The Great Beatles Dilemma

     As this blog goes on, I will be including several music lists. The inherent problem with music lists is that they are dominated by the Beatles, and rightfully so. I was born in December of 1964, so I have never known a world without the Beatles. It's almost impossible to imagine what it must have been like to be alive before the Fab Four with nothing but megaphone crooners and opera singers. Sure there were influences for the Beatles like Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis, but none of them have the vast legacy and generational resurgency of the Beatles. Okay there were Sinatra and Miles Davis, but still, what passed for entertainment before the Beatles was quite abysmal. Just watch the episodes of Ed Sullivan that they appeared on as exhibit 1. So, I have one rule about music lists. I only put the Beatles on Beatles lists. Including them on other lists is boring and unfair. Every time there is a Top 100 albums of All-Time list the top 10 is almost all Beatles albums. What a revelation! So right now I'd like to share some of my Beatles' lists and then in my next post I'll talk about how I've passed my love of the Beatles to my kids.

Best Album
     1) Abbey Road
     2) White Album
     3) Revolver - this would be #1 if Rain and Paperback Writer were on it
     4) Magical Mystery Tour
     5) Sgt. Pepper

Top 10 Songs
     1) Rain
     2) I am the Walrus
     3) I Wanna Hold Your Hand
     4) Ticket To Ride
     5) Helter Skelter
     6) Here Comes the Sun
     7) Paperback Writer
     8) I Want to Tell You
     9) Strawberry Fields Forever
     10) And Your Bird Can Sing

Songs I can't listen to anymore because I've heard them too many times
     1) Yesterday
     2) Hey Jude
     3) Let It Be
     4) Eleanor Rigby

     This is no indictment of Paul McCartney other than he wrote great songs that get played to death. I've seen him twice and I'm a huge Wings fan and much of the criticism of him being a songwriting lightweight is completely unfair. But I can't listen to these songs anymore. I wish he could replace them in his live show with some off the wall gems, but most people would riot. Maybe it's just me. Sorry.