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A blog by someone who doesn't like or understand blogs.
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Email me at david [at] danzig [dot] com.
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Wednesday, January 28, 2004
BEATLE JUICE.
External link: http://www.beatles.com/
I can't possibly be the first person to think of this, but I think I've put my finger on exactly what made the Beatles so great, and why their greatness has yet to be duplicated, and how to duplicate it.
The insight comes from looking at why John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who collaborated on almost every Beatles song, were so mediocre (let's face it) after they left the band and went their separate ways.
Some of Lennon's solo stuff is very good (notably "Imagine"), but the majority of it is so dark and twisted that it almost seems like there's no melody at all to it. It doesn't pull you in and along the way a Beatle's song does. It pushes you away with its jarring, discordant twists and turns. Likewise the lyrics are often so depressing and dark that they are difficult to face.
Some of Paul McCartney's stuff with "Wings" were very catchy, but they are all so light and empty, both in the tunes and the lyrics, with no big payoff. No strange, satisfying twist, like almost all the songs on the second half of the Beatle's albums.
And that's exactly why they were so, so great together. John's stuff was so dark and meaningful and heavy and difficult, giving a huge payoff, if you'd take the time to really let it grab you and soak into you and take you, fully committed, along for the crazy ride. And Paul's stuff was so inviting and catchy and sweet and easy, and it drew you in and made the song immediately accessible and fun.
Separately they were like two parts of the same brain unable to fully function on their own. But together, the effect was so perfect and magical that nothing quite like it has been achieved before or since. But, if that's really the secret to it, then there's no reason why there can't be a thousand more Eleanor Rigbys and Lucys in the Sky and Days in the Life and Hello Goodbyes and all the rest.
Thinking on it, I think there are a few artists who do hit on this combination, and they are among my favorites. They include Elliott Smith, R.E.M., and the Cranberries. Of those, I think only R.E.M. really strikes as strong a balance between being extremely fun and accessible, and also being extremely strange and satisfying, but their version of strangeness is very different from Lennon's, and seems less deep and meaningful. But that also demonstrates how combining something strange with something sweet and familiar can take you to almost any strange place in a satisfying way. That's probably not just true about music, actually.
link to this item: http://www.creamy.com/blog/2004/01/beatle-juice.html
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