|
Cheesy though it may sound, this was written in 2004...
2004 marks the ninth year of my Beatles "addiction". Sometimes
I wonder if perhaps it was fate for me to have found The Beatles when I did... or maybe, they found me.
The most amazing
thing is that The Beatles still, and always, remain the soundtrack to my life, if you will. Of course, the initial all-consuming,
blindly devotional infatuation gives way to a calmer loyalty. It would be difficult to love them in that eleven-year-old ferverent
way when there's school, university, and life as a whole. But whatever happens, The Beatles' music is always there, resting
subtly in the background.
They were, and are, all too human, as we know, but the thing that makes them immortal, the
fact that ensures they will always be seen as the greatest, is that amazing music. It still sounds new and innovative, and
never seems to be out of style. It can be played over and over and over - but you'll never grow tired of it. The mark of real
music - enduring music - is that it's part of the world's collective memory. The Beatles have surely reached that long ago.
There will always be new generations of fans, because it's not necessary to have been around during the hey-day of Beatlemania
in the Sixties to love them. The Beatles span generations. The music rings true no matter what.
On a personal level,
The Beatles' music was there when I was ill with the chicken pox... when I was feeling down in my teen years... in High School...
during times of sadness and happiness... during exam stress... during vacations... during a road trip... and it will always
be there. Their music is not just a soundtrack to what goes on in life, but also offers just what we think and wonder about,
all wrapped up into a wonderfully timeless musical bundle.
Before this gets any longer and overly sappy, I will finish
it off by saying, in the words of another great band, "...you're the best thing that I've ever found..." - because
it's true. Words can't even begin to describe how much they have influenced me, how much they mean to me - The Beatles didn't just change modern culture, sell millions of records, receive more gold records than any other
artists, evoke hysteria... they have influenced me, shaped me and continue to do so through their music, their movies and
their wisdom.
- July 1, 2004.
Written originally several years ago and reworked a bit in April 2007...
It was March 1995 when I, eleven years old at the time, stumbled across The Beatles accidentally.
My mother and I were lounging in our living room and for lack of anything else to do, we switched on the television. What
we found set me off on an entirely different path. It was the film "A Hard Day's Night" which turned me into a complete Beatlemaniac
in an instant.
I was glued to the screen, gripped and endlessly fascinated by these four people. The music! The humor!
The personalities! The looks! There was no turning back - from the moment I saw The Beatles, things were never really
the same again.
Of course, the next thing on my list was to persuade my parents to let me get a Beatles album. These
were the pre-CD days for me, and so I had my eye on getting a cassette tape. Since my parents, as well as any other family
members and friends, were convinced this would just be a short phase, they talked me into getting a best-of album... and so,
my first Beatles purchase became "20 Greatest Hits". Incidentally, I still own the tape... it just can't be played anymore,
as it's worn out.
In school, I took a lot of flack for liking an "old" band. Some teachers, too, were surprised to see
my notebook covered with Beatles pictures. But that didn't stop me - I just kept getting more and more interested in The Beatles...
and the more I found out, the more I loved it all.
In essence, I would definitely say that The Beatles changed my life. Aside from the obvious fact that
they made me a nut, and that I can listen to their music repeatedly, they also broadened my horizons in numerous ways. Examples
that come to mind are:
- Turning me into an Anglophile, with a great interest in England, English history, the cities, the
accents...
- Interesting me in India (I still aim to travel there some day).
- Making me like '60's fashion (e.g. a raincoat like Paul's in Paris, 1964; a female version of a
pair of Beatle boots; sunglasses á la the "Paperback Writer"/"Rain" videos; pants somewhat similar to George's infamous striped
ones...)
- In fact, I wished I had straight, not curly, hair, because I'd have gotten a Jane-Asher-style haircut
a long time ago!
- Despite the fact that I've always loved reading novels for as long as I've been able to, becoming
interested in The Beatles meant reading up on the subject... even a book the size of "The Beatles Anthology" from cover to
cover.
- Through them, I became more interested in photography and ended up doing a photography project for art class in
High School.
- Likewise, it was through them that I discovered psychedelic art and used that as a basis for an
art project in High School (minus the, er, mind-altering drugs, of course).
- Not conforming to all set rules, being innovative and having your own opinion are also things that
I've come to realize much more strongly through these four people.
- They made me more aware of the fact (as Astrid Kirchherr once wrote) that you've got to hold onto
your dreams and work to make them happen.
- Always trying to find and keep some humor in all you do.
- They made me want to write, as a journalist, that is.
The list goes on. They have been - and still are - a massive influence in my life. They are also the
one band, the one interest, which always succeeds in gripping me and in putting a smile on my face, no matter what happens.
As mentioned elsewhere (see "I've Just..."), the choice of who was to be my favorite Beatle was intially
individual - I chose George - and was then influenced by my mother (who has always been a Paul fan). To this day, it continues
to be George, followed by Paul, for me.
It's 2007 and, as I write this, I am surrounded, as ever, by Beatles posters on the walls of my room,
a Beatles calendar, Beatles books and miscellaneous memorabilia, all of the official CD's, as well as some... not so official
ones, vinyl albums, videos, DVD's, magazines and newspaper/magazine clippings, t-shirts etc. Being a Beatlemaniac is really
a way of life, I suppose. It's rare for a week to go by without a listen to a Beatles or solo Beatles album. Not to mention
that I maintain this little Beatles fansite, That Magic Feeling.
Prior to seeing The Beatles that first time, I'd never have assumed that something could mean so much
to me for such a length of time... but I'm glad I found out otherwise. My life would be decidedly more dull and less fun without
The Beatles and their music.
|
