For college paper - How did The Beatles change ....

[Bill in SD, CA]

Just helping my son here on a college paper.

I'm such a nice dad.

Any input is appreciated.

How did The Beatles change contemporary standards and re-map the course of music in the world?

In other words, what influence did they have which effected change in the world vs. pre-Beatles and post-Beatles?

Bill

[shahani]

Some stuff here:

http://incolor.inebraska.com/sumaree.../influence.htm

[TOAD6147]

Well, from a personal point of view, it opened the door for American guys to start wearing their hair longer although in that time period it was the first time I can remember my mother ever laying a hand on me in anger: I refused to cut my hair. We began to question all those things that we had been raised to take for granted. And they were extremely turbulent times. Kids were being killed by military units at college campuses for protesting. Also, some of their political and social commetary was deliverd in a "harmonious" way. With the popularity of their music came the ability to question the quid pro quo of the politics of America, American life in general, and the Vietnam war in particular. The "British Invasion" of music up to the advent of the Beatles was more gritty and dirty till the Beatles "seemed to give it a bath" while still managing to be social rebels. They helped make protest and social rebelion a more palitable and acceptable concept.

[ben-the-slacker]

LSD

[John Prophet]

how deep you wanna go?? lol

They helped in a major way get drug use rolling in America...they were all sweet and cuddly....they opened the door (pandora's box) and the Stones snuck in behind them, lol. I mean once America's sweethearts (beatles) are doing LSD and consulting guru's for eastern religious ideas etc...the door is open for that sort of "counter culture" type thing. And, as was stated, they, mainly John, really hyped up the anti establishment anti authority thing (see also "Jagger").

Even though they seem quaint now..as does Elvis, you hafta think of the times etc...remember that Elvis was a shock and a scandal, lol...but there is an unbroken chain from Elvis thru the Dylan/beatles/hendrix/stones/aerosmith/AC-DC/vanhalen/metallica/m manson/ etc each one upping (lowering, lol) the ante. Of course, to be harshly true and real about it...the bands continue to decline in quality and increase in vulgarity, crudeness etc etc.....though they are more brash, offensive, crude, vulgar etc...those who follow in the beatles footsteps havent came near the quality of the beatles music. Just a clean and obvious general decline....(see also---->Mozart, Beethoven, Michaelangelo, L DaVinci, etc...where our "advanced" society and its modern ways can NOT reproduce the quality of the art etc of older "primitive" days, lol)

The same thread can be traced thru the other "arts",govt, schools system, etc etc.

If you are interested in it, I already discussed some of this idea in this thread . Be forewarned, I am a born again Christian and thats the viewpoint I was speaking from.

Anyway its the 14th post down on the first page...(get some coffee, its a nice longggg post). I think it gives some interesting perspective by looking at things over a period of time (as opposed to the way we all tend to look at todays headlines and scream about them, lol...better to judge matters over time)

JP

[MTAtech]

When they first started, they were quite convenional (i.e. same hair style, matching mod clothes in performances and albums, etc.) By the Rubber Soul album, they took on a more rebelious character. It probably was related to experimenting with drugs. The psychodelic period started.

Their music changed from just guitar and drums to include other instruments. Towards the end they were using full orchastras.

[John Prophet]

Rubber Soul was a good album (using good in a musical sense, lol)

Ohhh girl...(inhale)....lol

No other band yet has captured that quality of songs like "In My Life".


of course you could also sort of see the changes in attitueds etc in the lyrics as they progressed.

They went from "I wanna hold your hand" to "no one will be watching us, why dont we do it in the road"....lol.

(even a serial murderer comes on smooth at first!!)

[RayH]

Sinatra, Elvis, and the Beatles were the "Kings of Pop" for their generation. The difference was the exposure and the amount of people purchasing music.

Each made a relative fortune for their time. But unlike the former two, the Beatles were also composers...great composers.

But I think a lot of people read too much into the Beatles, just as they do into JFK! They just happened to show up as television was becoming the mass media.

Remember, Telestar was launched just prior to the Beatles, making transatlantic instantaneous!

[TOAD6147]

JP,
I knew we'd eventually find some common ground: "Rubber Soul" is perhaps my all-time favorite album.

[John Prophet]

lol. Was one of their best albums.

Im a musician, I like well writtem music. It definitely has a power...for good or bad...lol...Jimi Hendrix summed it up....he said if he could get the music jussssssssstttttt right, that he could put whatever he wanted to in people's minds....he was smart enough to realize it and open enough (naive perhaps) to openly admit it, lol.