I don't like The Beatles, am I the only one?

[JW001]

It goes like this. Someone selects a target of an established fame and recognition (a novel, a film, a band, etc) and asks: "Is it just me or does someone else doesn't like X?".

This thread is actually mildly entertaining - the target is a pop band which was in its time wildly popular, mostly among teens. But I've run into similar discussions concerning best novels and films of all times. And that was really annoying.

 

[Brutus6844]

Next thing someone will be saying they don't like the Eagles.

Next thing someone will be saying they don't like the Eagles.

That's just like, your opinion...man.

 

[EJ3]

I like them when appropriately prepared. a little lemon juice and dill works wonders. Need to use "baby" limas. The big ones are too fibrous.

Key word: appropriately!
Some foods I thought that I abhorred for many years (cooked by various different people around the world. Then I had the very same item cooked in a similar way, as far as I could tell, by a friend of mine that I had grown up with's mother. And it was quite good.
But since then, I have never had anyone else cook it so that it was tender and had an acceptable (to me) flavor.
So, in general, I still do not like liver.
But there is an exception.

 

[Petrushka]

Key word: appropriately!
Some foods I thought that I abhorred for many years (cooked by various different people around the world. Then I had the very same item cooked in a similar way, as far as I could tell, by a friend of mine that I had grown up with's mother. And it was quite good.
But since then, I have never had anyone else cook it so that it was tender and had an acceptable (to me) flavor.
So, in general, I still do not like liver.
But there is an exception.

I just jumped in here after reading the thread title.

 

[Robin L]

Just heard a few songs from the Glyn Johns mix of "Let it Be", the version that would have been issued as "Get Back". Gawdawful stuff. Have to say that, with very few exceptions, the Beatles' outtakes expose the band's weaknesses, though the "Get Back" edits (remember - this was being presented as a potential commercial issue) are about as bad as any get. It seems like the band started off as something different and exciting, then very suddenly found themselves trapped in their own hype. I'd say they reached a creative peak with "Revolver", with Paul hijacking the ship with Sargent Pepper's and Magical Mystery tour. The "White Album" has a series of solo cuts with backing by the band, Let it Be has everybody flailing and Abbey Road has the band scraping together the last bits before separating. I can't blame them for what happened, but I no longer believe the hype.

 

[Bond_007]

I'm a fanatic music lover
But I just don't get the hype about The Beatles
Am I the only one?

There is no hype. "The hype" or rather popularity (the word hype did not exist in the 1960s) was in the 1960s.
I really like The Beatles and I have all their 12 studio LP albums and a number of EPs.
We all a different and this is why there are so many different types of music. You like what you like. You are not supposed to like what other people like.

 

[Meyer]

Interesting that Pearl Jam and Nirvana were mentioned, musicians that loved the Beatles.

Nobody has to like everything, but since you love those bands it might be worth spending time investigating what your favorite bands saw in the Beatles.

 

[mhardy6647]

There is no hype. "The hype" or rather popularity (the word hype did not exist in the 1960s) was in the 1960s.

Origin of "Hype"

So I looked up the definition of "Hype": From Dictionary.com (surprisingly). to intensify (advertising, promotion, or publicity) by ingenious or questionable claims, methods, etc. (usually

english.stackexchange.com

 

[Bond_007]

Origin of "Hype"

So I looked up the definition of "Hype": From Dictionary.com (surprisingly). to intensify (advertising, promotion, or publicity) by ingenious or questionable claims, methods, etc. (usually

english.stackexchange.com

This may well be, but it did not exist at that time in the same sense. And a hyperbole is not the same.
As a slang word It appeared really with the internet.
PS The Hype was a band that backed David Bowie in 1970 ))

 

[krabapple]

I'm a fanatic music lover
But I just don't get the hype about The Beatles
Am I the only one?

Their music change enough over the band lifetime that it seems odd to me to not like any of it.

But no, of course you aren't the only one. There's 8 billion people on Earth, surely there's plenty more who don't like the Beatles. And of course ASR is full of curmudgeons with passionate feelings about music.

