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.
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