The Hip Opinion

Well who do you think is the greatest band ever to exist? Ya know there are just so many to choose from it’s hard to tell. I think by far the greatest pop band there ever was is The Beatles.

They simply hit every range of music and have influenced coutless artists over the years.  You want to learn about how to do music on your own? How to consturct songs? Listen to the Beatles first.

Some things the Beatles can teach you.

How to play percussion - In the times I have played with a band that had somebody playing percussion they usually didn’t know when to play and when not to play…They would simply shake something constantly throughout the entire song. If you listen to The Beatles who often used percussion, they didn’t do this but used the percussion to “build” a song.

How to sing and harmonize – I have heard people say “the Beatles can’t sing” Sorry…But your mistaken. They took pop singing to a new level.

How to construct songs – Verse, choirs, verse choirs, middle, verse choirs End.  They simply had the system down to perfection. And they often expanded on these simple techniches and took it to new levels.

Various rhythm ideas – Like to strum a guitar? Just learning? Pay attention to the strumming techniches done on Beatles songs.  The acoustic rhythms they did on so many songs is incredible. Different time signatures too.

Colorful Bass Playing – It’s amazing how much can be done with a bass on a song. Sure it can be overdone. But Paul did it to perfection.

Lyric Writing – From boy meets girl to girl loses boy to trippy kaleidoscope scenes, political revolution, drug craziness, religion, sexual orientation, comical storytelling. These guys did it all and more.

Studio Recording – Nobody had ever done the wacky stuff that they came up with in the studio. From fake stereo to delayed tape effects and backward guitars. Sure everybody does it now…They did it first.

Oh I could go on and on…But I’ll let ya disagree with me if ya want… Please, tell me why you HATE them guys…

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I have always thought that Magical Mystery Tour could have been recorded in the garage somewhere… Or some of it anyways… It’s not all that great of a recording.  Even though it is a great record over all…

George Martin has been hailed as such a great producer…And he was…But there are many other records from this period that have as good or better recordings.  The song “magical mystery tour” is paticarly noisy and muddy.

I remember back when the early Beatles CD’s first came out… They were all released in mono… To preserve the “original” recordings… They “fake stereo” vinyl records sound better.

Anyways, Magical has some magical music on it… I like the song “flying“… It is the picture of 60’s psychedelia… Love that trippy guitar.

The string arangements on “I am the Walarus” has to be the best in rock and roll. And that saxaphone (I think) playing on “Baby im a Rich Man” is the most bizarre horn part I have ever heard. That is Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones playing that… Miss that guy.

Other Highlighs

• Hello Goodbuy – Great guitar line and simple lyrical message.
• Your Mother Should Know – Dance to a song before your mother was born
• Strawberry Fields Forever – Maybe the best John lennon Song ever.

I am here as you are here as we are all together – John Lennon

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I took some Tylenol PM last night. I was playing my heart out on the guitar.. I played some of my favorite covers.. Paul Simon, Pink Floyd, The Beatles. Tossed in a few of my originals… I may play a little picnic gig thing in May.

You know, I think it sounded better because I was getting a little woozy from the “PM” part of the Tylenol. Or maybe it was in my head. In any case:

DO mild altering drugs enhance musical creativity? