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The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?
The Beatles vs. the Rolling Stones was the great “This or That” of the 60’s. Despite the unsurpassed creativity and variety of pop music in those days, it sometimes seemed as if the Beatles and the Stones divided the world between them, with there being no third. Certainly, they appeared to be the yin and yang of the rock world. There were the smiling, relatively clean-cut, boyish Beatles, who managed not only to make music for the kids, but to put out what John Lennon later disparagingly referred to as “granny music”, and who even made cartoons for kids (see below). On the other hand, there were the more brooding and snarly Stones, who were definitely not granny or kid-friendly, and who put out such anthems as “Sympathy for the Devil”. Of course, in the real world, the dichotomy was less stark–the Beatles had their dark side, and Charlie Watts, the drummer of the Rolling Stones, was and is into Big Band music. Still, the images and the public perception was there. I was too young to be aware of all this at the time, of course; so I’m going to approach this from another direction.
There has never been a time in my life that the Beatles weren’t in the cultural atmosphere. Their first album, Please Please Me, was released in March 1963, four months before I was born. Beatlemania ensued in the United Kingdom. They came to America and played on the Ed Sullivan Show in February of 1964. Beatlemania ensued in the United States. Thus, throughout my earliest years, there was always something by the Beatles on the air.
My first clear memory of them is of the cartoon TV series, The Beatles, which aired in first run and then in reruns from 1965 to 1969. I watched it regularly and could still remember bits and pieces of it by my forties, at which time I showed episodes to my then-young daughter on YouTube. As far as 60’s cartoons aimed at kids go, it still held up. And what a soundtrack! Going back to my youth, I was vaguely aware when the movie Yellow Submarine came out in 1968, but I never had the opportunity to watch it until it played on network television sometime in the early 70’s. It was very different, to say the least, from the TV series; but I found it oddly fascinating. Several years ago, I bought it on DVD for my daughter, around eight at the time; and she, too liked it.
As I said, the Beatles were always there. I listened to relatively little pop music as a kid, though. The records (yes, it was pre-CD and MP3) I bought were all classical. I heard what was on the airwaves, of course; and there was always Beatles, and later, Paul McCartney, and to a lesser extent, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, as solo acts, on the radio. Still, it was more background music than anything else.
Rubber Soul for the Weekend
Alas, this post was originally supposed to be the full album of Abbey Road, the best Beatles album of all time (yeah, so fight me!). However, apparently it’s blocked in the USA. Thus, I’ve replaced it with Rubber Soul, which some critics consider the best Beatles album (it’s kind of a critical showdown among Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. I think Abbey Road is best, myself. As I said, fight me!). Hope you enjoy it, anyway.
The Pretenders for the Weekend (Again)
A live version of a song from my favorite Pretenders album, Learning to Crawl.
Joe Walsh for Lent
I’ve already got a music post scheduled to go up later today, as I try to do on Fridays. However, it’s still Lent, and Fridays, especially Fridays in Lent, are particularly appropriate for confession. Thus, I thought I’d post this blast from the past in honor of the season. For those of you who are Catholics, there’s still slightly more than a week to get to Confession before Easter! Whether or not you’re Catholic, enjoy!
