The Beatles
OK, they were alright but do they really deserve the uncritical adulation, as if every song was a classic? They weren't the only big band in the 60's; The Who, The Rolling Stones and The Jimi Hendrix Experience immediately spring to mind as bands who were at least as good, if not better. The first time I listened to Revolver I found it dull, plodding and uninspiring.

In fact, my relatives who were teenagers themselves at the time have told me that liking The Beatles in the 60's was the musical equivalent of football "fans" from Maidstone declaring themselves dedicated Man Utd supporters; glory-hunting herd-followers.
(lolwhites, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 11:31, 13 replies)

As Ian Fleming put it in one of the Bond books
"Drinking warm Dom Perignon is like listening to the Beatles without earmuffs".
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Fri 16 Oct 2009, 11:42, closed)

Many of my relatives report the same
and yet history seems to have been conveniently re-written for these Scouse bandwaggoners by music journalists who can't bear to hear a word said against them.
(LongJohnBaldry, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 11:44, closed)

I remember asking my dad why he wasnt a fan of the Beatles back in the 60's.
I asked him this when I was a teenager back in 1994. He replied that it would have been like me being a fan of Take That. I understood completely.

It's strange that Take That are considered a serious band now, as opposed to the crappy boy-band they actually were/are.
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 12:00, closed)

It's because the young girls who screamed and shouted over Take That back then
are now grown up.
( idonthaveafunnynickname Drink-Aware? Sure. I'm aware I want another drink., Sat 17 Oct 2009, 0:54, closed)

Yeah
To be fair I'm all for liking the Beatles. It's more the mob followers that I hate.

For example, you'll find Oasis fans are obsessed with John Lennon and The Beatles because that spastic Liam Gallagher is. It's almost like a "who can be more like Liam Gallagher" competition.

So if you ever ask them of any Beatles stuff outside of Revolver/Sgt Pepper/the fecking One best of, the chances are they'll shrug. Furthermore, ask them about their contemporaries like the Stones, The Kinks, etc and again they'll shrug.

/shakes fist at history
( whenanimalsattackhumans clad in global hypercolour, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 12:27, closed)

What's that whooshing sound...?

===> (MUSIC HISTORY) ===>



      #####
     ## ####
     # _  ##   <--- your head
     @ O  o 
     |    |
     |  __/
     | _/

( revolution now 👊, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 13:00, closed)

God I love this week's question
I cannot even be bothered to explain in detail why the Beatles do absolutely nothing whatsoever for me - and they fucking well should, as late 60s music of a psychedelic hue is something of a pet subject of mine. So many people did what they did so much better, before and after they did that apart from popularising the genre they brought precisely fuck all to it. Listen to Defecting Grey by the frankly incredible Pretty Things - to my mind (and many others) the finest psychedelic single of the day, to hear just how much better it could be done. Sgt Pepper is at best a mediocre distillation of the real underground scene of the time, given a 'pop' makeover.

People who think that phase of the Beatles epitomises psychedelia are the equivalent to those tossers who think The Happy Mondays captured the nascent rave scene of the late 80s.

Imbeciles who need a PUNCH IN THE FACE.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 13:24, closed)

as a scouser, people expect me to love the beatles
but i don't. i like 2 of their songs, but only when sung by guns and roses.
the only beatles song i actually like sung by them is maxwell's silver hammer. not a great song, but it's a jaunty little piece about a serial killer. what's not to like?
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 14:01, closed)

You like the Beatles' Worst Song
Says more about you than The Beatles. And which Beatles songs did GNR cover? Live and Let Die was by Wings. The other?
(McChinaman banned, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 15:21, closed)

it seems i was wrong
i always forget about the beatles/wings thing and now it seems the other one i like was a rolling stones song!
sympathy for the devil, if you're really interested.
oh, and maxwell's slver hammer just makes me laugh.
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Mon 19 Oct 2009, 19:30, closed)

I recognise the Beatles influence an' all that
but when I listen to them, I think meh...
(DrTeeth, Fri 16 Oct 2009, 16:04, closed)

I
Don't get people who don't get The Beatles.

Some songs WERE shite, that much is true. There's so many very, very good songs that there really is something for everyone. The bloody words sometimes drag me to tears (after a few beers admittedly) - for the right reasons.

Especially "She's leaving home". Incredible song.
(dchurch bah, Sat 17 Oct 2009, 11:46, closed)

Popularity
and Quality are in no way correlated.

However, The Beatles are ace. They are just a band, but they're an ace band.
(LickOutTheJamsMotherfuckers!, Mon 19 Oct 2009, 23:27, closed)