The very final word on them Beatles…

Posted by Chris Checkman on May 20, 2009 at 5:13 pm

beat

The Beatles were simply the greatest band/musical entity of all time. Disagree if you want; you will be wrong. In the 8 years between 1962-1970, they not only were they the single greatest force in the forwarding of (then) modern culture and more (everything from fashion to progressive politics), they were, and will always be, the single biggest standing force in the monument of progressive reinvention of art. Period. Yes, there have since been acts that push more openly the envelope of outrageousness, with wild stage shows/freaky images and all the like; but, how can they, and their forced attempts at controversy in any way compare to the sounds made by the Beatles? They cannot. Ultimately, a record or cd does not come with bullshit smoke and mirrors choreography as do some stage shows– and , thus, must stand merely on the merits blasted through speakers and headphones. As much as I love Bowie, Velvet Underground and a whole slew of other bands with seemingly more ‘dangerous’ and allegedly more adventurous personas, the fact remains that true danger and adventure lie not in flashpots, makeup nor androgyny. True experimentation and ‘danger’ lies within the sounds one is willing to proffer; as it is those sounds that will last far after the face of fashionable rebellion is washed away with some Noxema and warm water… The reason the Beatles are still held up as the never to be knocked off standard bearer Gods of progression lies simply within their music. It has nothing to do with nostalgia, nor with the misconception that they were simply some good-timey “yeah yeah yeah” band, either. In the aforementioned 8 years, they went from being only the most slamming rock and roll band of the time (go and listen to the live take of “I Saw Her Standing There” on Anthology 1– disc one, track 30, and tell me I’m wrong), through folk rock (they are every bit as responsible for it as Dylan or the Byrds), psychedelia, concept albums/art rock, heavy metal, etc., etc., etc….. Touching on psychedelia and heavy metal for a moment, if you think about it, the Beatles invented the hell out of both forms. REVOLVER, only the greatest LP of all time, is not only mind-bendingly ‘psychedelic’, it is also (taken as a whole) the scariest record ever recorded; and, while people love to cite Cream, Hendrix, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin as possible inventors of heavy metal, I hereby cast a dissenting vote– and ask those interested to conduct a little experiment… Take whatever Cream, Hendrix, Sabbath or Zeppelin you may have. Find whichever track you consider to be the heaviest of each, and then blast the shit out of it– either through speakers or headphones. After that, grab a copy of the White Album and play “Helter Skelter” at the same volume. Game over. In fact, you could take ANY so-called metal record by any band (Judas Priest, AC/DC, Slayer, Metallica, Michael Buble…any of ‘em), blast the hardest songs you can find; and none of them will even come close to “Helter Skelter”. Can you imagine what might happen if one of those idiots with a ton of subwoofers in his/her Escalade accidentally cranked out “Helter Skelter” at the same volume they currently give over to modern lame fake hip hop? Their moronic SUV would explode into a bazillion pieces and take out whatever neighborhood they were infesting at the time…. One last “Helter Skelter” comment: Yeah, Richard Ramirez (nee, the Night Stalker”) killed a bunch of folks here in Cailfornia in the mid-80′s while amped up by his love of AC/DC; but, if you go back and research it, it wasn’t so much the music as the band’s ‘image’ that made him do it. You know, Angus with the devil horns on the LP cover, song/LP titles, etc., blah blah blah…Hey, I’m not knocking AC/DC; just illuminating a point: In order to get cranked out enough to kill, this little pussy Ramirez needed a whole PR package he created in his mind for AC/DC. Chuckie Manson only needed to hear “Helter Skelter” to freak out. I mean, it wasn’t like the Beatles put horns and a tail on Ringo, is it? No, and this leads to my point. True rebellion, and the ability to change society, one way or another, can never come from superficial smoke and mirrors, nor physical adornment. Yeah, the Beatles dressed up as a satin-festooned marching band for the cover of SGT. PEPPER; but, what people took away from the experience wasn’t the look, just what they heard– musically and lyrically. The exchange of ideas… Although I have no hard scientific numbers here, take something of a look at the underground/indie/alt bands of the last 20 years or so. Maybe you have a big enough collection to do this at home; but, if not, do it the next time you’re at a record store (or just check it out on the internet…). When/if you do, try to note how many of these bands have covered songs by the Beatles… (a partial list…) Husker Du Laibach The Breeders The Parasites White Flag Doctor’s Mob Overwhelming Colorfast Pop-O-Pies Electric Love Muffin Arcwelder Tater Totz Daniel Johnston Utopia Mrs. Miller It does not really matter at all that half the band is now dead, nor that the remaining two are slowly morphing into old women. Mortality will one day claim us all; so age and death cannot be made an issue. Still, while they existed as a unit, the Beatles did more for art, nearly 40 years ago, than any collection of anyones has/have done since then– and this is the sole reason they remain the ultimate arbiters of musical expression for now and all time. View them as merely some sort of “it makes my parents happy” oldies band phenomena if you must; but, if you look at the facts, and go and listen to the records, you will see something else entirely…. Yes, my little friends who think their tattoos and piercings somehow make them rebels, punks and whatnot, this is the truth. A tribal barbed-wire tat and a labial piercing might make your Daddy finally take notice; but, REVOLVER changed the world, and didn’t give a fuck what your Daddy thought…

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http://underthedog.com Jesse

What about Collective Soul?
http://myspace.com/weareconvertible jf whiteside

1962-1970 you say? More for art than anyone else?? Well let’s just substitute “The Beatles” with George Martin, and now your statement is pretty dead on. I mean Plastic Ono and Wings are pretty fucking gay/terrible (Harrison had the only good post-Beatles record). But yeah, the shit they did with George Martin raised the bar to an astronomically high level, and I feel that he deserves just as much (if not more) credit as the rest of those blokes. Together though, the dice rolled a seven…
RyanFuckingMc

Remember when Buddyhead was not only hilarious, but thought provoking and insightful?

Yeah… me too.
Chris Checkman

JF WHITESIDE- Exactly what were you reading? Did I mention ANY solo material in that piece? I thought I made fairly clear that I was speaking about the Beatles AS A BAND (who were, in fact, called “The Beatles”)– and not the Beatles as solo artists. Perhaps you were being something of a pedantic wit by calling me on the use of the years 1962-1970, as all four released solo LPs that year; but, since they did not officially break up until April 10, 1970 (the 8th anniversary of poor Stu’s death…) this counts as the era of their existence with little Ringo. By the way, while “All Things Must Pass” was a great record, do not give short shrift to Lennon’s “Plastic Ono Band” LP, which some consider just as good, if not slightly better. As for the rest of the solo years, I can’t argue much as I mostly agree (selected individual songs aside, it was rather grim…) And, to RYANFUCKINGMC, sorry I didn’t make you laugh or think; but I guess I’m just selfish that way. Tell me something: Aren’t you worried about a class action lawsuit by every 14 year old girl in the world for using one of these things?

your new pal,
chris checkman
2002 called…

Yeah, word the fuck up RyanMC, this site is now a bunch of comic book guy sounding ‘tardfests creaming over shit no one cares about. Thanks for telling me about the Beatles though, I’ll be sure to check those dudes out.
eat a bag of dicks, no homo

Yeah, do a piece on Collective Soul, pussies.
roots

Dickwad (sorry for the name calling) you can’t have a website about rock without mentioning the beatles.sorry dude..that’s the way it is.if you don’t like it go to pitchfork wise guy.
Darryl

good article.

and for the whiners, buddyhead doesn’t give a shit what you think. sorry dudes, but it’s true. if they did, it wouldn’t be buddyhead.
Grizz

You guys that are whining are the real pussies. Checkman, this was a funny/interesting read that i agree with 100%.
Jafar

checkman, about fucking time. i’m glad someone put it brutally honest that the beatles are still relevant and still slay everyone else. if you dont like it, fuck off. seriously.
http://www.wearedios.com coolaid

looooks like checkman is here to stay. all goood points, no bullshit, just goood, hard facts about the greatest band that ever was and probably ever will be.
Captain Gayhab

“After that, grab a copy of the White Album and play “Helter Skelter” at the same volume. Game over.”

