The Beatles.

DEFTLEFTHAND

I know we can't have music or sport in Ah's but I feel the Beatles had a cultural impact on this island.

What's you're opinion of them? I was brought up on Beatles so I'm some what biased, my father was and is still a big fan, they obviously played off the Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly, the genesis of pop music, but I feel at the same time that they created something very unique. Even today you can hear their influence, the verse, bridge, chorus.

ChunkyLover_53

They inspired those sh1tty overlap haircuts everyone had in the 90s (and will probably have again in 5 years.)

stefan idiot jones

If you like the Beatles and Metallica, check out Beatallica. They are really good at what they do.

James Hatfield doing Lennon.

lahalane

I think they are underrated. Something like 25% of people would consider them the best band ever, it should be twice that percentage.

*Facts and figures totally made up

longshanks

Any band who can come up with Here Comes the Sun, Helter Skelter, and Hey Jude (and that's just songs beginning with H) are Legends in my book.

Celly Smunt

Bland bland music,especially from the perspective of that era.Basically the one direction of the 60's,but everybody thinks its "cool" to like the Beatles hence their constant re-emergence.

Sacksian

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

I know we can't have music or sport in Ah's but I feel the Beatles had a cultural impact on this island.

What's you're opinion of them? I was brought up on Beatles so I'm some what biased, my father was and is still a big fan, they obviously played off the Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly, the genesis of pop music, but I feel at the same time that they created something very unique. Even today you can hear their influence, the verse, bridge, chorus.

Steady on, they didn't invent the song.

(Although they were massively influential for almost all modern pop music.)

crockholm

ChunkyLover_53 wrote: »

They inspired those sh1tty overlap haircuts everyone had in the 90s (and will probably have again in 5 years.)

Haha:D I had one of them as a dopey teenager,it united the ravers and the grungers, but I wasn't sure of what it was called and asked the barber for an"upper-cut":pac:

The old man is/was into them,but they have so few songs that I like,so I'm a bit baffled by their aura.

Sacksian

pmcmahon wrote: »

Bland bland music,especially from the perspective of that era.Basically the one direction of the 60's,but everybody thinks its "cool" to like the Beatles hence their constant re-emergence.

Obviously, this makes no sense.

They played all their instruments, wrote all their songs and their records brought a host of innovative recording/production techniques to the mainstream.

The Beatles are by no means my favourite band but only an ignoramus would refuse to acknowledge their influence (cultural and musical) on a massive % of popular music that followed them.

uncle_sam_ie

lahalane wrote: »

I think they are underrated. Something like 25% of people would consider them the best band ever, it should be twice that percentage.

*Facts and figures totally made up

If anything they were overrated. There were a lot better bands in the sixties.

Celly Smunt

Sacksian wrote: »

Obviously, this makes no sense.

They played all their instruments, wrote all their songs and their records brought a host of innovative recording/production techniques to the mainstream.

The Beatles are by no means my favourite band but only an ignoramus would refuse to acknowledge their influence (cultural and musical) on a massive % of popular music that followed them.

I will reply to this when I get on my laptop,its not that crystal clear,also there were bigger influences in terms of recording.

Grayditch

pmcmahon wrote: »

Bland bland music,especially from the perspective of that era.Basically the one direction of the 60's,but everybody thinks its "cool" to like the Beatles hence their constant re-emergence.

There's a huge amount of people I know who think it's cool to not like the Beatles, despite not knowing much of their music.

Music is subjective, so these threads never end with anything conclusive, but I do find it weird that some people can't find ONE Beatles song they like, considering their library and influence on other music.

KungPao

pmcmahon wrote: »

Bland bland music,especially from the perspective of that era.Basically the one direction of the 60's,but everybody thinks its "cool" to like the Beatles hence their constant re-emergence.

Ah here!

I think that was the Monkees.

FloatingVoter

The toppermost of the poppermost. Its just a pity Lennon faked his own death and is now selling poitin on the Aran Islands.

