Sunday, July 10, 2011

Do you think the Beatles are overrated creatively?

I always get people yelling at me when I bad mouth the Beatles. Don't get me wrong I actually am a fan of them. I just don't think they are as creative as everyone says. I don't see how ANY of their early stuff is different at all from 50's rock, like Chuck Berry and Little Richard, save the exception that Chuck Berry and Little Richard are much better. I will give them credit for SOME of their songs (never a full album, however) of showing some originality and creativity starting with a little Rubber Soul and explicitly on Revolver. Even then I fail to see how some of their really experimental or psychedelic stuff is any different from trends The Doors and Pink Floyd were innovating. The seem to be absorbing new trends in music rather than starting them. I also don't think it is respectable to only start experimenting with your music after you have made millions of dollars on coming out with imitations of 50's rock. The only reason the Beatles (and Elvis for that matter) are seen as starting rock is because they were the safe white alternitive to what African American musicians were doing for rock music. Don't get me wrong I think some of what they did, like songs off the White Album or Sgt Pepper's, are creative but, in general, I feel they did more popularizing of recent music trends rather than innovating them.

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