Beatles: Yay or Nay? (you may vote for more than one item)
 

I get itchy when too much time passes without a Beatles thread, so here's another. Basically, were they worth a damn or not?

I promise not to hold it against anybody, really I do....

Please note that Multiple Choice is enabled in the poll.

I don't know how to vote in this poll. I can't stand the "best" lable. Who out there can say who else is "best" at something like music. It's so subjective.

That being said, I love the Beatles. I'm not a die hard fan, I have the #1's album and that's it. But I enjoy them. Though I do like early Beatles better than trippy Sgt. Pepper Beatles ;)

I voted "best ever" just because I could not bear to vote for "decent rock band."

Def Leppard is a "decent rock band," the Beatles are so much more and yet I still hesistate to say "best."

Anyway, for anyone who missed it, there is an awesome flash animation from a previous Beatles thread here: http://www.milkandcookies.com/links/16037/

Beatles were before my time and I've never really gotten into their music. My girlfriend's dad really likes them though.

Damn, warrrreagl...ya got me pinned here without a choice. I wouldn't say that they're the best band ever, but they're certainly a helluva lot better than just "decent". I feel disenfranchised. :(

You know, I'm going to edit the first post, because I forgot to advise everybody that you may vote for more than one option if you get stuck between two of them.

I voted for best ever. Without a doubt the most imaginative group there has ever been. No one has been able to match the songwriting talent of Lennon and McCartney. I have all their albums, and I never grow tired of listening to them.

BTW: I know just how you feel warrrreagl, I get anxious when there are no new Fab 4 threads too.

I voted decent, because although I consider them a great band, I don't consider them to be anywhere near the #1 spot. As many others, apparently, I'm between those two choices.

Teh Beatles = Teh Best. Maybe, dare I say, better than the Rolling Stones?!

Best rock band ever. Period.

I've always been of the mindset that there are two schools of music, before the Beatles and after. In my opinion, The Beatles changed everything.

Whether or not bands admitted it (and alot of them have) they were effected by them, if not influenced by them. The fab 4 broke a lot of doors down and changed the way music is seen, heard and played.

The problem with the current music scene is that it is stale. We need another Beatles, but we will probably never get our wish.

Entertainment Weekly ran an article that simply asked if The Beatles were still relevant after 40 years. The reporter basically answered the question himself by pointing the fact that we are still talking about them 40 years later, so they must be relevant.

I agree.

I just can't sse any of today's bands being much more than a footnote in 40 years.

My favorite Beatle album is Rubber Soul. Love the Beatles.

That's a hell of an adjective jump from "best, period." to "decent". What happened to "good", "influential", or "fucking superior, but not quite the match of some other behemoths of rock history?" Because that final option definately would have gotten my vote instead of 'decent', but 'best' would just be a lie.

Well, yeah, but that's not saying much.

I like the Beatles just fine, but many people make them out to be more important to their art than they really are. Sort of like Jimi Hendrix or Beethoven or Shakespeare or DaVinci. None of them had done anything extremely important or innovative to their school of art, except be popular. If you want me to elaborate on that, PM me, and I'll be happy to. The Beatles were more innovative and important in pop culture than they were in music.

True, true.

Agree totally...Beatles are awesome, but the BEST??

Yes. None of them did anything extremely important or innovative...except for completely revolutionizing the damn thing. What the hell are you talking about? Every one of them made amazing innovations that changed the shape of *their art* (Well, Hendrix doesn't belong up there, the Beatles would be much more fitting.) Do you actually know anything about their accomplishments?

Well, I'll be the first to post negative. I voted 'Pitiful Little Boy Band' simply because I hate the Beatles. I personally see the Beatles as an overrated band, but thats just my opinion, as much in the minority as I may be, thats ok.

Until we meet again. . .

I would definitely say they're better than decent, and I'd even say they're probably the best band, but for some reason I don't associate the label rock with them. I guess I just think of rock as a different type of music... but they are awesome.

i guess some people are funny about the word "best" but to me most influential and experimental and ground breaking would make them pretty damn good.

Overrated, IMO.

With the whole "Beatles invasion" thing, I think they were way overrated, and just a pop icon. As the years went on, their musi got better and better. But best ever, to me no, but a hell of a band yes.

If the Beatles were introduced today, there's no way they'd even get a chance at a record contract.