DEFTLEFTHAND

ChunkyLover_53 wrote: »

They inspired those sh1tty overlap haircuts everyone had in the 90s (and will probably have again in 5 years.)

Some of us slug through the lean times with Beatles/Oasis haircuts. A pare of shades and a styled cut and you look like a made man.:cool:

Celly Smunt

Grayditch wrote: »

There's a huge amount of people I know who think it's cool to not like the Beatles, despite not knowing much of their music.

Music is subjective, so these threads never end with anything conclusive, but I do find it weird that some people can't find ONE Beatles song they like, considering their library and influence on other music.

Influencing other music is such a broad term,they were far from being the catalyst for everything that followed.

Bipolar Joe

On the whole, I don't really like them. I'm sure at the time it was amazing, the emergence of pop music and from that maybe even pop culture. I do like the weirder side, full of nonsense lyrics and playing with sound. Original fans must have thought they were being trolled. The fixed loop in the run-off, that sort of stuff.

Mr Tibbs

Some of the Beatles music will live on in years to come just like the classics are around today. I'm always glad I was around at the height of their fame although being vey young the impact of their music was everywhere in the sixties. I think !967 and 1968 were the greatest years for classic pop music with so many great songs in the charts all trying to better what the Beatles were doing and some actually did.
Thats not saying that the music of today is not as good, there are some great songs around today but now with so many radio stations we hear so much of it . Its funny though when you hear a song that was very popular a few years ago after not hearing it for a while you realise how good that song really was.
I guess we always associate music with pleasant memories and for me the Beatles bring back very happy childhood memories of a very happy time way back in the sixties.

uncle_sam_ie

The Beatles and Elvis are like Apple computers of their time. They just popularize what was already out there at the time. But, I don't dislike their music. Abbey Road is one of my favorite albums

Death and Taxes

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

I know we can't have music or sport in Ah's but I feel the Beatles had a cultural impact on this island.

What cultural impact did they have here?

Bipolar Joe

WileyCoyote wrote: »

What cultural impact did they have here?

We all have stupid hair.

EDIT: Apart from mine. My locks are many, luscious and flowing.

.jacksparrow.

pmcmahon wrote: »

I will reply to this when I get on my laptop,its not that crystal clear,also there were bigger influences in terms of recording.

Photoshopping one direction with guitars in their hands is not allowed.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

On the whole, I don't really like them. I'm sure at the time it was amazing, the emergence of pop music and from that maybe even pop culture. I do like the weirder side, full of nonsense lyrics and playing with sound. Original fans must have thought they were being trolled. The fixed loop in the run-off, that sort of stuff.

They used to write non sensical lyrics and laugh when some college professor tried to interpretate them, take I Am the Walrus for instance.

They experimented with different sounds and styles, that's where they stood out for me, they evolved as a band over time.

Grayditch

pmcmahon wrote: »

Influencing other music is such a broad term,they were far from being the catalyst for everything that followed.

I would presume people knew I didn't mean ALL other music.

They were heavily influential, that's not even up for discussion, with the amount of people through the years that cite them as an influence.

lahalane

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

If anything they were overrated. There were a lot better bands in the sixties.

I was being very sarcastic...I obviously don't think they are underrated but I don't think they are overrated either. They're just rated I guess

Bipolar Joe

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

They used to write non sensical lyrics and laugh when some college professor tried to interpretate them, take I Am the Walrus for instance.

They experimented with different sounds and styles, that's where they stood out for me, they evolved as a band over time.

I read a story that "I Am The Walrus" was written after a kid wrote Lennon and told him his teacher was using Beatles lyrics for analysis in class. True troll.

Duckworth_Luas

The Best of the Beatles was a fairly good album.

Still, they're no Wings who were only the band the Beatles could have been!

DEFTLEFTHAND

WileyCoyote wrote: »

What cultural impact did they have here?