No bro. I tried this against ‘Search and Destroy’ from Raw Power. Ig and the boys win.

Good article tho, Revolver is a great album. Beatles still slay despite being 50% dead.
http://~ chris

all i got to say is that paragraphs are not a bad thing. why haven’t you used more in this article? ah… maybe as a “writer” for buddyhead (still a premiere and relevent website ryan)

that’s my only advice. paragraphs. look into that shit.. in fact, just read this.

What is a paragraph?

One of the central components of a paper is the paragraph. When most students think of a paragraph, they hold onto the old myths about length: a paragraph is at least 5 sentences, a paragraph is half a page, etc. A paragraph, however, is “a group of sentences or a single sentence that forms a unit” (Lunsford and Connors 116). Length or appearance is not a factor in determining whether a section in a paper is a paragraph. In fact, it is not the number of sentences that construct a paragraph, but the unity and coherence of ideas among those sentences. For instance, in some styles of writing, particularly journalistic styles, a paragraph can be one sentence. Ultimately, strong paragraphs contain a sentence or sentences unified around one central, controlling idea. When the paragraph reaches completion, it should serve to bring the reader into your paper and guide his/her understanding of what has been read. Whether that completion happens with one sentence or with twenty, the end result is still a paragraph.

How do I decide what to put in a paragraph?

Before you can begin to determine what the composition of your paragraphs will be, you must first understand what the controlling idea in your specific piece of writing is. What is the main point or expression that you are trying to convey to your reader? The information that comprises your paragraphs should always have a relationship to this controlling idea. In other words, your paragraphs should remind your reader, at every possible point, that there is a recurrent relationship between your controlling idea and the information in each paragraph. The controlling idea functions like a seed through which your paper, and your ideas, will grow. The whole process is an organic one—a natural progression from a seed to a full-blown paper where there are direct, familial relationships between all of the ideas in your paper. Once you have decided what your controlling idea will be, then you should choose information that will help to support and perpetuate that idea throughout the entire paper. That information takes the form of the sentences that comprise each paragraph of your paper.

The decision about what to put into your paragraphs, ultimately, begins with the germination of a seed of ideas. This “germination process” is better known as the process of brainstorming. Whatever the topic of your paper may be, it is always a good idea to think about all of the issues that surround your topic. This process can take many forms. What form you choose will depend heavily on your style or approach to writing in the pre-writing stage of your writing process. For some writers, the key is writing down all of the relevant issues in a series of phrases or words that express some greater idea. For others, this process involves a collection of information in the form of sentences. Whatever your method for prewriting, this part of paragraph development cannot be skipped. Building paragraphs can be just as involved as building a major skyscraper: there must be a careful foundation that supports each paragraph just as there must be a careful foundation that supports each building. Any cracks, inconsistencies, or other corruptions of the foundation can cause the whole paper to crumble.

Every paragraph in a paper should be

Unified—All of the sentences in a single paragraph should be related to a single main idea (often expressed in the topic sentence of the paragraph).
Clearly related to the thesis—The sentences should all refer to the central idea, or thesis, of the paper (Rosen and Behrens 119).
Coherent—The sentences should be arranged in a logical manner and should follow a definite plan for development (Rosen and Behrens 119).
Well-developed—Every idea discussed in the paragraph should be adequately explained and supported through evidence and details that work together to explain the paragraph’s controlling idea (Rosen and Behrens 119).
Mike

Damn… I was going to make a comment about paragraphs.

They are your friend. I get lost in something that has no structure, but this is otherwise a good article.
Mal Evans

I’m so sick of dick holes throwing George Martin in the Beatles faces. How can you compare a guy who helped arrange some songs with the guys who wrote them? If Martin is so great why has he not produced anything good in 40 years? The reason the Beatles albums declined after they broke up,albums that are still better than 99% of your collection, is because they took each other out of the equation, not because they took Martin out of the equation. When the Beatles replaced each other with their wives they lost that checks and balances system and their art suffered. If you are sick of hearing about the Beatles fuck you. You should wake up every morning and kiss their collective cock and balls for making art that influenced every gay band that came after them. September 9th is on like a motherfucker!
http://whitenightmusic.com J

I think Plastic Ono might be my favorite Beatles album. Period. Post or not.
Cock-Knocker

The Beatles were bigger than Jesus, dont’cha know? Great piece of writing, even if you don’t agree with the text or shortage of paragraphs. Gee, Mr. Checkman, perhaps a few credits in a night school english grammar course would appease the delicate sensibilities of some of your more affronted readers. My favorite bits are always the infantile, self-important commentators who try to build up their ant-high level of self esteem by blowing shit on obviously creative individuals. If I have hurt anyone’s feelings, so sorry, you can suck on my hairy brown-eye.
Cock-Knocker

Oh! I forgot to mention….The Beatles really are awesome and influential, duuuuuuuuudes!
Some Young Guy

Plastic Ono Band rules. To say that it sucks shows pure lack of good taste in music. Congratulations. The Beatles made so many great songs that talking about them never really gets old. There’s so many negative people on here it’s pathetic.

The irony of constantly bitching and complaining in the comments section yet constantly coming back to this site is hilarious. Keep coming back.
Murray Sinclair

Fuck the Beatles. And fuck that guy that posted the comment about paragraphs. Maybe if he wasn’t so busy copying and pasting other people’s work, he’d have time to throw in some capital fucking letters or maybe some punctuation. Just a thought.
Stephen

Shit yeah. This article is bang on. They were real hard workers as a band and would make most modern acts look like pussies with the schedule they had. They constantly toured (until 66) and also made a shit load of albums.
http://www.wearedios.com yoko homo

the reason there arent any paragraphs is cus the article was grabbed from the MUSIC section on chris checkmans myspace. while perusing his myspace i saw this and i knew it had to be put on here for discussion. he didnt know it was gonna be put up like that so it aint his fault. but he’s a talented writer and im sure in the future he’ll have his shit structured correctly for all those whiney creative writing majors reading this while on break at Kinkos.
Aa

topic for the next article, ‘the Stones are decent and all, but dont be a douche….Beatles vs. Stones….are you kidding me?’

i know it’s a long title. but. if i have to hear one more sweet dood / kings of leon fan /peacoat wearing turd tell me that “they are more of a stones person” i’m gonna kill shit. yea, and i would rather eat tater tots than vagina.

Aa
Mike

Aa,

I’m not a Kings of Leon fan nor do I own a peacoat… But I grew up listening to the Stones. My father was a “stones person,” so I generally think I enjoy the Stones a little more than the Beatles. They’re not the better band, but Sympathy for the Devil? Paint it Black? Can’t You Hear Me Knocking and Exile? Not much can top those.

