated? Meaning: why do people think they're so good, despite them not being that good? It's like answering why do people like the Bible, despite not being well-written, by saying it's influential. Oh boy! Sixth grade reading comprehension.)

Originally Posted by hungrymanz

Nice job captain obvious, the Beatles are influential.

You didn't answer my question. (The question in particular was: why are they so overrated? Meaning: why do people think they're so good, despite them not being that good? It's like answering why do people like the Bible, despite not being well-written, by saying it's influential. Oh boy! Sixth grade reading comprehension.)

He answered your question, you just don't seem to have good problem solving skills, or simple recognition of an answer.

They obviously are not overrated, considering that they're one of the most influential, if not the most influential band to date. How can you call that overrated? That simply shows that they were a magnificent band, with amazing music that transcends time and is still great today. People think they're so good, because THEY ARE SO GOOD. Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean you're right. It's a subjective matter, it just so happens that the majority sees it in a very different way than you do.

And you wouldn't say that the Bible is influential, it's more so a safety cushion for those who would choose to believe that all their dead relatives aren't gone forever, and that when they die, they'll live eternally in happiness with those people.

Just like bayside said, just because you don't like them and you don't doesn't mean they're "overrated."

It just means his appreciation for all music is lacking, therefore, not an avid listener, someone who can't decipher or interpret music beyond its melody. Anyone who I've ever talked to who knows music can all appreciate the Beatles, whether or not they listen to them on a regular basis or not.

Learn your shit, baby boy.

hungrymanz; which Beatles albums have you actually listened to?

Because every time I've met someone who has called the Beatles overrated, the limit of their knowledge is of a cute boyband who sung a couple of cute songs about submarines and octopuses.

Give me an interesting introduction to this band. Then maybe I'll ask you an actual question.

Please?

The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960. Primarily consisting of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals) throughout their career, The Beatles are recognised for leading the mid-1960s musical "British Invasion" into the United States. Although their initial musical style was rooted in 1950s rock and roll and homegrown skiffle, the group explored genres ranging from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelic rock. Their clothes, styles, and statements made them trend-setters, while their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s. After the band broke up in 1970, all four members embarked upon solo careers.

The Beatles are one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music, selling over a billion records internationally.[1] In the United Kingdom, The Beatles released more than 40 different singles, albums, and EPs that reached number one, earning more number one albums (15) than any other group in UK chart history. This commercial success was repeated in many other countries; their record company, EMI, estimated that by 1985 they had sold over one billion records worldwide.[2] According to the Recording Industry Association of America, The Beatles have sold more albums in the United States than any other band.[3] In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked The Beatles number one on its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[4] According to that same magazine, The Beatles' innovative music and cultural impact helped define the 1960s, and their influence on pop culture is still evident today. In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of top-selling Hot 100 artists to celebrate the chart's fiftieth anniversary; The Beatles reached #1 again.[5]

Copied from wikipedia

What inspired Lennon to write I am the Walrus?

the book "The Walrus and the Carpenter"

What's one of their best songs? YouTube link and all appreciated.

You can't really do that with Beatles music... or at least, you shouldn't. There are simply too many great songs, such that naming off a handful would not be giving you a fair view of what the Beatles are really all about. It's more appropriate to recommend albums. In that spirit, I would recommend every album from Rubber Soul onward, which is about when they began breaking away from their strictly mainstream pop/rock format. (Sgt. Pepper is when they started going a few steps further and really experimenting with different sounds.) The only exception is Yellow Submarine, which was really just a dumping ground for various B-sides and disfavored tracks of theirs, something that their record company required them to make but which they had little interest in. It's not very good at all and I can't recommend it.

My personal favorite is Abbey Road, but what you really ought to do is download their discography (Here's a torrent) and listen to all of the albums mentioned above.

Originally Posted by DreamGlimpse

What's one of their best songs? YouTube link and all appreciated.

I am at the library right now, so I can't get to You Tube. But I will recommend a few great ones. Look up "Beatles I've Got a Feeling". You will find a clip of them singing "I've Got a Feeling" at their last live performance, the Roof Top Concert. It is phenomenal. There is a good live performance of "Hey Jude" on You Tube also, and there are non-live videos for "I'm Only Sleeping" and "A Day in the Life". I majorly recommend all of those.

I am not sure what all you can still find on the rest of my favorite Beatles songs on You Tube. In case you can find them there, and in case you want to look in other places, my favorites are "She Said She Said", "And Your Bird Can Sing", "You Won't See Me", "I'm Looking Through You", "Obla-di, Obla-da", "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey", "Hello-Goodbye", "I am the Walrus", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "Revolution"... I guess I'll stop there. My guess is that you have probably heard some of those and didn't know it was the Beatles.

I agree with Dub that Rubber Soul was the album that marked a whole new level in their writing and performance. Every song I listed is on Rubber Soul or a later album.

I think a lot of people these days have come across the songs that made the Beatles really famous-- "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and "Twist and Shout"-- and written off the band's entire career. Those put the band on the map, but they are nowhere near reprsentative of what the Beatles ended up being about. I really think they are hands down the greatest musical act in history. They are also the biggest selling musical act in history.

Yes, you couldn't really give a best song. But my favorite albums are Abbey Road and the White Album.

Ok then. Why did the band broke up? Is it because they know the 'fatal' consequences of consecutive successes? Hm?

Well there were alot of disagreements at the time for lots of reasons, mostly between John and Paul. All of them sorta went down different paths and their personal experiences made them different.

Originally Posted by DreamGlimpse

Ok then. Why did the band broke up? Is it because they know the 'fatal' consequences of consecutive successes? Hm?

They were bored, and their boredom created a lot of tension.

Originally Posted by DreamGlimpse

Ok then. Why did the band broke up? Is it because they know the 'fatal' consequences of consecutive successes? Hm?

John and Paul were in severe competition with each other. Up until 1968, the competition was healthy and made both of them better. About the time they started recording the White Album in 1968, the competition was driving them apart and making them hate each other. That was the biggest problem. Also, John's wife Yoko Ono was all over the place. They never allowed girlfriends/wives in the recording studio until John started letting Yoko in. Yoko was also giving input and even her voice on songs that John wrote. Paul got fed up with all of that and quit the band, and without Paul McCartney, you don't have the Beatles.

Is Paul really dead?

No...

Ahhh yes the Beatles....

Two down, two to go.

Altered the course of music? Yeah okay... so the fact that they did the same thing every other band has done before and after them, which was copy the best bits of other artists....

Like Bill Haley and the Comets, Elvis, The Beach Boys, and the Byrds. As for creating new sounds, don't look to the Beatles, look to EMI's sound engineers at the time who were up for a challenge.

Influential? Unfortunately yes. We now have Beateles-lite.

Oasis. Which is really really as its a bunch of Mancunians trying to emulate Scousers.


My question is...

When do we think is Ringo gonna get his bullet after refusing to answer any more fan mail? It was a wierd pissed off fan that did for John, and another that stabbed George.