They had a lasting impact on popular music and influenced Irish bands who came in their wake, Beatlemania of course also struck Ireland when they played the Adelphi.

They also influenced fashion and style amongst the young people of the time.

They're alright, don't care that much about them

Wibbs

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

If anything they were overrated. There were a lot better bands in the sixties.

Name one. Seriously. And please not the Stones. The Kinks had their moments to be fair. Beachboys? hugely influential, not least on the Beatles themselves(they looked to them as real competition, barely regarded bands like the Stones as within spitting distance) Largely imploded when their musical genius went batshít crazy(he cites one reason as stress from trying to match Sgt Pepper). The Doors? Eh... no, just no. Anyway if you can name another 60's band that had that much of an affect on popular music I'd love to hear them.

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

The Beatles and Elvis are like Apple computers of their time. They just popularize what was already out there at the time.

Whatever about Elvis, that's a much harder sell regarding the moptops. By the time the retired to the studio(and even before with Revolver) they were doing stuff that no one else was. They were bringing in influences from church music and eastern music and rather than blindly copying were incorporating them into popular music. EG Jealous guy(written by Lennon while in the Beatles, but rejected at the time), is almost entirely pentatonic ie "eastern" in scale, but doesn't sound like Ravi Shankar. I am the Walrus was mentioned, that yoke as has something daft like 12 chord changes in the intro before he even sings a note. Tomorrow never knows is another one that is soooo far beyond what others were even dreaming of it's not funny. It's almost like the Chemical brothers got in a time machine back to 1966. And that's just Lennons songs. Macca was not exactly idle at the old songwriting.

And bear in mind something all too easy to forget these days when bands retire to the Bahamas to record an album and take 3 or 4 years to do so, the Beatles entire recording career of something like 12 albums a few singles a year(most of which weren't on the current album at the time) and a couple of EP's was achieved in seven years. Each album a step forward from their last, often a major one. In seven years. All done by 30 years of age. From the song Help to Tomorrow never knows is just six months. Scarily creative individuals and like em or loathe them giants of the arts of the 20th century.

Celly Smunt

Wibbs wrote: »

Name one. Seriously. And please not the Stones. The Kinks had their moments to be fair. Beachboys? hugely influential, not least on the Beatles themselves(they looked to them as real competition, barely regarded bands like the Stones as within spitting distance) Largely imploded when their musical genius went batshít crazy(he cites one reason as stress from trying to match Sgt Pepper). The Doors? Eh... no, just no. Anyway if you can name another 60's band that had that much of an affect on popular music I'd love to hear them.

The yardbirds,Cream,Led Zeppelin,Hendrix,Bob dylan,The who,The velvet underground,the allman brothers,the byrds,john coltrane,john mayalls bluesbreakers,simon and garfunkel.You could go on and on.

DEFTLEFTHAND

pmcmahon wrote: »

The yardbirds,Cream,Led Zeppelin,Hendrix,Bob dylan,The who,The velvet underground,the allman brothers,the byrds,john coltrane,john mayalls bluesbreakers,simon and garfunkel.You could go on and on.

The Who in fairness came big when the Beatles we're pulling back and preparing for dismantlement, :pac:. The 70s was about a heavier sound, everything was heavier, Keith Moon suffered terribly in this decade of excess. Moonie was never going to live to an old age but the extremes of the 70s certainly brought on his demise quicker. He died in the same room as Momma Cass in 78 in London, he bought the property after she died.

4zn76tysfajdxp

Wibbs wrote: »

From the song Help to Tomorrow never knows is just six months.

Woah.

Wibbs

pmcmahon wrote: »

The yardbirds,Cream,Led Zeppelin,Hendrix,Bob dylan,The who,The velvet underground,the allman brothers,the byrds,john coltrane,john mayalls bluesbreakers,simon and garfunkel.You could go on and on.