I just think the Stones are ballsier. They brought the dirt and grime to rock n’ roll and gave birth to Iggy Pop and Lou Reed. Mick took on the guise of the Devil and made him seem like Miles Davis mixed with Hitler.

I’d actually wager that a lot of people like the Stones better.

P.S. Fuck Kings of Leon and fuck Peacoats.
zane

The Beatles were kick ass and all. but talking about em is like talking monty python at a party, your pretty much preaching to the choir. sides, you can’t really say anything that hasn’t already been said
Aa

Mike,

i love tater tots. and im sure more people like eating tater tots than eating vag. more people like creed than the pixies, too….

Aa
Aa

didnt mean to compare the stones to creed. like i said, i love tater tots. how about ‘more people like oasis than the velvet underground. thats pretty fair.
Chris Checkman

Too All– Yeah, it can be seen in some ways as preaching to the choir; but, in other ways it is a semi-difficult argument to make for seemingly the same reason. By this, I mean that pretty much everyone has already formed an opinion be it positive, negative or don’t give a shit either way. Yes, there are a lot of folk biased against such an argument as the Beatles have been so all-pervasive in every music fan’s life since they first hit big– and, believe it not, this may be to the band’s detriment. Given that their music is everywhere (cover versions, muzak rendings of “Act Naturally” and “Wild Honey Pie” in every market, funeral home and slaughterhouse on the planet, to name but a few), some people have taken to seeing the Beatles almost as cultural wallpaper, no matter how many times Mojo (the Beatles of music mags!) features some different type of look at them, and so people forget how truly revolutionary they were. And continue to be.

But, how many other bands can spark this type of back/forth debate? Just as the Beatles could not have existed without trailblazers like Little Richard and Elvis, none of the bands mentioned in these comments (Stones aside) could have existed without the Beatles. Sadly, this also includes Creed, but you can’t have everything, can you?

As for the Stones, I fucking love them even if they’ve not made a consistently great record since 1978′s “SOME GIRLS”. Unfortunately, they are plagued by most of their output since, some of which is every bit as downright embarrassing as the worst of the Beatles’ solo stuff. For every “BEGGAR’S BANQUET” or “LET IT BLEED” there is a “DIRTY WORK” or “UNDERCOVER” and, sadly, the shits just keep on coming. None of which diminishes the power and legacy of their great stuff; but, it does make one squirm to think of them wearing pastel suits from the Jon Cryer Ducky collection and doing videos with Mick playing gun-toting Puerto Rican pawn shop owner as a way to hip it up for the kids in the 80′s…

Finally, as for Mike’s point that the Stones are ballsier, let’s not forget that the Beatles took every bit as hard a road to fame as did the Stones– and for sonic evidence of their own brand of ballsy, check out the Hamburg Star Club recordings on the Lingasong label and give a listen to their version of Uncle Chuckie’s “Sweet Little Sixteen”. Pretty ferocious stuff there, so let’s call it a push.

Oh, and try and lay off the guy who called me on the paragraphs issue. Yoko Homo explained it; and besides, you can’t really be against someone who nitpicks over such details. If not for such people, music freak sites like this one wouldn’t be nearly what they are…

Now go play nice.

chris checkman (paragraphs and all)
Aa

can i change my metaphor for the stones to green bean caserole?
http://hi Arg

well said. revolver owns.
ryan

Beatles vs. Stones? Nay! The Pretty Things!
http://no.com jack

blink 182 is getting back together
bonus egg

The Stones back in the day were angry, mean and they did waaaayy more drugs. Keith Richards has already outlived two of the Beatles. He has mummified his body. Marianating in hard drugs for 40 years has pickled and preserved his innards. Dude is unstoppable.
The old Stones had a meanness, an edgyness. They weren’t afraid to be socially unacceptable.
The Beatles always had an hint of boy-band, whitebread wholesomeness, even when they were long-haired and dropping acid.
So the verdict is The Stones. The Stones annihilate the Beatles, they three-hole the Beatles like a plastic fuck doll.
http://myspace.com/wifteef Josh

Wasn’t one of the main points of this article that it doesn’t matter who’s ballsy or not, that The Beatles took just as many chances as any other bands? I agree with Chris on all of this. Which other band can spark this debate of greatest band ever?

I have a buddy at work who insists that Zeppelin ae far and away better than The Beatles, based on ratio of good material to bad material. If that was the case, I could say Radiohead is a better band, but it’s not true. The only band that comes close to touching The Beatles are The Beach Boys. I bring up The Beach Boys because everything that Brian Wilson and Co. did from Pet Sounds to Surf’s Up (even if a couple of those albums were released after The Beatles had broken up)made Paul step his game up and go a little extra further. Paul even says that Pet Sounds inspired him on Sgt. Peppers.

Whatever the case is, The Beatles did everything balls to the wall, and if someone else was doing something different, The Beatles took note, and did it better.
chris

i heart chris checkman
Cock-Knocker

Bonus Egg…I have to agree with that assessment. Especially the hint of boy band wholesomeness. However I do give them credit for maturing rather quickly out of that phase. When the corporate god-heads want to start stamping JPGR’s likenesses on wallpaper and menstrual pads, it’s time to get dirty and grow up. I feel comparing Stones vs Beatles is like comparing apples and oranges. Yes, that’s trite and cliched, and god knows it must have been uttered to infinity by now. But I just can’t be bothered to impress anyone sometimes.
RickyHenderson

I’m with you on The Beatles, but the lack of paragraphs in this essay made this thing fucking unreadable. Seriously, I quit half-way through.
Chris Checkman

Hey Josh, Knocker and Bonus, et al: See? This is what I’m talking about when it comes to debate! Personally, I happen to think they are the greatest band of all time; and yet there are others who can bring up various points in disagreement. Yeah, Knocker and Egg, at the beginning there was a bit of the boy band in terms of the way they were being marketed (for example, the rather embarrassing series of photos for trading cards of them dressed in turn of the century bathing suits, etc…); but, other than a few early covers and early original naive love songs, this all had very little to do with the music.

And, were the Stones ballsier simply because they took “more” (this is debatable) or different drugs? Absolutely not. It takes real balls to to reinvent the wheel, as opposed to simply buying one and painting it a slightly different color. I don’t recall the Beatles needing the Stones to write a song for them, nor do I recall the Beatles seeing what the Stones did and doing the same thing 6 months later. In 1962, the Beatles were doing little love songs like “Love Me Do” (which they wrote),and by 1965 they were doing fucked up shit like “Girl” and “Norwegian Wood” (with the really way out stuff still a year off). On the other hand, in 1962 the Stones were doing some pretty rough and great blues cover stuff, no doubt, and by 1965 they had only STARTED to write their own stuff….

As for balls, there’s something to be said about packing it in while still at the height of one’s power and popularity and resisting a decade’s worth of blank check offers to tour, play one-off shows and the like. If that ain’t the height of fuck-you cool, nothing is…

do the freddy,
chris checkman
http://blankdrug.blogspot.com timmmmm

fucking perfect.
http://gonzorama.edu gonzo

Why is the Stones/Beatles thing always an either/or argument?

I was raised with a steady diet of both and while I’m with the author here (solid by the way- especially when I think Buddyhead’s usually waaaay better when they say more with less), I can say that I wasn’t told to NOT pay equal attention to “Gimme Shelter” and “Helter Skelter.”

