Here, There and Everywhere

George Harrison died Thursday afternoon, November 29, 2001. My words cannot really express how sad I am at his passing, so I will let the words of others speak for me:

The "Dark Horse" That Shone Bright - Jim Washburn, MSNBC
Readers Reflect on George Harrison - MSNBC
Quotes About George Harrison's Death - AP (on Yahoo)
Ex-Beatle Harrison Dies at 58 - Yahoo

The BEATLES are my other minor obsession. They're probably the best rock`n' roll band ever so.... Mostly my favorite stuff is what they did in the middle of their reign, `65-'67. I like their early stuff even though it's mostly in the vein of bubble gum pop. And some of their late stuff can be a little too weird for me. However, I do think that once I get to know that stuff, I just might like it. The fun thing is that a lot of diffferent types of people like the Beatles, even though some people think they were too commercial to really be about the sixties (yes even I gag when I hear Give Peace a Chance) and Michael Stipe considers them elevator music.

I Feel Fine

Right now my favorite Beatles song is If I Needed Someone, but it's always changing. Revolver is probably the album I like the most. George is my favorite Beatle and I get a lot of weird responses to that admission. Half the people say "He would be..." and the other half say, "George?" with a tone that mixes pity and scorn. But George has got to be the overlooked genius. Only a Northern Song is a great bit of sly commentary. How can you not love Something, Here Comes the Sun, You Like Me Too Much, I Need You, and While My Guitar Gently Weeps, among others?

Act Naturally?

The Beatles movies A Hard Day's Night and Help! are probably among the two best films I've ever seen. Okay, maybe more A Hard Day's Night than Help! They're singin' on trains, on the beach, in the snow, and, of course, onstage. At any rate, they are both worth viewing. And the albums that the two films produced were fantastic. Not all the songs on each album are from the movie, but the supplemental songs are still great. You Can't Do That: The Making of A Hard Day's Night is also pretty cool.

A World Without Love (I Know that's Peter & Gordon)

When the first Anthology came out there was a lot of discussion about what the world would have been like if the Beatles had never got together. I hate to think about that. Yeah, Paul probably still would have become famous, writing dreck though. John could have been a never-discovered silent genius. George wouldn't have gotten anywhere. Ringo might have done a little something.

But the main issue is that Rock `n' Roll would have suffered at least a little. Every innovation is bound to occur and music would have evolved but probably later than it did. One historian complained that the Beatles were given far too much credit for revolutionizing music and the sixties. Admittedly, part of their popularity was based on the mood of the time and the particular actions of that era's rebellious youth. But a heck of alot of the appeal was new, good music. This hisorian claimed that Elvis Presley was the real innovator and the Beatles simply came along with more of the same. I like Elvis (though I prefer his ballads to a lot of his rock tunes) but as my friend Roland and the miniseries "The History of Rock `n' Roll" pointed out, Elvis really just "made rock `n' roll safe for white people." (Note: I do love Elvis.) The Beatles started off sounding a lot like everyone else with their covers and all but they soon developed a more than distinctive sound.

Here are a few Beatles links:

My Personal Discography (i.e. what I got)
The Beatles
The Beatles Anthology
Beatle Girl's Ultimate Homepage
The Beatles Jukebox
The Beatles 1
All About the Beatles Butcher Cover

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Last updated November 30, 2001. 11:50 PM PST
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