ranting and raving (but not about her KaTeness)

[fingerle@NADC.NADC.NAVY.MIL (J. Fingerle)]

Whoa!!!! I just got done reading Julian Lawton's posting about the Beatles.
How sorely deluded and misinformed the poor fellow is!  I'm sorry if I'm get-
ting personal, but an attack on the Beatles, to me, is nothing short of 
BLASPHEMY.

>Any single facet of the Beatles'work has easily been surpassed...

I've read some stupid things in my time, but that comment tops them all.  First,from one point of view, you might say that the achivement of the transistor is 
not noteworthy to today's world, simply because the IC is orders of magnitude
beyond it.  So let's dismiss the transistor.  That's ridiculous.  But based on
the arguement that the sophistication of post-Beatles artists somehow invalidates the contribution of the Beatles is equally ridiculous.

But look at the other side of this.  One could argue that the Beatles music has
NOT ever been surpassed.  oh sure, new pop heroes come and go, sales records
continue to be set, but the Beatles are still worshipped by millions a full twenty years after they last recorded.

Another thing, however, is that prior to the Beatles, no one had done what they
did.  They blazed new ground, they opened all the Doors, they pushed all the 
barriers.  (Hey i accidently capitalized door-a slip betraying my affection
for that group!).  Using history as an analogy again, think of what Colombus
did--he simply sailed across the ocean.   Big deal.  But then, NO ONE else had
dared to do it.  When you boil it down, the Beatles simply wrote pop music.  So
what.  The point is, their way of writing had never been attempted before.  It was totally unique.

Do you realize that prior to Sgt. Pepper, no one had ever printed the lyrics to their songs on the album before?  No one had ever put out a concept album prior
to Pepper?  These may seem like minor points, but no one had ever done them.
Can any of us conceive of March 1964 when the top five songs in America were
by the Beatles?  Or 14 of the top 100?  Do you realize that 'She Loves You'
shipped gold-the first time in history that had happened?

You've got to realize that the Beatles did not just put the music world on it 
side, they litterally blew it apart and let the pieces fall where they might.

In conclusion, the Beatles far and away transcended pop music.  They were a 
catalyst to a redefinition of life.  Maybe Jane Austin and Emily Bronte are
still read today, but don't tell me that their effect on literature was 
any where near the  Beatles effect on music.   And what was their effect on
life in the last century?  C'mon, you may not like the Beatles music, and you
are certainly entitled to your opinion, but don't delude yourself into thinking
the world is not how it seems because YOU don't understand it from your 
vantage point.

Whew!!  Now to the shower to rinse off the rabid frothing dripping from the 
corners of my mouth.

P.S.  Sorry about the disjointedness of the above.  I just reread what I wrote
and I must admit, that my anger pushed aside my normally more logical writing
style.

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Jimmy                              "When in doubt, bore it out!"
fingerle@NADC.NAVY.MIL              -Harley Davidson (circa 1947)

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