The Stones slay. The Beatles were just better. Both bands did drugs, banged sluts and played all over the Earth. The argument as to why is in the details and Chris covered it.

You can keep your Stones records or “Funhouse” or whatever else may hold a candle to “The White Album”.

Unless ‘whatever else’ is “TEN.”

Then you’re an idiot.
Ryan R.

i agree with this. hating on the beatles is like hating on oxygen.

everything that could be said about the beatles has been said, but no one really addressed the “george martin” aspect of this equation correctly. the reason dude hasn’t “made any good records in the last 40 years” isn’t because he lost his touch. dude just lost his hearing. he did, after all, produce that rather abortion of a cover of “come together” by aerosmith.

as far as the beatles/stones thing goes, i can’t really believe people are STILL talking about this. i will say this, though: the stones weren’t THAT good until after the beatles broke up and brian jones died. but to compare “exile” to “the white album” is just silly. apples and oranges, really.
Mike

I think Helter Skelter invented punk more than it did Metal. Maybe that’s because I don’t think Metal has ever tried to have the brains that Helter Skelter has.

For example, take Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin [both amazing bands], whose lyrics are about goblins, D&D, medieval shit, and other nonsense. Helter Skelter doesn’t fit that mold, even though it has that “ba na ba na na now” metallic-ish riff.

In fact, Helter Skelter invented post-punk more accurately [in my opinion that is], as a line can be drawn from that song to Pink Flag or Black Flag or even Gang of Four [if that riff was cleaner it could be mistaken as an Andy Gill-esque jangly riff].

As for the Stones debate, I recognize that the Beatles are a better band, but I’ll usually reach for Between the Buttons or Exile before Sgt. Peppers… Depending on my mood.
albert

I can’t believe this is happening while Lauren is away…
Emma

Please, please paragraph. It sounds like a dickhead comment but that is basically unreadable.
Aa

really? unreadable? what are you, 4? “the words get all guhschmumbly without white spaces every so often…” yea. the paragraph thing was covered. about 3 months ago. now someone make me some green bean casserole.

Aa
Gbags

Yeah, I remember when buddyhead was worth checking out.. alas
http://www.swamipat.wordpress.com Pat

wow i’m all sorts of late to the party on this one. but uh, the Live at the Star Club LP blows my mind, thats like 1962, and good old protopunk. stones have nothing on that record. but yeah, dude go read some MLA books. Paragraphs are your friend.
El Jefe

If this is “The Very Final Word On Them Beatles…”, just shoot me now. You just reduced my favorite band down to what amounted to some inarticulate douchebagian rant.

I hope you don’t make music.

P.S. I heard Revolver (the world’s loudest rock magazine) is looking for some new kick-ass writers to lead their forces into full-frontal assaults of the mind. Fuck yea, brother! Make it happen.
Paragraph

lonely.
http://apocaloopsis.blogspot.com ambrose

Pretty much just like an amen, here, brother, with just on OCD-ish nit to pick at: *phenomenon* singular, there, and everything like that.
Chris Checkman

ONE MORE GODDAMN TIME: We’ve covered the paragraph thing over and over; but, for those who need their fucking hands held, let’s do it again…

This was taken from the front page of my Myspace thing. In that “about me”-type section there is no way to make paragraphs, or at least there wasn’t when this was written. Believe me, I tried, and when I hit the submit button, it got all squished together in the form you see here.

I realize this has rendered some of you illiterate, and wish like all fucking hell I could somehow turn the clock back to a point in time where things might’ve been different; but, alas, I cannot. Had this been written on my blog, or specifically for Buddyhead (instead of for he bio portion of Myspace), it would’ve been all neatly formatted and pre-chewed for your delicate reading sensibilities, and I wouldn’t have to go to bed every night knowing I’m causing growing numbers of you to suffer massive strokes and seizures.

Trust me, I’m just sick about it. Really.

Again.It wasn’t written for here. The other site would not allow for a paragraphs format. I know how to use paragraphs. Get the fuck over it…

As for you El Jefe, what a wonderfully detailed critique. Intelligent, insightful and with a plethora of points to illuminate and support your argument. The only thing missing was you thumbing your nose and shrieking “nyah nyah nyah!”. “Douchebagian”? Did you learn English by listening to one of those ‘edgy’ morning radio shows on whatever station still plays Twisted Sister and Ratt?

And you call me “inarticulate”? Please, o wise one, point out the “inarticulate” part of my argument. If you’re gonna jump in and talk shit, at least make an actual point, don’t just be some monster truck-lovin’ shut in who shouts a few epithets from behind a cloak of anonymity and then runs back into the weeds. Form a coherent argument, support your points with evidence and fucking put me in my place! With your obviously vast knowledge of damn near everything, it shouldn’t be that hard.

And, no, “you’re an idiot, hur hur hur” will not be acceptable.

I have no problem with someone disagreeing with me; but I fucking detest headless mannequins with all the word skills of colicky babies who just slap like little bitches and then run.

To summarize: The paragraph thing wasn’t my fault. I can and will use paragraphs, so no need to riot in the streets. El Jefe will, from now on, refrain from just squealing and will instead present fact-based arguments which will blow me out of the water and make him a hero to the masses, and all the Whos in Whoville will by drinking and fucking on the White House lawn.

As for the dissenters like Gbags, El Jefe and the rest, better get used to it, because I dig this site and see no reason to go away anytime soon….

love to all,
chris checkman
waka waka

This article severely understates how and just why the Beatles kicked so much ass.
B.

I’m not a huge Beatles fan, I mean I like them like the next person and own most of their albums but that’s about it but the thing is my favourite album is Magical Mystery Tour, and nobody seem to ever mention this album so I wondered, is it considered uncool to like it? Should I keep it to myself like some kind of guilty pleasure? Would it compare to saying that my favourite Metallica album is Reload?
Chris Checkman

WAKA WAKA and B.– This may be one of the few times ever that I’ve been accused of understating anything, Waka. Even though the piece wasn’t written to be an article (see above comments), I’ll take it as a sign that maybe I’m evolving…

As for the comparative analogy regarding MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR and RELOAD, that one knocked me sideways. However, as it began to sink in, it kinda started to make more and more sense. While not a huge Metallica fan, I know that that record is generally considered something of a low point by the faithful; but, I think this has to do more with the shearing of their hair than anything else…

Maybe I’m wrong; but wasn’t it around this time that the whole Alice In Chains Unplugged “Friends don’t let friends get Friends haircuts” brouhaha thing happened?

Anyway…

There are people that seem to think that MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR was essentially the Beatles emptying their psychedelic toybox as an easy way of satisfying a contractual LP obligation in counting this patched together soundtrack to the almost universally panned film that bore the same name.

I am not the first dumbshit internet wannabe scribe to note that the film was blasted to the high heavens by the Brit crits upon it’s showing on Boxing Day, 1967. And, for the most part, they seemed right on the mark.

At the time….

But modern, or pop, culture has a beauty all it’s own– and one of the best traits it has always held is that it is always there for a new group of folk to take a look and decide for their own damn selves just what is, and isn’t, ‘cool’, or whatever.

Such is the case with the MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR record.

Too closely tied to the critically hated movie it accompanied, it has always been kind of the redheaded stepchild in the Beatles’ canon– when, in fact, the LP version released here in America (was originally an EP in Britain…) is, to me anyway, every bit as good as the record to which it is always compared– SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND….

