Originally Posted By vbdad55 <But I suppose the question for those of you who were around 1st time; why did the Beatles take such a great hold of a generation (and subsequent generations as well)?< I think becuase they moved the ball forward so to speak on a number of issues, and did so in the main stream media. Kids today would have a real hard time understanding the world pre-Beatles. Wearing jeans to school- oh my - never when I was young. Longer hair ( and I mean like touching the top of your ears long) would get you sent home from school - or possibly beat up. As great as they were musically- and they were/are - the cultural side effects helped endear them to a geneation. It was a quiet rebellion if you will.A chance to say, hey,listen to us, we have something to say. Yes Dylan pre dates them, but main stream never got early Dylan - or folk protest musi ingeneral- I think some just write them off as communists ( although more careful after the whole Joe McCarthy thing. I view it as coming of age with the Beatles - and as I aged so did their music and topics --- yet for the most part they weren't hated ( as were some other bands )-. They can't get credit for all of the subsequent changes - but they were the right band, at the right time to be the poster children for the ride... the 60's - yes we can remember it ( well most of it) - and many many things today would be quite different if not for thngs that changed then. Great special on the History Channel on Hippies - no tsentimental - realistic -- and remember a lot of the age we live in today came from people who used to ride on Ken Kesey's bus --- Steven Jobs / Wozniak, Hole Earth Catelog - the technical age got it's start with people who came of age then, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find any that woul give the Beatles no credit.
Originally Posted By wonderingalice ^^Great post, vbdad! On the no-jeans-to-school thing... Growing up in So. Cal. in the '60s, with the exception of one or two EXTREMELY rainy winter days, girls were NEVER allowed to wear pants of any type. It was ALWAYS skirts or dresses (of a "proper" length too, of course - very interesting in the days of mini skirts.) I wore dress pants maybe three times all throughout elementary school.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo This is great material. Moving the debate forward, could another band have captured the imagination in the same way? Were they trend setters or dedicated followers of fashion? And why does their music resonate with the children and grand children of hippies?
Originally Posted By wonderingalice Ahhhhhh... Okay, perhaps if the timing were right another band would have been able to, but you must figure in the Beatles' personalities. They were like everyone's favorite, funnier older brother. (Didn't we ALL feel like we knew them personally? They LET us feel that way.) Fashion... Trendsetters - definitely. As an example - Look at the footage from the Shea Stadium concert. The opening act (Sounds Incorporated, I believe) is wearing collarless jackets, ala the early Beatles. The Fabs come out in the tan Nehru jackets. Like, "been there, done that, moving on." Of course, without their fingers on the pulse of the hippest designers, this wouldn't have happened, but it did. They were always a step ahead. The music resonates to all generations (even those whose parents and grandparents weren't hippies ;-) ... Because it is simply FUN. Young ears - usually hearing "Yellow Submarine" - are easily excited and made happy. It's addictive and they want to hear and learn more. I'm not sure this can be explained, but I DO know that children and teenagers of all ages can be found dancing in the aisles at Beatlefest. Nostalgia is fun... My friends and I were totally into the "American Graffiti" soundtrack in '74, too. Even though we did, in many cases, hear that music years before the movie smacked us hard. Before the Beatles, I played Elvis' music like crazy on my little suitcase record player... My parents simply SHARED it all - I took it from there.
Originally Posted By disney pete ok my kids 20 and 17 big beatles fans my girlfriends dad who is latvian big beatles fan lets just say ACROSS THE UNIVERSE on my final journey ive already let it be known i want IN MY LIFE played
Originally Posted By wonderingalice ^^Me too, pete... In My Life and it must be the Beatles' version. I originally made that wish known 25 years ago to my now-ex-husband (still friend); even my work friends know about it. And Mr. Alice knows that after In My Life is fulfilled, he can select all of the other music.
Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes When asked my favorite Beatles song, In My Life seems to pop in my head first then immediately I'm overwhelmed by the thought of two dozen others.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <Were they trend setters or dedicated followers of fashion?> Definitely trend setters. Look at the charts from '65, '66, '67... so many hits sound like the Beatles from a year or two earlier - meanwhile, they've moved on. As early as '65 when wannabe-moptop groups are everywhere trying to copy the early Beatles sound, they're already doing "Norwegian Wood." 8 months later they're doing "Tomorrow Never Knows"!
