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You've
probably seen something like this on numerous sites out there, so this idea isn't original by any stretch of the imagination...
but, of course, the reasons are different, so read on if you wish:
These
are - narrowed down, difficult though it may be to keep it short! - personal reasons to love The Beatles.
Because,
ask anyone who knows me, I love these four people (too much, some say... It's, er, devotion, not an obsession.
;)). So what makes these four so "fab"?
Let's
proceed in the "traditional" order of John, Paul, George & Ringo, before reaching the group reasons, shall we? ;)
JOHN
- He's John... and was an entirely unique individual! But, as if that were not enough, there are more
reasons...
- His
humor... Just have a listen to some press conferences. Wit at its best.
- His
songs... If it were only that, it would be enough already, wouldn't it? There are so many, so diverse... and there's
bound to be at least one any fan loves!
- His
books... You have to read them! He was so great with words and word plays.
- The
poem "The Fat Budgy"... This remains one of my favorite poems.
- The
sniffing Coke scene in A Hard Days Night... It's hilarious, strange though it may be that it always
makes me grin when I see it.
- "Bet
you can't guess what I was in for!"... And the accompanying laugh - one-of-a-kind.
- John
in Help!... A particular favorite: "Get me the Home Office! He's wrecking my home!".
- "I'm
Down"... at Shea Stadium. Just watch it.
- John
as Thisbe... See the "Fun With the Fab Four" VHS/DVD for this one, because it's hilarious.
- The
"This Boy" solo... Definitely a fine musical moment!
- That
hat... See 'The Beatle Style' section of this site for a picture. In various incarnations, John seems to have loved
this one... In fact, I quite like it myself (have a black one similar to John's ;)).
- "Imagine"...
for ringing true across centuries.
- "In
My Life"... simply one of t h e best songs ever written. Period. - "(Just Like) Starting Over"... For being such
a beautiful song.
PAUL
- He's
Paul... What else can I say?
- Those
eyes... just look at these pictures!
- His
songs... Again, that alone would be enough of a reason to love him. :) Sure, some of them are, well, not so great...
but still, the amazing songs are definitely a massive collection - not to mention his talents as a songwriter, singer, musician...
- The
ballads vs. the rock'n'roll songs... Versatile!
- That
sweater vest seen so frequently in 1967... Yes, it's dorky, but I've grown quite fond of spotting it in so many pictures
from that year. ;p
- The
Hofner bass... Copied by many, but only Paul can truly pull it off. Plus, the one he still loves to use is the one
he once bought in Hamburg...
- Paul
& Linda... A German magazine had them on its cover a few years ago as one of the 'couples of the century - a
once-in-a-lifetime love story' - what a fitting description.
- The
humor... Must have been a Beatles prerequisite!
- Paul
in A Hard Day's Night... "What's that supposed to mean?" ;)
- Paul in Help!... Ah, "Help!" - not movie plot excellence, but
gorgeous, gorgeous Beatles. ;)
- Paul
as Pyramus... "Fun With the Fab Four" yet again. :)
- "Aren't
I?"... And the look to go along with it. ;)
- "Helter
Skelter"... The Beatles could rock just as "dirty" as anyone.
- "One,
two three, fawr!"... What a way to start off a debut album...
- "Beautiful
Night"... An absolutely beautiful song.
GEORGE
- He's
George!... Okay, so I'm slightly biased here, in that George is my favorite Beatle, but he was such a unique person...
- The
dance routine during the closing concert in A Hard Day's Night... Uniquely George!
- "It's
a thingie! A fiendish thingie!"... Such a great line! Who else could have delivered it better?
- The songs...
once again, this could suffice as all the reason one would need to love him. They are, in a word, astounding.
- The shirt scene in A Hard Day's Night...
"An early clue to the new direction". ;)
- That humor!... I could quote hundreds of hilariously witty things he said.
- The Sgt. Pepper hat... Which made George's uniform the coolest, in my humble opinion.
- George in A Hard Day's Night... Hilarious!
- George in Help!... Georgeous,
gorgeous, georgeous... erm, I'll stop now. ;)
- The pronounciation of e.g. words with a "g" in them...
In fact, nearly anything he said sounded so great... I just love English accents, or rather, especially the way the Beatles
spoke/speak. ;)
- Brainwashed, the album... it is
brilliant! One of my absolute favorite albums, I love it from start to finish and could listen to it endlessly.
- His beliefs... And I don't just mean India
- he did so much for good causes that I'd venture to guess the general public doesn't know about...