And, for me, B., MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR is actually way more badassed than PEPPER; because, while I love the latter for it’s coherent nature and continued advance the band’s aritstry, to me, MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR (while no REVOLVER) was a freak out of monumentally disheveled proportions.

Blue Jay Way
Your Mother Should Know
Flying

I AM THE WALRUS.
waka waka

chris,

i did really enjoy the part about the night stalker and ac/dc and the manson helter skelter analogy
Joe

I loved the article. I’ve been preaching this for years, but you are way better at it than I am. I’ve heard every Beatles song a billion times, but I still go on a Beatles binge every few months. I would have to say Abbey Road is my favorite, but Revolver is a close second. Every album could be my favorite on any given day. I recommend for beatles fans to watch all 8 Anthology DVD’s. I broke my ankle last year and had time to watch all of them, they are amazing. You won’t regret it. I think Pauls bass playing is way underated and I think George Harrison’s writing skills are underated. I could go on forever. Great article, keep up the good work.
waka waka

CHRIS CHECKMAN!

I just checked your myspace. hey man, that was cool what you said about radio shitheads and all that…but what’s the deal with that photo man? twin towers? not cool bro. not in any way. not then, not now, not ever. anyway…if you apologize by agreeing with me that 80′s kiss(Sans make up + songs like lick it up, heaven’s on fire, let’s put the x in sexxx and god gave rock n roll to ya” is simply a fantastic page in the book of rock and roll then i accept your apology and we can move on as friends and talk about real rock and roll records. i got the white album on vinyl dude, and every american released journey album so YOU KNOW i know what i’m talking about.
Chris Checkman

Fuck, I hate the internet! Have a drink, hit the wrong button– and “poof!”, there it am…

The point was this: MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR is not only a good Beatles album; but, it is simply a fucking cool record on it’s own. And no amount of revisionist history-bashing could come close to wiping away the sneering cool of “Baby You’re A Rich Man”…

So, don’t even try….

Thanks B. and Waka Waka….

chris checkman
Chris Checkman

Waka, I’ve been asked a number of times over the years to explain the picture on my Myspace, and I never have. But, since you asked in such a public way, here’s as much as I am willing to offer:Though I am no flag-waver by any stretch of the imagination ,it is definitely NOT a “woo-hoo!!! I’m so glad 9/11 happened!” kinda thing.

To me, it’s just a loopy picture (one could hardly call it a photo…) of sightseeing rabbits joyriding in an old plane– and, while there’s a bit more to it for me than that, that’s all the explanation I’ll offer.

As for the Kiss/Journey stuff; well, ain’t it great that people can disagree without exchanging gunfire?

Joe, I’m just the opposite: REVOLVER is my favorite, and ABBEY ROAD is a close second. The beauty of the Beatles is that those two records– and all the others– fire completely different neurons in completely different ways! This was but a bit of their brilliance, as with every album they literally went to a different place. They did not bother to explain where they were going– they just put it out there for those willing to take the trip…

And, yeah, poor George was SO underrated as a songwriter; and, to me, Paul brought a melodic sensibility to bass playing that shall be unrivaled for now and all time. To me, he is simply the greatest bassist ever, as his basslines did not just accompany the root notes and beat, but helped redefine what a previously subjugated instrument could do for a song.

And, as evidence, I offer one fan’s/bass player’s opinion and theory: Up through PEPPER, Paul was playing round wound strings, which gave those great calliope-like tumbling basslines to songs like “Rain” and “Lucy In The Sky Wit Diamonds”. But, at some point, my ears tell me (and I may be wrong here…) he switched to flat wound strings for the deadened, march-style lines he provided for songs as diverse as “I Am The Walrus” and “Helter Skelter”, and a whole bunch of others. Quickly decaying notes, dying behind repetitive melodic motifs– but just slamming home the point all the time….

And then, come ABBEY ROAD, he seems to switch back to round wound strings, and you wind up getting the fucked up shit that accompanied “Something” (that 13 note line before the last vocal still kills every time…), “You Never Give Me Your Money”, and all the rest.

Paul McCartney never wanted to play bass. He was a born and raised guitar player who could sing the shit out of any song; but, when the bass spot was thrown in his lap, all he did was reinvent what it all could mean. Instead of just holding down the root note and keeping time with the drummer, all Paul did was just reinvent the whole goddamn thing.

Don’t believe me, young bass players? Well, just listen closely to the differences between the years 1966-1968/’69. Round wound to flat wound to round wound again. If you can’t hear it for yourself, ask your orderly/handler to humanely chop off your ears. Those remaining will easily discern the difference between the tumbling and kaleidoscopic basslines on REVOLVER and certain parts of PEPPER , and the flat wound-stringed dead legged whomps on everything from “I Am The Walrus” (on MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR), to “Helter Skelter” on the WHITE ALBUM, before Paul went back to the more sustain-oriented round wound strings for ABBEY ROAD…

To me, he’s the best bassist ever….

chris checkman
http://www.melissah.net Melissah

I also like the way that one Beatle was pretty sexy.
waka waka

i think just the length of what this has become proves that either way,hate or love the beatles, or just kind of like them…you are definitely in there somewhere.To me this really does prove, especially when you look around on this particular site at anything about newer bands that are supposed toe be the new king kongs of toe tapping with some name like”Flaming Foot in the Nun’s Mouth House”, or something like nobody cares because what’s supposed to be new and refreshing is about as refreshing as hearing ted nugent cat scratch fever at a gay bar. MY point being that at the very least of any of all nonsensical blah blah hooey it shows that people still care about the beatlers.
Aa

a friend of mine once said that songwriters sing melodies and bass players play bass lines that Paul already though of and passed on….. pretty great.
B.

Glad we agree on Magical Mystery Tour… I’m actually gonna listen to it right now!
Chris Checkman

Typos aside (and I’ve put out enough here to almost fill a stadium…), Waka has said it best: You cannot sidestep or otherwise avoid the Beatles’ influence, whether you’re a musician or not. Like ‘em or not, musician or not, they will(for now and all time) influence either what you do, what you listen to, or both.

Sometimes, cliches are cliches, not because of hackneyed repetition; but, instead because they represent oft told tales of the truth– and so it is with the Beatles. For evidence, look at how their impact on music, art, fashion, social commentary and the like has not diminished one whit since their self-imposed demise in April, 1970.

Every time some new band/fake bullshit corporate musical presence comes around, the media conveniently assigns the “it’s just like Beatlemania!” tag– and it makes for a good and flashy presence on the evening’s news, doesn’t it? “Ooh, this might be the new Beatles!”, is the kind of fake news that makes every easily suckered dumbshit turn his or her head, as it is an easy sucker punch lead in most newscasts and whatever still existing newspapers can pump out for free….

The Knack
Duran Duran
Wham!
New Kids On The Block
New Edition
Spice Girls
Hanson
Etc.
Etc.

At one time or another, there were parts of the so-called “legitimate media” that somehow breathlessly linked these groups and others (anyone remember Tiffany?) to the Beatles by saying shit about how it was “just like Beatlemania” that (fill in the name here) had a bunch of shrieky girls crying and undulating at some show or another.

WHAT THE FUCK?

Guess what, folks: That’s what little girls do! They did it for Shaun Cassidy, The Bay City Rollers, Andy Gibb, and a bunch of others. And, the modern day lil’ squealers have done it for the Jonas Brothers and a bunch of other fucks that will most likely be dead and buried within six months…

And the beat goes on.

