British Invasion 2.0

"In just seven years, the Beatles went from a rock-and-roll dance band to psychedelic visionaries to mature singer-songwriters, from musical adolescents to adult artists. And it is a journey listeners can still take with them. Indeed, this is not just a musical game, it is a mystical quest."

"Their longevity may suit our nostalgia but it works only because the songs have become the folk music of our times, so brilliant and wide-ranging that they exert a powerful grip on the imagination, whatever your age."

From the above mentioned article....I couldn't have said it better.
 
"In just seven years, the Beatles went from a rock-and-roll dance band to psychedelic visionaries to mature singer-songwriters, from musical adolescents to adult artists. And it is a journey listeners can still take with them. Indeed, this is not just a musical game, it is a mystical quest."

"Their longevity may suit our nostalgia but it works only because the songs have become the folk music of our times, so brilliant and wide-ranging that they exert a powerful grip on the imagination, whatever your age."

From the above mentioned article....I couldn't have said it better.


There's no doubt they were great. I wont argue that.

But for me, I've heard those sessions before. It is a very personal thing for me I guess. I move through music quickly and have no feeling of nostalgia. In fact I actively avoid it. I may own an album from the past to use for teaching, for example, Kind of blue, but I wont listen to it at home. Just as I wont read War and Peace again. I can't read the same book over and over. Nor the same sessions. What is new to discover??? Life's too short.

But that is just me. I don't force it upon others.
 
There's no doubt they were great. I wont argue that.

But for me, I've heard those sessions before. It is a very personal thing for me I guess. I move through music quickly and have no feeling of nostalgia. In fact I actively avoid it. I may own an album from the past to use for teaching, for example, Kind of blue, but I wont listen to it at home. Just as I wont read War and Peace again. I can't read the same book over and over. Nor the same sessions. What is new to discover??? Life's too short.

But that is just me. I don't force it upon others.

To learn a craft, you learn from the bottom up. The Beatles (as does 'Kind of Blue') represent - to me - a basis upon which to learn. In their case, an attitude or a method of endeavour. Replaying their music (musically influenced bands) are irrelevant - just like replaying 'Kind of Blue' would be, but to understand what you can do, you need to see what has been done. There's no emotional involvement of 'nostalgia' at play and I'm far from saying 'replicate'. I'm saying take concept and learn - but not take music and learn.

What's new to discover? Well, clearly there is something. Otherwise we would all know by now that trying to copy music of past eras is pointless and stagnatory. Taking aesthetic positions? Not so.

And I'll take Oasis as an example, you're right. For the record, I hate Oasis. I'm glad to see them splitting.
 
To learn a craft, you learn from the bottom up. The Beatles (as does 'Kind of Blue') represent - to me - a basis upon which to learn. In their case, an attitude or a method of endeavour. Replaying their music (musically influenced bands) are irrelevant - just like replaying 'Kind of Blue' would be, but to understand what you can do, you need to see what has been done. There's no emotional involvement of 'nostalgia' at play and I'm far from saying 'replicate'. I'm saying take concept and learn - but not take music and learn.

What's new to discover? Well, clearly there is something. Otherwise we would all know by now that trying to copy music of past eras is pointless and stagnatory. Taking aesthetic positions? Not so.

I know, but I'm 45 and have listened again and again. I have made the search from people such as Baby Dodds through Gene to Buddy and Papa Jo to Kenny and Philly and Elvin to Joe to Tony and Jack to Rasheed and Billy and Al to Harvey and Mike to Rick and Steve and Jeff to Chester to JR to Ndugu to Dennis and Vinnie to Keith and Benny.

That knowledge is there already. I use it with my students. But for listening, I want to go this way ----->
 
I know, but I'm 45 and have listened again and again. I have made the search from people such as Baby Dodds through Gene to Buddy and Papa Jo to Kenny and Philly and Elvin to Joe to Tony and Jack to Rasheed and Billy and Al to Harvey and Mike to Rick and Steve and Jeff to Chester to JR to Ndugu to Dennis and Vinnie to Keith and Benny.

That knowledge is there already. I use it with my students. But for listening, I want to go this way ----->

I agree with that sentiment, believe me. Sometimes though, I just enjoy listening to the music again.
 
Please don't think about Keith too much. Brains might implode...
 
While the band was amazing and so was their success, I must admit I find it sad that modern youg rock bands must still compete with this nostalgic, half a century old product.

Rock is a slow moving beast where nothing really changes. The result is what is now happening. Senior citizens and the dead getting revenue (again) that would be better off pushing the music forward.

Every time I see the Beatles or Led Zep mentioned on a web site I die just a little.

I agree. Obsession with the past retards musical evolution. The Beatles were a very influential group in Western pop music and even influenced music in other cultures. They are worth veneration and study, but it's gotten a bit ridiculous. I recall reading a wealthy investor who has purchased part of the Beatles catalog and other famous goups says he doesn't like invention or trying new creative things. I wish I could find that article. Rock could be getting like jazz - unable to really reconcile its future with past successes that are becoming traumatic.

Beatles music is like Christmas music, played everywhere constantly, except it's year-round. Whenever I hear The Beatles or Led Zeppelin playing in a coffee shop (which is very very often) I cringe in embarrassment. Can't they come up with something that hasn't been heard 50 million times?

I am very careful to avoid listening to The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and other overplayed groups lest they influence me too much. I am interested in music that has not yet been created.
 
I think different genre's of music are destined not to evolve, rather artists evolve through them. Each genre has it's moment then moves in & out of popularity but generally follows the generation that spawned it. Most new genre's are born as a result of rebelion against the popular genre of the day. Occasionally there's a bit of anti establishment political influence just to push it along. There should be no surprise in this evolution. New genre's are developed by the youths of the day who typically fight against the dominant music medium as it represents what is acceptable in the very society they criticize. Every few years, that generation is replaced by the next who see them as the establishment, & so on. It could be argued that it is fixation on past genre's that acts as the catylist for the birth of something new. Each new genre denying, but ultimately submitting to, influence from those that have gone before. I'm off to play some rock music!
 
Another reason I believe for this re-release, is the technology. There will be more talk soon as the Apple label, allows Apple the computer, to put the entire catalog on iTunes. And in 5 years, or ten years when the newest format comes out, I'll call it MP 5, the entire catalog will be made available once again. Or the newest toy like Rock Band, you will see the Beatles yet again. I for one, who has all of their works on CD and some vinyl, will not be purchasing any of the new stuff because I own all I need.
 
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