It would be mulish to deny their historical importance to popular music, though.

FWIW, I like 'em plenty but they're hardly my favorites, nor frequently in my playlist.

 

[krabapple]

For me, I'd take The Kinks singles from the 60s over the Beatles for pop music. The Yardbirds were more adventurous musically/sonically.

Really? Name a Yardbirds song that is as weird as 'Strawberry Fields'.

 

[krabapple]

Have to say that, with very few exceptions, the Beatles' outtakes expose the band's weaknesses

swap in almost any band there.

Outtakes are outtakes for a reason. 'Bonus tracks' usually aren't revelatory.

And ever listen to isolated parts from various classic bands? It can be 'interesting' to hear how not-perfect they are....in isolation.

 

[krabapple]

Pearl Jam, now, there's a band I never got the hype about. They are serious, quite competent , pretty mainstream in the rock idiom. The players can play. The singer has some range and can write a good lyric. Do I ever want to listen to them? Nah. (Or...very rarely indeed)

 

[mhardy6647]

Really? Name a Yardbirds song that is as weird as 'Strawberry Fields'.

or Tomorrow Never Knows
(which I think was about three decades ahead of its time)

 

[mhardy6647]

Pearl Jam, now, there's a band I never got the hype about. They are serious, quite competent , pretty mainstream in the rock idiom. The players can play. The singer has some range and can write a good lyric. Do ever want to listen to them? Nah.

Haven't you been paying attention? They didn't have hype then! It came from the internet!

PS ahem... Hype definitely was a thing by the (early) '70s. I was there. Yeah, a little fuzzy around the edges some times, but there.
I remember reading a review of Jesus Christ Superstar (the record) musing (i.e., from Judas' perspective) that Jesus had gotten carried away with all of the hype surrounding Him.
Definitely a thing.

 

[krabapple]

Haven't you been paying attention? They didn't have hype then! It came from the internet!

these kids today....who think it all came from the internet

I well remember when Seattle grunge became an object of 'hype' and record company feeding frenzy. I was already a grown-up.

PS ahem... Hype definitely was a thing by the (early) '70s. I was there. Yeah, a little fuzzy around the edges some times, but there.
I remember reading a review of Jesus Christ Superstar (the record) musing (i.e., from Judas' perspective) that Jesus had gotten carried away with all of the hype surrounding Him.
Definitely a thing.

Definitely. Wikipedia says 'hype' was already a dictionary noun with the modern meaning in the late 1930s, and certainly by the late 1960s.

 

[JRR]

I've never understood how this middle of the pack band has so many followers and fame. I don't dislike some of their songs, but there are millons of better bands of all periods out there

Because most people are middle are middle of the pack people. Exhibit B: Taylor swift.

 

[sonitus mirus]

Because most people are middle are middle of the pack people. Exhibit B: Taylor swift.

Probably similar to why a song such as "Stairway to Heaven" was the most successful song from Led Zeppelin. It is certainly not my favorite song nor is it included on one of my favorite albums from the band, but it appealed to a majority of listeners as it covered a lot of ground with the softer intro into the harder-edged ending. It had popular appeal that stood the test of time. You just never know. Unless you were Don Kirshner, then you had a special ability not unlike George, John , Paul, and even Ringo at creating the gems.

 

[EJ3]

Because most people are middle are middle of the pack people. Exhibit B: Taylor swift.

Now, exhibit be is the one that I do not understand.
Also, that there are not bands but mostly individuals on top of the charts these days.
I find that I do not listen to many BIG names any more but to more regional BANDS.

 

[Jaxjax]

I was a Beatles hater for really no good reason really for forever it seems..then one day I came around. They were very good IMO. I prefer the Stones or most definitely the Who, Yardbirds. Led Zepplin etc...JP is my dude & collect old photographs of him & Beck actually. Ohhhhh I remember WHY I was a beatles hater. It was Lennons smarts ass mouth....lol All forgiven now. Now adays it's freakin lip sinking Roger Waters that pisses me off !!!!