The few utterly forgettable entities cited here, and many more, will or will soon be relegated to the scrap heap of musical history; and, as this happens, perhaps those more worthy of greater note, comment, and respect will finally get their due– instead of the flash/pan corporate-driven bullshit that’s been chucked down the kiddies’ throats in the past 25+ years. Exposure to better music might mean a better grade of kids who’ll populate the next generation; and while I understand this might smack of a bit of tweaked eugenics, at least listen before you bitch me out….

Stupidity is institutional; as it is nurtured from parents down to the children they have it off for. Thus (and I am still working out this theory, so bear with me….), if stupidity is genetic, it should also follow that it is cultural, as well.

All I am saying is that the hold outs should not deny any longer what this band means, not only to fans, but to popular music and culture, as well.

It doesn’t matter what you dig or listen to; there is no comparative mania coming. There might be occasional stands of adenoidal girls whelping cries of devotion as this band or that comes to town; but, it’ll die as quickly as it started, and the kids will move onto something else, blah blah blah di dah di dah….

And therein lies the difference: The media and all the hyperbole feeders are quicker than shit to try and peg the next band/singer as being the next Beatles, and guess what?

They’ve been doing this for the past 30+ years, and every last flavor of the moment has fucking dropped by the wayside– possibly not least under the gravitational pull of the pressure from said sensationalist hype from their managers, the media, or whomever….

And this is where so many lose the plot, when it is all so simple:

They were just four simple working class guys, none of whom had any sort of backup plan. All they knew was music, which they played in shitty and smoky clubs as a way of earning just enough to stay afloat. All paid their dues, toughing it out on circuits that broke the resolve of most other bands (so let’s not hear any more “ooh, the Stones were tougher!”, talk, as they were not…); and when Ringo finally came aboard when poor Pete was sacrificed, they finally became the band about which we are still arguing to this day.

And for good reason, as they are only responsible for most of what has happened musically in nearly the last 50 years….

As I said earlier, some cliches are such for a reason, as they are the truth.

You can connect the dots from there.

I hope…

chris
your boy ray ray

why did you have to bring the beatles into this?
Chris Checkman

Be more specific Ray Ray…
http://www.myspace.com/coreygillich corey

totally dug this article, 100% true. anyone who disagrees is just going for the whole ‘everyone likes the beatles so i’m gonna be an individual and just talk shit’ you know the type. solid.
the greatest painter in the world

“is, to me anyway, every bit as good as the record to which it is always compared– SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND….

And, for me, B., MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR is actually way more badassed than PEPPER; because, while I love the latter for it’s coherent nature and continued advance the band’s aritstry, to me, MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR (while no REVOLVER) was a freak out of monumentally disheveled proportions.”

Right on.

Well done, Checkman. The best thing I’ve read about the Beatles since A Day in the Life.
Chris Checkman

To Corey and The Greatest Painter In The World,
Corey, you encapsulated it best with your comment about “everyone like the Beatles so I’m gonna be an individual, etc…”. You, Corey, said in a couple of lines what I’ve been screaming for years; and you nailed it so succintly:

A number of years ago in a major music mag (Spin, I believe; but, please, ‘net hacks, don’t hold me to it, as I am too lazy right now to research it as I have to wake up early tomorrow, so fuck you…), Michael Stipe (for whom I’ve always had a mostly great respect…anyone who doesn’t have DOCUMENT listed in their all-time favorites ain’t worth knowing or fucking…) actually made a comment about never having heard/listened/been exposed to the Beatles much when he was a child or growing up.

Okay, writing this off the cuff as I am now, I may have gotten he exact context wrong; but, I am going off the feeling that hit me back when I first read it– and that feeling was this:

Either he grew up in the strictest neighborhood in East Germany, while wearing a leather hood and hidden in a closet; or else he grew up where he said he did, and was, as such, subjected to the all-pervasive influence of the Beatles as were the rest of us. Didn’t matter to me whether he liked it or not, as that was not the issue. The issue was that he said he was never influenced (my exact word, not his…). He made it sound as though, growing up, the Beatles never made any difference musically, one way or another in his life.

Christ, what bullshit!

I’d have been way more happy if he’d just said “I hated the Beatles, but loved the Byrds”, or whatever…But, instead, he claimed to, somehow, have been brought up on earth, and have had his musical experience influenced in no way whatsoever by the Beatles.

Hmmm…This would be suspicious by any stretch, no matter the type of music the band played; but, it is especially suspicious considering that their earliest offerings (brilliant, all…) were driven in part by Peter Buck playing a Rickenbacker model popularized (right down to the black and white color scheme!) by none other than one of the inconsequential Beatles Stipe cited. I forget the exact Rickenbacker model number; but, I know for a fact that same and said model was later reissued by Rickenbacker as the “John Lennon” model; and, call me crazy, but a lot of the early REM records had a certain jangly sound originally attributed to a band to which their front man claimed to be oblivious….

Fuck, how I hate shit-talkin’-cool-for-cool-sake-poseur revisionist history clusterfuck crap.

Say you love it, or say you hate it; but, don’t say it was never there for your consideration, because you’ll just sound like a posturing asshole.

Well said, Corey….

Painter, thanks for the kind words, and the cut/paste attention to detail. I have some other Beatles/Apple Records related things in the backlog and pipeline; but, a lot of other weird shit to pop out for consideration– and I am looking forward to putting all out for further debates, specifically on this site.

One thing that’s been coolest about this site is this: Whether someone has agreed or disagreed, the vast majority here have taken the time to try and support their points, which makes this something of a unique place on the internet…

Sure, there have been a few slap/run bitch types; but, by and large, it is pretty cool to me, as a writer slowly getting back (no NOT a Beatle reference…there are just so many words, you know) to what I do, to find a place on the ‘net where most of both the yays and nays seem to go out their way to make fundamental supporting arguments.

As cool a website as I’ve seen in sometime, and I am pretty happy to have been asked to contribute…

Everyone should go and seek out the following bands, etc.
The Aerovons
The Smoke
The Mopps
The Golden Cups
The Things
SS20
YO
Dumptruck
The Devil Squares
The Impossible Years
The Haunted
The Leonards
The Howling Dogs
Doctor’s Mob
and…
James Carr (the greatest soul singer…ever!!!)

all the best,
chris checkman

(yes, James Carr is even better than Otis Redding…listen to his version of “To Love Somebody”, and then get back to me…really, it’ll knock you off your fucking feet and turn your innards into molten gel….everything that guy did was fucking insanely good, and went unnoticed to an almost criminal level….give it a listen…)
the greatest painter in the world

Stipe strikes me as a contrarian pain in the ass who would argue with a dictionary. It wasn’t until I started actually listening to the Beatles rather than merely hearing them that I began to understand what bands like R.E.M. were doing. Or trying to do, whatever the case may be. That’s not to say the Beatles are the only influence on R.E.M., but surely Stipe is smart enough to understand the extent of John, Paul, George and Ringo’s influence, even if it was indirect.
Chris Checkman

Painter, the “argue with a dictionary” line needs no tarting up from me.

well fucking said,
chris
Mr. Kotter

I love trying to read one huge paragraph. If you want people to read this crap; make it easier for the reader by breaking up your thoughts into different paragraphs. Morons
Chris Checkman

Kotter– I intended to leave the paragraph topic to die on it’s own, as it has been discussed ad nauseum in the comments string here– which, apparently, you did NOT bother to read. A shame, as it would’ve explained the following, again…

NEXT PARAGRAPH

It wasn’t written for here, it’s on the front of my MySpace page, in the “about me” section. When written, in December of ’04, that section wasn’t accepting of the old paragraph format. I wrote it in paragraph form, and when I hit the “submit” button, it got all squished together into what you see now.

