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| From | Sam Smith <sam@lullabypit.com> |
| Subject | Re: Fabs vs Floyd |
| Date | Tue, 27 Feb 2007 11:06:14 -0700 |
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rob@splitsville.com wrote:
Nice article Sam...very insightful. And yes, you can certainly make a case for the Floyd, as their reach and legacy are tremendous.
I read a quote about the Fabs, Elvis and Dylan, and I think you could substitute PF for Dylan. I wish this quote were mine, 'cos I think it sums it up perfectly. (Wish I could remember who said it, too!)
"Elvis changed the world from the neck down. Dylan changed the world from the neck up. The Beatles did both. And that's the crucial difference."
That's why, I think anyway, they continue to lead the field.
And you really sort of suggest an important point here - the role of
influence. Where would The Beatles have been without the influences of
Elvis and Dylan to draw on? They clearly GOT Elvis' performative/charisma
genius, and I can't imagine that they would have sought such a broad
political relevance without Dylan's shadow looming over the entire
decade.
Freud wrote about it. Eliot wrote about it. And anytime you hear the
phrase "standing on the shoulders of giants," this is what you're talking
about. If a band like a Floyd or a U2 were to surpass The Beatles in the
same way they surpassed Elvis and Dylan, it would likely be because of
the power of their own art as influence. If I were to insist that U2 is
now greater than The Fabs were, your immediate best response might be
that even if it were true, it would only increase the stature of the
Beatles legacy, because U2 could never have been what they were without
John, Paul, George and Ringo.
I'm really aware of how The Beatles paved the way for Floyd - do we
really think Dark Side of the Moon would have been the production
landmark that it was without Sgt. Pepper's (and Pet Sounds)?
--
_______________________
Sam Smith, PhD
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