I'll admit I despised The Beatles before having my Beatle-loving English teacher my Junior year of high school. By the end of the year I actually enjoyed many of their songs but I feel like I either love their songs or I hate them and I'm not sure why. There is no in between with them for some reason in my opinion.
Regardless of what I think, The Beatles were an "international phenomenon" as the text states and there is no doubting that. Their music is recognizable all across this planet! They combine the styles of the likes of Elvis Presley and Little Richard and made the electric guitar a symbol of rock music.
What makes me enjoy some of their songs so much is their originality and uniqueness. Many of the songs at that time seemed to have one speed throughout the song. The Beatles used splicing so that they could change speeds of the song without altering their pitch which was revolutionary at the time. They also used their instrumentation to perfection whether it be the electric guitar, drum sets, tambourine, or any other unique instruments that they would use for effects in specific songs. Below is a video of their song "Twist and Shout" which most of you will recognize. I love it because there are no other songs that are like it. It sounds like a back and forth hard rocker and harmonious duet with a very lively rhythm which captures the essence of the 60s. "A Hard Day's Night", "Help", and "Ticket to Ride" are some other works that are upbeat and overall great songs.
Like I already mentioned though, they still have a few that I just can't stand. The pattern I notice in the songs that I don't enjoy is that they're slow and monotonous. When I think of The Beatles, I think of fast-moving, lively beats not slow rhythms...they were able to pull off a couple slower songs though but they had enough changes in rhythm to keep it interesting ie, "Hey Jude". Just an example of a song that is repulsing to me is "All You Need is Love" (shown below in video). Its just too slow and all I here after I listen to it is "Love, Love, Love" in this annoying voice ringing through my head. Also, I feel that Lennon is fighting to get all the words into each stanza...its just not smooth.
Overall though, The Beatles have some very solid music that I really do enjoy listening to but I feel that some of their songs were a complete waste of time...just a humble opinion though out of billions.
Thank you for sharing your humble opinion :). For being such an incredibly famous band I never really got into listening to their music. But like you I had a Beatles and many other band loving teacher in High School who cultured me in the real rock in roll. I would definitely say I'm glad to have had that, because we did listen to some pretty cool music, and it also kept us from having to do homework;). And yeah I used the smiley face twice :)... make that three times in my post.
ReplyDeleteI also blogged on The Beatles and I really dislike them. Like you mentioned, I also don't like the slow and monotonous songs. However, I completely forgot that they sang "Twist and Shout." This might be one of the only Beatles songs that I like. It has more of rock and roll sound that they are known for.
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