NEXT PARAGRAPH

Can you now see, Mr. Kotter? Does it now all finally line up in a form more acceptable to your discerning eye? It seems to me that it was you, Kotter, who made the fundamental error here, and not me; and that error was in forgetting where you are:

NEXT PARAGRAPH

The internet.

NEXT PARAGRAPH

You see, Mr. Kotter, if you knew anything about the internet at all, you would have known that this IS PRECISELY the kind of shit that 90% of the dross that currently overpopulates this planet (through either religious superstition, “gotta leave my mark” patriarchal arrogance, or both) would leap upon, provided they were the kind of emotionally/culturally stunted shut-in who have little to say about anything else.

NEXT PARAGRAPH

Again, it’s the internet, you twisted little fool; and, given that you were (somehow) able to find your way to the comments section to leave your spittle-drenched words from on low about the moronic level to which this site has dipped, perhaps you might’ve taken just a wee bit o’ time to maybe read/quickly scan the 70-some comments that preceded yours!

NEXT PARAGRAPH

If you had taken the small amount of time needed to do this basic thing, you might possibly have seen that this stupid little nit-picky shit of a fact has been covered a number of times here; and, maybe with the help of whatever trusted handler currently rakes in a whopping $7.50/hr. to wipe your spotty ass, that it was all okay! People called me/Buddyhead.com on it, it was explained that the other site from which it was taken just tamped shit down, like an old whittler stuffing new tobacco upon the smoked embers on his corn cob pipe…..

NEXT PARAGRAPH

Look, Kotter, I can’t totally say I don’t understand your ways. Really. Like you, I can be a rather pedantic asshole– calling people on names, dates, definitions, pronunciations, album titles, and all the rest. Truth is, I normally dig that shit, whether I’m saying it, or it’s being said to me. However….

NEXT PARAGRAPH

It was the combination of your “ooh, I’m playing the easy-to-digest-70′s-lunchbox-sitcom” card, mixed with your aggressive use of a lack of information that really made worth my otherwise useless time a response to you…..

NEXT PARAGRAPH

Welcome Back Kotter?!! Really!??? Ooh, you, twisted scenester, going all Gabe Kaplan on us with your establishment-bashing references to a long forgotten sitcom that exists only to be referenced by sad characters like, seemingly, you! Look at the internet presence calling him/her self Mr. Kotter; and, what a fucking comment that might’ve been back in the days of Compuserve. Could’ve worked in ’93, you loose-assed prig; but, today, I’m hoping to somehow start a small movement wherein the people who make random and anonymous comments on the internet are at least aware that there might be another point of view to consider….

NEXT PARAGRAPH

Another viewpoint, Kotter. I don’t know if you can handle it; but, before I go, do not impugn the site for what you mistakenly perceive as mistakes on my part, or on the part of Buddyhead.com.

The formatting shit snafu came from another site; and, given all the bridges I have burned in the writing community( yeah, Kotter, I kinda used to get paid semi-well for this stuff…), I don’t want to piss off my new friends here, and am happy just for the space to bitch…..

Maybe you misunderstood me, Kotter; and maybe I misunderstood you. I hope the explanation will work for you, and will open a dialogue that will prove to be of a mutual benefit…

NEW PARAGRAPH

If not, you’ll just do what you do, as will I.

Still, Kotter, good or bad, you obviously read the piece; and I am most curious to get your feedback….

angry reactions aside, I wish you the best….

chris checkman
squirmingworm

did the Beatles use paragraphs?
Mr. Belding

So I’m like hey, lets see what Buddyhead has to say about the undeniable greatness that is the Beatles.
I start reading that huge paragraph, and when people on the internet go off and slam out a huge run-on sentence paragraph it irritates me to no end.
I got a 1/4 of a way through it, got pissed and decided to leave a comment and move on.

To me, when I see writing that is poorly formatted with bad grammar and spelling I automatically think it was written by an uneducated moron, whether they are or not.
I understand now from scanning your venom soaked comment that it was a technical problem.
But it’s still a chore to read, I don’t care if its the greatest thing since Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience, if looks like it was written by a fool I won’t read it.
And whats the point of taking the time to write something that you want people to read and then punishing the reader by making them work for it.

So I slugged my way through your article and I agree wholeheartedly except that you didn’t mention the one man who pushed the Beatles to the top of the recorded music mountain, Sir George Martin.
Martin was the one who figured out how to get The Beatles drug fueled ideas onto tape and at the same time making it all fit together seamlessly.

By the way, the bass hits so hard on Dear Prudence that I could totally see one of the dope boys by my house bumping that shit down my block in a primered big body caprice with Lamborghini door’s and 24 inch rims.

Mr. Kotter was the only famous teacher I could think of at the time. Now that’s sad.
Jimi Morrisohendrix

I’m stoked to read this because I’ve had to explain to people many times:

Most of us are humongous rock fans who like all kinds of shit, but there is really only one rock act that you can mention seriously in the MUSICAL company of Bach, Beethoven, Bartok and Boulez: the Beatles. And it isn’t just the “B”–though the “B” helps.

Critics get such hard ons for novelty. TV on the Radio I guess has some black guys–so they’re on every year-end list despite boring the shit out of you. Remember the mid-90s, when people suddenly “re-discovered” synthesizers and made critics cream their jeans by mixing guitars with synths? They get off on what they THINK is “innovation,” but is really just a hip way to dress up an old idea.

Well, the thing about (sometimes also boring) classical heavyweights like Bach and Beethoven is they have more ACTUAL musical innovation and influence in one piece of music than all the music that has come out since…well, since the Beatles. Granted, the Beatles were not purely musical innovators–all they did was reinvent every aspect of popular culture just by keeping their ears and eyes open and making it up as they went along. And yet, just as the article proves, musically speaking there’s certainly not a pop artist around who can touch them for innovation–maaaaaayybe James Brown you could say had a similarly wide effect on what followed. Maaaayybe Bob Dylan (for lyrical content, not music). But the Beatles rule it.
Jimi Morrisohendrix

By the way, George Martin does deserve some credit for shepherding all that raw talent but let’s not short-sheet McCartney. Lennon was the scatterbrained dreamer (a genius of course) who ordered the mountaintoip monks, yes, but Maccers knew how to git-r-done. No, McNuggets couldn’t “write” the flugelhorn solo, but he knew he wanted flugelhorn, and he played how he wanted it to sound, and George Martin said “right-o old chap, I’ll phone a friend!”
Chris Checkman

Belding/Kotter, Jimi, Squirm, et al:

SQUIRM: Loved the Beatles using paragraphs comment.

JIMI: I completely concur with your words about Sir George and did not wish to slight him in any way. Again, this goes back to the being something written for my personal MySpace thing– though this time it WASN’T their fault…

I could write for days on end about everything related to the Beatles; and certainly George Martin is no small player in their universe. But, given that this was for the “about me” section on my MySpace, I had intended to keep it rather short; and yet I blithered out about eight billion words.