You're kidding surely? Cream the allman brothers, the byrds, john coltrane, john mayalls bluesbreakers? as influential as the Beatles? eh wut? Of the rest Hendrix, Dylan, S&G and especially Zep were bloody influential artists, but even they would snigger if you told them they were as influential as the Beatles. Paul Simon has said of the list of the top 20th century songwriters "I'd put Gershwin, Berlin and Hank Williams. I'd probably put Paul McCartney in there too". Robert Plant is and was a huge Beatles fan. Dylan has often spoken of the quality of John, Paul and Georges songwriting.

Better? That's of course down to personal taste, but objectively speaking a band like Bluesbreakers wouldn't get within an asses roar of the depth and scope of songwriting of a band like the Beatles. And history will show that. It already has.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Eric Clapton was another huge Beatles fan, so much so that he actually had an affair with George Harrison's wife Patty Boyd, ended up marrying her too. Even through that they still remained close pals, and wrote 'Badge' together, a song which I'm sure many of you have heard before.

uncle_sam_ie

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Eric Clapton was another huge Beatles fan, so much so that he actually had an affair with George Harrison's wife Patty Boyd, ended up marrying her too. Even through that they still remained close pals, and wrote 'Badge' together, a song which I'm sure many of you have heard before.

Yeah, well and John Lennon was huge fan of Bob Dylan and that had a big influence on his music.

Wibbs

Melina Thankful Trench wrote: »

Woah.

Sorry I got that wrong, it was exactly 12 months apart, but still mad alright. It was the first track recorded for Revolver. Strawberry fields forever and Penny Lane were the first songs knocked out for Sgt Pepper, but their contract at the time demanded a single so they released them. their contract also stipulated that singles couldn't be on non film soundtrack albums, so that's why those two songs weren't on the finished album.

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Eric Clapton was another huge Beatles fan, so much so that he actually had an affair with George Harrison's wife Patty Boyd, ended up marrying her too. Even through that they still remained close pals, and wrote 'Badge' together, a song which I'm sure many of you have heard before.

Yea real hippie stuff alright and he got to play lead on a Beatles song.

Saganist

They were the greatest band ever, bar none.

Cienciano

pmcmahon wrote: »

The yardbirds,Cream,Led Zeppelin,Hendrix,Bob dylan,The who,The velvet underground,the allman brothers,the byrds,john coltrane,john mayalls bluesbreakers,simon and garfunkel.You could go on and on.

Who was better is subjective, but to try and argue that the yardbirds, cream, the allman brothers, john mayalls bluesbreakers or the byrds were "better" than the beatles, it makes me smile :pac:
Zeppelin were good, but their sound didn't change much and they were more of a 70's band than a 60's. The Who were good too, but most of their albums were filler cráp with 1 or 2 decent songs inbetween. Simon and Garfunkel were decent enough, but very boring.
As I said, subjective, depends on who you like yourself. My niece thought the spice girls were better

Bipolar Joe

Watching people start raging when they discover someone doesn't like The Beatles is funny.

mathepac

KungPao wrote: »

... I think that was the Monkees.

Even the Monkees started out playing some instruments and they sang without the need for AutoTune, which puts them several levels above First Erection musically.

The Beatles were the greatest ever with more firsts, more innovation and more influence on popular music that any other band ever, they were true pioneers, genuinely talented.

In April 1964 The Beatles had the top 5 places in the Billboard Hit Parade in the US, thge first time this ever happened.

"World Without Love", which Paul McCartney wrote at age 16, recorded by Peter & Gordon, knocked "Can't Buy Me Love" from No 1 in the UK charts.

During the 60's, 21 songs written by Lennon & McCartney, but not recorded by the The Beatles entered various charts around the world for 12 different recording artists.

