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In Which I Try to Explain My Love of The Beatles


My husband recently posted this pic to my Facebook page, and it inspired all manner of comments.  Mostly negative.  I have to be honest.....I don't get it.  I get why you may not like Sonic Youth (too weird) or Slayer (too devily) or Metallica (too loud/not cool anymore).  And while I hate it when peeps say "I like all music except rap and country" I get it because they're basically saying they can't veer too far out of their own safe culture. (Which is too bad really because both KRS-One and Garth Brooks have something for all y'all.)  But The Beatles?  How can one claim to not like The Beatles?  Okay, so maybe you don't listen to them like I do (daily), but do you mean to really tell me that you don't like not one single song of theirs?  I mean, c'mon, there are literally hundreds to choose from!




So if you intend on staying stuck in your anti-Beatles stance, won't you at least indulge me in telling you why they are about the best band ever?  First off, they have a song for every mood.  Missing a girl? (You Won't See Me, Girl)  In love with a girl? (Eight Days a Week, Hard Day's Night, And I Love Her, Something)   Not sure if you love a girl? (If I Fell, She Loves You, Hey Jude) Okay, there's a lot of songs about girls.  But there's also songs that question reality (Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds) and make you think about bigger things (Across the Universe) or make you want to forgive someone (Let It Be) or make you want to rock out (I Want You/She's So Heavy). Want to dance? (Twist and Shout, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Please Please Me)  Thinking about death? (Eleanor Rigby)  Loving life?  (Lady Madonna, All You Need Is Love, Obla Di Obla Da)  Need to say goodbye? (In My Life, The Long and Winding Road) Thinking about the world? (A Day in the Life, Blackbird, Norwegian Wood )  Feeling kinda mean? (Get Back, Come Together, Helter Skelter) Missing Mother Russia? (Back in the USSR)  See!  Don't tell me they don't hit on very nearly everything!!!!



In his stellar book, High Fidelity, Nick Hornby talks about how certain music will always take you back to a certain person.....usually a person you were in a relationship with.  So if that relationship goes bad, the music will inevitably go bad too, right?  If you're lucky, you'll have at least a few bands that will withstand that kind of abuse.  The Beatles are that band for me.  My mom taught me to like the early rudimentary songs....the sing-along hits.  My high school boyfriend introduced me to the trippy hits.....the Strawberry Fields and Sgt. Pepper's and so forth.  My first husband opened up the dreamier hits and lost cuts.  Even his mom liked The Beatles!  And then what did I do but introduce my son to them?  I remember singing Yesterday and Hey, Jude while I rocked him.  Later he came to love Here Comes the Sun and Yellow Submarine (all the cool kids do).  And then later still, saw a Beatles cover band as his first concert!  So in other words, The Beatles might be one of the few bands that nobody ever took from me.  I found them as a kid, kept them through relationships, schools and cars and still have them now.  How many bands can you truly say that about?  (You don't still listen to UB40.....quit lyin.)





So here I am.  Forty-two.  Twice married, once divorced.  One kid.  Multiple jobs.  One bachelors degree.  Dozens of hang-overs.  I'm on my 5th car.  I lived in 3 apartments in one year.  And I still love The Beatles.  I outgrew The Dave Matthews Band.  I have to be in the mood for Rage Against the Machine.  I love Wilco but seeing them live let me down.  All my other top bands and artists: REM, The Clash, My Morning Jacket, Modest Mouse, Bob Dylan......they're all good, but they can't bring it quite like The Beatles can.  Because The Beatles get me.  They meet every mood, every wonder, every drama, every joy.  If you still don't get it, that's okay.  But I'm telling you, you're the one missing out....not me.





(Oooh, oooh....I didn't even get into talking about The Beatles in their individual endeavors.  That will be a lesson for another time, my lovelies.....)  

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