OFF: 10 MOST HATED

[Paul Mather]

On Mon, 22 Mar 1999, Stuart Hamilton wrote:

=>Carl Edlund Anderson cea20 at cus.cam.ac.uk wrote
=>> The Beatles - sloppy songwriters, poor musicians, vastly overrated.
=>
=>>Yeah, but I liked a lot of their records anyway.  I _was_ born after they broke up :)
=>
=>Well, I was 4, so my musical taste was pretty well defined by then.  I
=>suspect my antipathy is tainted by 30 years of fawning reverence.  Too
=>many polls claiming St Pepper as the greatest album of all time, by
=>people who who should know better.

If I didn't know better, it's almost as if you're saying "I don't like
the Beatles because everyone else does." ;-)

I have to admit that I was neutrally---even negatively---disposed
towards the Beatles, mainly because of the "hype" I felt surrounded
them.  That was until I bothered actually to listen to them seriously
(as opposed to hearing a handful of the "hits," which was my previous
exposure).  One spin of _Revolver_ was enough to tell me I'd
*seriously* underestimated these guys!  And then _Abbey Road_ went
into heavy rotation.  (_Revolver_ is still my favourite, and, IMHO,
their magnum opus.)

You may dislike the Beatles for their critical and popular acclaim,
but I find it hard to countenance the "sloppy songwriting" allegation.
Songs don't get lodged as deep in the collective international psyche
as deeply, and endure as long as a lot of Beatles songs by being
"sloppy."  Some of these songs are iconic, now.  Obviously they must
be doing *something* right. :-)

IMHO, the Beatles truly are one of the great bands (more so if you
appraise their achievements in context).

Cheers,

Paul.

obJonesin'For: Gov't Mule, _Live, With a Little Help From our Friends_
                        (due 3/23)