Not, so they tell me, in paragraph form.

George Martin is deserving of every critical huzzah he has gotten, and more– and not just for his tech/board op skills, either. That this most un-rock and roll London sophisticate should develop such an artistically reciprocal relationship with four relative hicks from a port city hinterland is tribute to not only the Beatles themselves for being open enough to listen to what Martin had to say; but, also a great tribute to Sir George himself for being flexible enough to also listen to these relative novices….

And yeah, Martin was also open enough and cool enough to take the rough sonic sketches of guys who couldn’t read music, and make the sounds in their collective heads come out on vinyl.

George Martin is as legendary in his field (production) as the Beatles are in theirs. But, as much as I love both entities (Beatles/Martin), it is my belief that neither, no matter their relative native talents or intelligences, would have become what they have without each other. It was never a boss/employee relationship, from either Martin/Beatles, or in the reverse.

It was a collaboration. And, god love the late Stu, and poor Pete, and even fuckin’ Murray the K; but, the only true Fifth Beatle was George Martin.

Period. Thanks for bringing it up, Jimi.

Hey BELDING/KOTTER: I agree 100% when it comes to reading internet shit with endless run-on sentences,no paragraphs, etc., etc…As for the typos, well, sometimes I likes me a drink or two– and when I read the typos the next day, I’d like to cut my wrists…But, that’s just little shit I need to neaten up.

As for my comments to you (when you were in your 70′s sitcom teacher mode, as opposed to 80′s principal mode…) regarding your words on the paragraphs thing, sorry if I came across as a wagon-circling asshole; but, by then it had all been discussed and (I thought) settled to it’s final rest. I just assumed everyone read the preceding comments in the anal retentive way I do. Still, I’m glad we could get past the rancorous stuff and return (I avoided, purposely, the phrase “get back”) to the music discussion at hand….

Hey, BELDING/KOTTER: Regarding the bass on “Prudence”, I could not agree more. To me, McCartney is, easily, the greatest bass player ever. Since you trotted out a geek reference, it’s only fair for me to do so:

Rain, Your Mother Should Know, Helter Skelter, You Never Give Me Your Money, Michelle, Taxman (Paul playing both the guitar lead, and the bassline), etc., etc.,etc…..

And, the killer of all killers is his epic 13 note run leading into the final verse of “Something”. Fucking genius!

By way of full disclosure, I should say that my favorite bassline on ABBEY ROAD is most likely to come from “You Never Give Me Your Money”, as Paul makes the most overlooked instrument a fucking calliope, again, as he had from REVOLVER, PEPPER, MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR.

And yet, what is most cool about Paul is this:

He could back it all up.

Early on, the teen idol shit– check.

A bit later on he got onto the media stuff; but, the thing that never slipped from his vision was the bass, and the true importance it held in relation to the foundation of what they set out to do….

And, while my favorite bit of his is the work he did on “Rain”, I can NEVER turn my back against the 13-note run preceding the final verse of ABBEY ROAD’s “Something”….

And, Jimi, you’re right: we can actually discuss these guys in the greater and time-stretched constraints of the classical greats….

And yet, it should be noted to the naysayers that these guys were, in fact, not the product of a hype machine– and if those of you who think this still don’t get it, maybe you never will, and maybe people like me should just grow up enough to get that, and let it alone and let it be alright….

Okay, I gotta piss. Love this site, and the debate…

best to Belding?Kotter, Squirm, Jimi….

until next time,
chris
Simon Rivas

a-motherfucking-men!
Chris Checkman

Simon,
Thanks for taking the time to read; and while it’s cool you agree, it’s even cooler you took the time to consider shit.

Yes, those who don’t agree with what I say, the chances are good you will get a longer response than did Simon.

But, such is the nature of a debate.

Assent can be conveyed by a mere nod of the head; while dissent, especially on the ‘net, brings out the worst in people like, well, me…

I gotta work on that. Probably won’t; but, I gotta.

Anyway, I fucking love this site for the way things are debated. There seems to be a certain sense of both elitist snobbery (which I don’t hate) and a semi-mature civil tone here that makes this site pretty much a free-standing and unique site, at least to me….

At some point, I will further go into what I once was.

Yeah, I know the past doesn;t matter for shit–and we should just live in the now, blah blah,blah….

Embrace all our music geek shit for what it is, etc., etc., etc…..

Which I am more than happy to do; as I have found a freakishly tolerant website, that will allow me to pretty much go off…

Love Buddyhead.com; love the debate, and, as a failed writer trying to somehow revive possibly the most bridge burned/stillborn writing career of all, I am happy to have been offered this chance to somehow fuck it up all the more….

I guess we’ll see….

chris
FakeName1

Didn’t read anything; just felt like posting.
Website’s fucking confusing. Cynicism in first to fifth gear, then sixth gear turns to fucking “this is being honest, man.”
Gossip needs more celeb cell phone #’s. That’s the only reason I ever read this site. Can’t tell what to like and then dislike; changes every year or so.
So, um, just gonna waste my money on whatever-the-fuck.
Does reading Buddyhead make one cool? Is cool the wrong word? Does it make one a fuck-stick? I hope McCartney reads Buddhead in his spare-time.
Delegate to morons like me. Say what’s cool and what’s not. Too confusing reading the comments and reviews and gossip and bands you promote and then the bashing of acts associated with them. So, uh, fuck music! Yee-ah!
joel dios

as someone who writes and records their own music ive always thought that Geoff Emerick was supremely unheralded when it came to the beatles sonic innovative success’s. the things asked of him and how he had to adapt and innovate to get close to what they wanted to hear which then kept their creative juices flowing and not stagnating was of the utmost importance.
i cannot tell you how many times ive had some strange and vague ideas for a song and how not being able to get what was in my head down to tape totally killed the vibe of the recording. and thats with those ideas coming from my own head!
i cant imagine what it was like to get some wigged out idea from john (who had no understanding of the technical difficulty or impossibility of some his ideas especially with the limited equipment of that era) which was relayed to George and then George who was more of an arranger/composer than engineer handing off the vague details of the idea to a 19 year old geoff emerick.
it staggers the mind!
the beatles were great but they were also lucky to have the people they did behind the knobs or their creative experience mightve been stunted by inferior hands and minds.
and hey chris im sure you have it, but if anyone out there cares about another beatle book you DEFINITELY have to pick up Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles written by good ole geoff. its a GREAT read and i know there are tons of books on the lads but i felt this boook gives you an incredibly intimate look into the wildness of recording the beatles. also tells you what he did to get some of those wonderful bass and drum sounds. AMAZING.
http://www.nemomusik.com JP

I agree totally on the article, but to diss Bowie just for wearing make-up and having a stage persona is kinda crazy. But even HE covered the Beatles. And I love both of them.
meow

so confused, what about beatles vs the kinks? who says that
Chris Checkman

JP: What clearly read as a dis on Bowie was a by-product of my not being clear enough in what I was trying to say, and I cop to it completely.

I fucked up.

While I mostly turned up my nose at his 80′s stuff (and may be among the very few who prefer Tin Machine to, say, well…80′s Bowie), there’s no denying what he did in the 1970′s.

And, in trying to use him to illustrate one point I was going (some might say “straining”) for, I went about it the wrong way.

They were my words; but that wasn’t my intention.

I fucked up. It happens.

Consider that moment my equivalent of the LET’S DANCE fiasco….

chris
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