I can't vote in this poll because there's too much distance between "the best" and "decent." They're excellent, for both musical and pop culture reasons, but I don't know if I could label anybody "the best."

Pretty sad but true statement.



I'll amend my original comment above by adding George Martin and Brian Epstein and others to the mix, you expand the overall picture.

Were John, Paul, George and Ringo the "Greatest Band Ever"? NO

Did the Beatles as a whole (including George and Brian) change music and art forever? YES (IMHO)

I think "The Beatles" as a group get credit many things that happened around them. George and Brian were responsible for a lot of things as well as even other people within the circle. For example Astrid Kirchherr, Klaus Voorman, Stuart Sutcliffe, the Maharishi, Ed Sullivan and even Yoko all contibuted to the whole phenomenon.

I think in cases like this "The Beatles" refers to the whole experience.

But then again, maybe I'm reading way too much into it and over-analyzing a simple question...I tend to do that.

the beatles....a good band that i am really tired of.

they were really innovative in the george martin arrangments, which exploited possibilities in production that were avilable but had not really been exploited yet--and i like quite alot how they used tape manipulation techniques like looping/delay in a pop format.
they were the objects of a new kind of publicity.
i like their films.
i dont think they revolutionized anything--but there were a part of one in pop recording.
i dont think they were great musicians--if you only think about rocknroll, you might see them that way, but if you think about what was happening in jazz etc., then things fit into a different perspective.

i do like revolver.

nay for me. i know they were influential and everything, but their music sounds hollow to me. it could be that it was made at a time that didn't have the technology we have now to mix and round out things, but their music was empty for me.

They're doing well in the poll. What I like so much about them is the variety of their sound. So many songs sound so different, especially if you compare them to shitty bands like Nickleback, whose songs all sound way too similar.

Decent at best for me, but they were not of my time. I would much rather a good rock album from the late 70's through the early 90's then almost anything from the 60's to 70's era.

I voted decent rock band. I like the Beatles stuff even though they're not my favourite.

It's difficult to say "best ever," but that's what I ultimately have to go with. Any time anyone asks me what my favorite band is, I make sure to qualify that by making sure that they understand that it's unfair to put the Beatles in the running. They were far and away above what anyone else was doing. Everything in rock music happens before or after them. Their musical talent is questionable, (even though Harrison was an amazing guitarist) but it's not about thier raw talent; it's about what they did for rock, for music in general, and for our culture.

IMO, there is a point where the Beatles seriously sucked... and that was when they first made it big.

They changed the face of music, yes, but *NOT* with their ultra-cheesy songs like "I wanna hold your hand" and "Love me do". I honestly don't think a single (good) artist was inspired by THAT particular phase. It was their later, more experimental, stuff that did the trick ;)

Once they grew out of the corny boy-band-like phase, they were actually pretty good.

Decent rock band, GREAT songwriters.

I treat the two differently, so sue me.

oops, double post

Best ever, everything they put out was pure gold. And they never get stale, each album has its own sound. You can hear a song and normally tell what album its off of within 10 seconds.

The history of their evolvement, and the influence they have had other artists since their time, whether the artists are aware of it or not, is something that few bands have so sucessfully accomplished. Part style setter, part pop culture establishment, experimenting with new sounds, and most of all growing as a group is what I think makes them stand out so much. In all of life is there rarely anything that is excellent from the get go. The group started out playing what the crowds wanted to hear, and once they were established then went about making music and writing lyrics for the sake of music. Plus I'd give just about anything to be able to have a Steinway at my disposal.

Definetely a huge influence on music, and a inspiration to almost every other band after them, but I can't stand them. I really don't think they are that good.

Best rock band ever? wasn't Beatles more of a pop band than a rock band...?

anyhow The Beatles is pretty damn decent but not the best band in the world IMO

not even close..for pure catchy tunes and evolving style nobody come close by a long shot. It is also a scientific fact...I believe.

Amen. I've been making this case to my wife for years, but she never believes me.

I have great memories of being a kid and listening to the Abbey Road album on my parent's boat. To this day, it's probably my favorite Beatles album (especially the B-side), and maybe my second favorite album of all time.

the beatles started out pretty well, but it wasnt until after the beatlemania era that they started making really good music that was deep and philosophical. songs like "lucy in the sky with diamonds" and"strawberry fields forever" and those were really cool.