- George as Moonshine... "Fun With the Fab
Four" yet again. :)
- His slide guitar playing... definitely
the best!
- His guitar playing... definitely (one of)
the very best (the best, in my opinion).
RINGO
- He's
Ringo... and he's "the greatest"! :)
-
He's arguably the best rock 'n roll drummer around... Probably because he drums in such an understated way.
-
That humor! He cracks me up.
- "With A Little Help From My Friends"... he may not
have written it, but no one can sing it better than he can!
- Ringo in A Hard Day's Night...
Okay, so he was hung over in the much praised "lonely by the river" scene, but still - he's a natural!
- Ringo
in Help!... A personal favorite would be the self-defense moves when the baddy tries to paint him red the
first time. ;)
- Ringo's solo scene
in A Hard Day's Night... The one mentioned above, part way...
- The rings, of course...
Style, I say. ;)
- Ringo as Lion... "Fun With the Fab Four" again ;)
- Ringo
in the Anthology... funny and touching all at once - the final comments at the end of Anthology 8 are so
special... plus, all throughout, he's hilarious.
-
"The No No Song"... Love it!
- "It Don't Come Easy"... Isn't that the truth?
-
His tribute song for George... Because it's so touching.
- "Octopus' Garden"... This
is just such a great song!
THE GROUP
The Beatles were more than "just" a band to their fans back in the Sixties - and they're
still more to the newer generations of fans these days.
But what put them (so far) above others? What makes them so special
that their fans love them so much... at least in one fan's opinion?
Yes, this list could go on and on and on... but here's an attempt at keeping it short...
1.) Their music is timeless.
2.) That opening scene from "A Hard Day's Night", which completely sets the pace for the
film.
3.) Who knows, perhaps they did invent MTV? At any rate, their music videos were a first
and are wonderful.
4.) Introducing the sitar to the Western world and rock music... Without George, who knows
if the instrument would be heard so frequently in music today?
5.) At the risk of being all too girly here... they were gorgeous.
6.) As if the music were not reason enough to love them, their humor was just first rate!
Any interview is worth reading/hearing/watching.
7.) "With The Beatles" signaling a change in cover art... from happy-go-lucky pop portraits
to works of art.
8.) Their three part harmonies blow me away.
9.) Admittedly, I could listen to them speak for hours on end, because those accents are
so great.
10.) No album is exactly like the one before, they always kept developing.
11.) They were so innovative.
12.) They always held onto their particular dream and worked hard to reach it.
13.) Their imperfections and mistakes they have made. It makes them all the more human
and shows that even though they made music that seem fairly other-worldly, they are people just like all of us.
14.) They never cease to amaze me, not least of all with their music. It's just astonishing
how much talent was in those four men.
15.) The chemistry between the four of them. Only John, Paul, George and Ringo could be
The Beatles.
16.) Through them, you don't merely like their music... they give you much broader horizons
in terms of points of interest (the 1960's, India, art, fashion, psychedelia... to name a few).
17.) Even though they achieved so much as a band, they still managed to write some amazing
music as solo artists.
18.) They have to be pretty darn good for people to be willing to read a book the size
of "The Beatles Anthology" about them (myself included). ;)
19.) There is so much variety in their music.
20.) They were generally always honest about everything, which is something one can respect
them for.
21.) The Lennon/McCartney songwriting team is as good as most people say. Just listen to
the songs.
22.) Likewise, George is often underestimated as a songwriter... listen and learn. :)
23.) Not only are The Beatles interesting and intriguing people, but so are many people
they were associated with or who were "fifth Beatles", e.g. Stu...
24.) They have given fans hours of joy and entertainment. Not bad, is it?
25.) They never gave up!
26.) They broke up when it was inevitable.
27.) For being so incredibly influential in modern culture... music, fashion, they way
people think...
28.) They didn't ever conform to set rules regarding their music and the outcome was all
the better for it.
29.) The fact that a roughly twenty-four year old George wrote a lyric like "Within You
Without You". Wow, is all I can think of to write.
30.) They're so great, it's difficult to define exactly why in a concise manner!
31.) Their music still sounds so fresh and innovative after all those years.
32.) Yes, "Help!" is a silly film... but I have very fond memories of it, because it was
the first Beatles VHS I ever owned and I watched it so often, the tape's probably worn out by now.
33.) Their ability to always keep humor in it all and not take themselves too seriously.
You know what? I'll leave it at this, before I have a list of about one million reasons
here. Let's just say: The Beatles are the best. :)
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