Best Beatles track?

[Passdout]

'Because' is also a great track.

 

[soulman]

Yes, good band, as I said.

My only issue is with the 'there's no possible better band' type view.

I could start a thread about the Pixies and would get just as many responses.

Who's said that?

 

[futha]

'Because' is also a great track.

have you heard elliott smiths cover of that?

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

Who's said that?

Alex B, post 9

I was listening to Love (the mash-up Beatles album) the other day and it made me realise just how much the Beatles tower over everyone else. I cannot think of another band whose work would survive the same treatment.

 

[Passdout]

Yes, good band, as I said.

My only issue is with the 'there's no possible better band' type view.

I could start a thread about the Pixies and would get just as many responses.

I like loads of Beatles tracks. I havent got a clue what my favourite Beatles track is, and I dont have a clue who the Pixies are.

Funny thing is, my favourite type of music by far is funk, closely followed by soul, R&B etc. Regardless of what some people on here tend to think of them, I think they definately changed the face of music at that time.

The Beatles wrote more hit songs and more memorable songs than anyone else I can think of. Here we are talking about a band who came to fame 40 years ago. I cant think of any band now that would be anywhere near as famous 40 years from now.

 

[Passdout]

have you heard elliott smiths cover of that?

Im listening to it now, sounds excellent ....

 

[Pavlik]

Yes, good band, as I said.

My only issue is with the 'there's no possible better band' type view.

I could start a thread about the Pixies and would get just as many responses.

I've never heard anything by the pixies but i'm pretty sure they were influenced by the beatles, as was just about everyone who's written a song since the beatles changed the way we understand music.

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

I cant think of any band now that would be anywhere near as famous 40 years from now.

But how can you possibly predict that with any certainty?

All the "The Beatles were teh best band teh ever" music snobs at my school, who sneered at me for liking grungey stuff, told me, back in 1992, with absolute certainty, that nobody would remember Nirvana 10 years later. Well Nirvana are still well-remembered.

So how on earth can you guess who will be remembered in 40 years?

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

I've never heard anything by the pixies

I disbelieve you.

 

[EddyBlack]

But how can you possibly predict that with any certainty?

All the "The Beatles were teh best band teh ever" music snobs at my school, who sneered at me for liking grungey stuff, told me, back in 1992, with absolute certainty, that nobody would remember Nirvana 10 years later. Well Nirvana are still well-remembered.

So how on earth can you guess who will be remembered in 40 years?

Yeah but then you can say, who will be remembered 80 years from now. Whereas, at only 50 years Nirvana will not have stood the true test of time. Sorry.

Nah they are great, but so are loads of bands. To be honest though there arn't any from, the last 10 years that I could think of.

Oasis?

 

[soulman]

Alex B, post 9

No Alex B thinks there's no other bands work that would. That leaves the future wide open. A challenge...

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

Trail of Dead, Queens of the Stone Age, Mastodon

Siberian Divide (Mastodon) is better than anything the Beatles ever did - FACT

(just kidding, it's all opinion)

 

[Passdout]

But how can you possibly predict that with any certainty?

All the "The Beatles were teh best band teh ever" music snobs at my school, who sneered at me for liking grungey stuff, told me, back in 1992, with absolute certainty, that nobody would remember Nirvana 10 years later. Well Nirvana are still well-remembered.

So how on earth can you guess who will be remembered in 40 years?

Obviously you cant guess that, and obviously we can all remember other bands and other songs from 40 years ago and more, but I cant think of any who had so many hits or who shook up the music industry the way that the Beatles did.

I wonder if back in the 60s anyone was discussing a band from the 20s the way we are now? I doubt it.

 

[Pavlik]

I disbelieve you.

you go ahead.
I was listening to nothing but techno between 89 - 95 and I lived in france between 95-2000, hearing nothing except what was on local french radio.
I am just starting to get into radiohead and I'd never heard anything by oasis or blur or all the others from that period until 2001. Tbh I find most of that music nauseatingly boring.
I remember someone putting on a pixies video after a very drunken day out but i wasnt paying attention.

scouts honour

 

[Spion]

I've never heard anything by the pixies but i'm pretty sure they were influenced by the beatles, as was just about everyone who's written a song since the beatles changed the way we understand music.

Now there's a bold and interesting claim. How did they do that then?

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

I agree about their massive impact - but I think it's futile comparing then to now. If anything I think people have a much better and wider range of music to choose from now than they did then.

 

[upsidedownwalrus]

you go ahead.
I was listening to nothing but techno between 89 - 95 and I lived in france between 95-2000, hearing nothing except what was on local french radio.
I am just starting to get into radiohead and I'd never heard anything by oasis or blur or all the others from that period until 2001. Tbh i fing most of that music nauseatingly boring.
I remember someone putting on a pixies video after a very drunken day out but i wasnt paying attention.

scouts honour

Pixies were more 88-91. They were short lived but did 5 cracking albums in that time.

 

[Pavlik]

Pixies were more 88-91. They were short lived but did 5 cracking albums in that time.

yeah, i was at the rave

 

[soulman]

Things We Said Today

One of their better earlier tunes.

 

[Pavlik]

Now there's a bold and interesting claim. How did they do that then?

