So I made Suzy go see a 73 year old man play rock-n-roll music live for three straight hours the other night. It was awesome. The Beatles impact around the globe in the 60's is similar to that of Apple today, and few others ever. They transformed the world. Suzy gets annoyed when I opine about this too long. I do feel sorry for her because she - until this blog - is the outlet for many of my pop culture opinions/trivia/deep thoughts. Surprised that she still hasn't read last week's posts? The combination was perfect. Sweet, likeable Paul. Deep, confident, opinionated John. Classy, talented, dependable George. And the closest-to-mortal, "how talented is he really," but agreeable drummer Ringo. So many organizations or teams in any walk of life need the perfect combination of talent and personalities - the Beatles would not have been the same without their perfect mix. The range of music that they created in just about 10 years is remarkable. Think about it - from the sweetest of songs (Something, Hey Jude, Yesterday, Let It Be), to the hardest rocking of songs (Revolution, Twist and Shout, Helter Skelter), to the most universal staples, adored and known by children and adults across the world (I Want to Hold Your Hand, Yellow Submarine, She Loves You, All You Need is Love, Help!), and then to some of the most rich and complex music that will ever be made (A Day In The Life, The Long and Winding Road, Across the Universe, Blackbird, Eleanor Rigby)... Something for everyone, everywhere, at any time. Forever. Wow. On that Apple analogy. I love music, and from my view - without the Beatles - today's music is not the same. There are other analogies - the signers of the US Constitution set the course for our country, the architects of Washington, DC laid out a new City to serve as the hub of our government, etc. - but I like Apple the best because of the universal, social + technical, kids-to-old people, cross-cultural, lasting change-to-the-world-as-we-know-it nature of both the Beatles impact on pop culture and Apple's impact on social culture. I could get cute and map the parts and pieces - John could be Steve Jobs, Paul might be the iPhone, George might be Wosniak, not sure about Ringo (OK, this might not survive the published blog...)... but you get the gist. Debatable of course but the scale and breadth of accomplishment is similar and rare. So back to the other night. Paul McCartney could have been an animatronic (interesting - I thought the same thing about Taylor Swift the first time I saw her live...). His performance was almost too perfect, especially at 73. That's not a complaint - he was simply amazing. How he can still commit to the music, the crowd, and the touring schedule I don't know. But clearly it's who he is, and it was awesome to see. Like I told you, Suzy - we're lucky we had this chance to see a Beatle live. I don't want to dilute the Beatles impression from this blog - but I was really surprised to re-remember what spectacular music Paul made with Wings after the Beatles. They all made great music after the breakup (yes, even Ringo - "It Don't Come Easy"), but Wings is as good a collection as there is. I will commit a future post while it's still in my head. But that's enough for today. If you just read this, why don't you spend the day with "Michelle" in your head. You know - Michelle, ma belle Sont des mots qui vont tres bien ensemble Tres bien ensemble I love you, I love you, I love you That's all I want to say... Just remarkable. The diversity of what they created, and it's oh-so-catchy nature. I love the Beatles.
Yesterday's dip into "Chicago" had me spending the day immersed in their songs, and other music from that era. My brother-in-law Dave Sutter commented about other bands from the same time and place who also made an impact. Maybe not resulting in a "Chicago sound", but pretty cool none the less. This is another fun thing about music. Los Angeles, Seattle, and of course, Minneapolis, have had similar "moments". It doesn't take too long, when you're streaming Chicago on Spotify-like playlists, to stumble into Air Supply. This brief post was sparked when that happened to me yesterday. So many mixed reactions. The strongest are the polar conflict - "Do I skip this song?", or "Do I belt it out at the top of my lungs??". Yesterday I chose the latter. "I'M ALL OUT OF LOVE! I'M SO LOST WITHOUT YOU! I KNOW YOU WERE RIGHT, BELIEVING FOR SO LONG!" I'm pretty sure Air Supply was the genesis of the term "guilty pleasure". (Note to self - Genesis would be a great band for a future 24 hour obsession. Note to others - my Air Supply obsession lasted much less than 24 hours, but I will admit to about 24 minutes of... OK, pure bliss (which Paige benefited from on the way home from Church this morning)). If you're over 40, go ahead and admit that - while you believe Air Supply might be the sappiest music you've ever heard - you, like me, could still sing along to 5 or 6 of their songs even if you haven't heard them for 35 years or more. And you'd like it.
Many musical reflections this year that I might want to capture. We'll see. Subscribe to the blog if you want to periodically reflect.
Losing Glenn Frey, David Bowie, Prince, BB King, and others in a quick run marks the end of some incredible talent / people / music / "eras" / etc. This follows a few years of losing some of my personal musical heroes (Alex Chilton, Gary Moore), and has me thinking about transitions in life and how quickly "it" all goes. Heightens the sense of urgency to not waste time.
I go through so many phases where different artists are on my mind and making an impression on me. My poor family benefits from this as well, especially since we now have this whole house sound system. They'll realize the benefits later in life. Last night catching a bit of this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction setoff a new "mini" phase when Chicago got inducted.
OK, I was never a huge Chicago fan. Actually not a fan at all. But like a lot of people, I can string together many Chicago songs throughout my younger years and bring memories and sing-along tendencies.
And I always appreciate a good band story - people coming together, contributing individual talent, blending to create great and complex music, and developing a shared identity that is recognized around the world (and in most cases - Chicago's specifically - also rooted and shaped by a geographical region and somehow becoming part of our cultural sense of that place). And all of the human drama that comes with it.
I did take the time to find out why Peter Cetera, who I always thought of as the voice/face of "Chicago", was not at the Hall of Fame ceremony. It's not clear, but appears to be a spat of some sort - he was going to go, then not going to go, then going again, but in the end "it's just not meant to be".
So this band of (over the years) 19 people - second only to the Beach Boys in American-band Billboard chart success, one of the best-selling groups of all time, a band who owns the "rock and roll band with horns" sound - can't all put their daily concerns aside long enough to relish the fact that they made a pretty cool mark on the world together??
Well I'm not going to let that drag me down, as unfortunate as it may be. The music is just too unique and fun. And they made it together, as a group of individuals - suspending their personal concerns and stresses at least long enough to record part of our American "soundtrack".
So Saturday morning listening to "If You Leave Me Now", "Saturday In The Park", "You're the Inspiration", "Will You Still Love Me", and, yes, "25 or 6 to 4" is a pretty pleasant way to start the weekend. With the mental backdrop of a diverse group of people, working together as a band, creating a distinct slice of our world ringing through my head as their recordings flow through my (and my lucky family's) ears.
Pretty inspirational. Yesterday morning I couldn't have cared less about Chicago. But this is the way it goes with music and me - a little spark, and 24 hours later I'm inspired by something new, or something old brought back to light. Life is too short not to enjoy! Even if just for one day.
