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| From | "Michael Bennett" <mrhonorama@hotmail.com> |
| Subject | Re: Another Bealtes? |
| Date | Tue, 03 Aug 2004 14:25:50 -0500 |
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I agree and disagree with Stewart -- from the perspective that 'there will
never be anything like The Beatles again', with the implication being that
nothing can be quite as worthwhile without a Beatles analog -- that is a
conservative bent that leads to the backbiting that Stewart describes.
But I don't think Stewart needs to diminish The Beatles so much to make the
point. Being amazed by their talent and the confluence of circumstances
that made them so pervasive is not necessarily empty nostalgia. It's just
recognition of what makes them a stand out amongst stand outs. It's kind of
like comparing Barry Bonds recent stats to Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols
-- as great as the latter two are, their numbers still can't compare (sorry
to lose the non-baseball fans).
I wonder if the reaction would be the same if the question was 'Will there
be another Ray Charles?'
Mike Bennett
Record reviews and more at http://fufkin.com
Find out about Chicago shows:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/chicagopopshowreport/
>From: Stewart Mason <flamingo@theworld.com>
>
>At 02:02 PM 8/3/2004 -0400, Miguel Motta wrote:
> >Great reply Josh... level headed and well thought out... other great
>replies
> >added also... ('cept for the "get over it" one... how do you simply "get
> >over" what restructed the already great inheritence left to us by the
>great
> >blues players of the past, Elvis & Motown?...that's like trashing all of
> >your mother and father's genes just because they're not around anymore...
> >sheesh)
>
>I'm not talking about getting over the music, which of course endures. I'm
>talking about getting over the idea that the Beatles -- and the '60s --
>were the pinnacle of Western Civilization. The Beatles were a kick-ass
>rock and roll band. One of many. (Shocking revelation: there have
>actually been kick-ass rock and roll bands *since* the Beatles, too!)
>That's all they were, but isn't that enough? Why the need to invest them
>with this level of mythology on top of that?
>
>It's nothing but pure, unadulterated Boomer Nostalgia that makes people
>long for "another Beatles." It's the same kind of moldy-fig conservatism
>that made fans of the original New Orleans jazz bands hate big-band swing,
>and swing fans hate bop, and bop fans hate free jazz. It's telling The
>Youth Of Today that the stuff they like will never hold a candle to what
>you liked when you were The Youth Of Today, and it smacks hard of sour
>grapes about not being The Youth Of Today anymore.
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