I've been trying to find a link to back me up. I heard on a documentary a few yrs ago that the beatles had done something with chords that no one else had ever done, which has been widely copied ever since.
heres a cut and paste from http://home.att.net/~chuckayoub/the_beatles_lasting_impact.htm to give you some idea anyway;

The Beatles revolutionized studio recording methods, proving that there was no sound, mood or effect that could not be achieved if all possibilities were explored. Today, many of those innovations are taken for granted, but the Beatles had to imagine or invent them on the fly. "We didn't have any magic or electronic boxes to plug into," their engineer Geoff Emerick points out. "We had to make it all mechanically ourselves. Most of the gadgets you can buy today are just based on the things we used to do mechanically. The artificial double tracking and the flanging and all that sort of stuff." The Beatles added their own experimental innovations, including endless tape loops that combined multiple layers of sound, backward effects, and the introduction of instruments like the sitar, the mellotron and the synthesizer. They did not hesitate to bring any instrument or musician into their sessions, whether it was a lone horn player, a string quartet, or a full symphony orchestra. After the Beatles, the only limitations were those of imagination, creativity and effort. The Beatles even managed to break the long-standing three-minute time limit rule that had applied to virtually all previous hit singles by clocking in with the 7:11 "Hey Jude." And, along the way, they invented the modern outdoor stadium concert.

The Beatles seldom, if ever, repeated themselves. Unlike many rock and roll singers who preceded them, they did not attempt to continually recycle the sound or "formula" of their first hit over and over, a mindless strategy that was followed by far too many artists and producers in the '50s and early '60s, and which spawned a legion of one-hit wonders.

 

[Passdout]

I kinda liked the 'Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End' medley, although it puzzles me a bit. Was it all down to McCartney?

One thing that made me smile was that the you tube I found of this had a guy called Hamish Stuart playing guitar in it with Macca. Hamish Stuart was one of the founders of one of my all time favourite funk bands, The Average White Band.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Yes, good band, as I said.

My only issue is with the 'there's no possible better band' type view.

I could start a thread about the Pixies and would get just as many responses.

I don't think you would, but I agree that it's stupid to say 'there's no possible better band.'

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

.

So how on earth can you guess who will be remembered in 40 years?

It's not just that they're remembered: their music has been basically a part of the landscape throughout those 40 years.

 

[Passdout]

The Sun King was also around that time. Its kind of classical really.

 

[dweller]

their best for drunken karaoke - Let it be

 

[EddyBlack]

I like that one. Lovely song, funny how they didn't spin them out into full tracks, but clearly they new what they where doing.

Sun King I meant.

Obviously..

 

[danny la rouge]

I kinda liked the 'Golden Slumbers / Carry That Weight / The End' medley, although it puzzles me a bit. Was it all down to McCartney?

There's guitar solos from John, George and Paul, and a drum solo from Ringo, but most of it was apparently done while John was in hospital after a car crash, and cobbled together by Paul & George Martin, with Paul playing all the instruments, including drums, in some sections. John reportedly hated it.

I thought everyone knew that.

 

[Spion]

The Beatles revolutionized studio recording methods, proving that there was no sound, mood or effect that could not be achieved if all possibilities were explored. Today, many of those innovations are taken for granted, but the Beatles had to imagine or invent them on the fly. "We didn't have any magic or electronic boxes to plug into," their engineer Geoff Emerick points out. "We had to make it all mechanically ourselves. Most of the gadgets you can buy today are just based on the things we used to do mechanically. The artificial double tracking and the flanging and all that sort of stuff." The Beatles added their own experimental innovations, including endless tape loops that combined multiple layers of sound, backward effects, and the introduction of instruments like the sitar, the mellotron and the synthesizer. They did not hesitate to bring any instrument or musician into their sessions, whether it was a lone horn player, a string quartet, or a full symphony orchestra. After the Beatles, the only limitations were those of imagination, creativity and effort. The Beatles even managed to break the long-standing three-minute time limit rule that had applied to virtually all previous hit singles by clocking in with the 7:11 "Hey Jude." And, along the way, they invented the modern outdoor stadium concert.

I find that a bit long on hagiography and short on evidence - maybe the long version does get some exhibits out. It's basically saying they invented loads of effects, released a long single and pioneered stadium gigs. The first one I instantly doubt - people like Joe Meek were doing all sorts of innovative production techniques very early in the 60s and getting hit pop songs from them - eg Telstar, Have I the Right. Off the top of my head I can't think of another single that long before that one, but I'd check the stadium thing, cos it'll be a US gig of theirs and it wouldn't surprise me if those type of venues were already in use. And to claim the stadium gig as an invention is outside the scope of 'the music' as such anyway.

I'm not a fan, as I say - I find their music clunky - but I think they did achieve a lot. I just struggle to put my finger on what it is. I think it may be consistency over a long period writing catchy tunes that appealed to a wide audience. Apparently there's a Howard Gooddall programme looking at their music in some detail. Might try and torrent it. I'd like to know if they did anything special with chord progression and structure. My hunch is that their music may have looked backwards in some senses as well as forwards and that's why it had a wide appeal, but I'd be going out on a limb arguing that. Worth a try tho

 

[danny la rouge]

I'd like to know if they did anything special with chord progression and structure.

Nothing new, as such, but some of the harmony used on the Revolver album was (at the time) quite unusual for a pop record.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

My hunch is that their music may have looked backwards in some senses as well as forwards and that's why it had a wide appeal, but I'd be going out on a limb arguing that. Worth a try tho

I don't think anyone including the Beatles themselves, would say that their music wasn't affected by earlier musicians, styles etc.