Sgt Peppers was the first gate-fold album cover ever produced and was the first to feature all the lyrics on the cover. It was also the most expensive album cover ever produced for a long, long time. Typically a record company spent £50/£100 on the art-work for a new album. Sgt Pepper's cover cost £2,750 odd to produce. The fact that the record company swallowed the cost was a measure of The Beatles importance to them.

When The Beatles started Apple Corp, the first multimedia company in the world (music, films, cartoon, artwork, clothing, furniture, records, events, etc.) Paul McCartney recorded a 12-track album on which he played every single note on single instrument used and sang all the vocals. Apple Corp signed a new Band called Bad Finger and McCartney gave them the album to re-record, stipulating that they couldn't change any of his arrangements. The album went to no 5 in the UK and their first single "Come And Get It", went to number 1.

darced

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The Backwards Man

Are we talking about songwriters or performers?

If we're talking about performers then I'd put people like Dean Martin and Doris Day way ahead of the Beatles in terms of cultural impact.

Irish Guitarist

Not liking their music is one thing, but to call them bland or to compare them to some crappy boy band is another. These people think they're being unique but they just end up sounding like they know nothing about music.

Just look at the instruments they played on Strawberry Fields Forever. How many (non Indian) bands used a swarmandal before The Beatles? For that matter who even knew what a swarmandal was?

They also recorded on what was by todays standards primitive recording equipment and managed to make music that sounds more complex than the majority of music that's being created today.

Even their early music is more complicated than it seems. It may sound simple but anyone who ever attempts to play those songs on guitar will most likely find at least one chord they can barely play.

DEFTLEFTHAND

I never thought that I'd see someone compare four Fcuking Flakes to the Beatles. We went wrong somewhere.

uncle_sam_ie

mathepac wrote: »

The Beatles were the greatest ever with more firsts, more innovation and more influence on popular music that any other band ever, they were true pioneers, genuinely talented.

I like the Beatles but, "more influence on popular music that any other band ever", "true pioneers".
Give me a break. If I had to pick someone that changed the course of music the likes of Miles Davis would probably be at the top of the list not the Beatles.

mathepac

One of the greatest love-songs ever written, recorded by possibly 160 different artists like Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles was written by one of the perceptually "less talented" Beatles. George Harrison's beautifully crafted song has been in the pop charts, the C&W and many other charts in the decades since its release late in 1969. It topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and is the only Beatles' song I know that was released as a single after appearing on an album. They normally gave a bonus on the albums of the single or two with 8 or 9 new songs. This song was so good they reversed the trend.

A Primal Nut

In the first few they were a bit One Direction-y. I Wanna Hold Your Hand - wtf? Using the same Rock N' Roll riff in all their songs.

However the way they re-invented themselves from 1965 on is amazing. Can't think of any band who wrote so many great songs in such a short period of time.

darced

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losthorizon

I always preferred (are you sitting comfortably)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CqwECqxGf4

Went over to Nottingham about 6 years ago to see them live and they were still great although Ray Thomas and Michael Pinder had left.

The Byrds are brilliant as well because they just had so many differnt styles from Rock, pop, psychedelic, country, folk and even jazz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h80l4XIPJC4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgfiN0rbdpI

But, I have to say the Beatles produced some of the greatest albums ever and Rubber Soul has to be one of the best Folk Rock albums I have ever heard.

mathepac

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

... Give me a break. If I had to pick someone that changed the course of music the likes of Miles Davis would probably be at the top of the list not the Beatles.

Sure I'll give you a break.

The Beatles' influence transcended music and changed the 20th century culturally due to their multifarious influences on dress, hair, marketing, life-styles, etc. They were the first popular musicians to be interviewed about current events, religion etc rather than their brand of chewing gum or hair-oil.

Bands like The Byrds made their breakthroughs by "Beatle-ising" Bob Dylan songs and the BeachBoys used that same jangly 12-string guitar sound behind their tight vocals after George was presented with a 12-string Epiphone by the manufacturers. Dylan himself was quoted as saying "be Beatlised or be left behind".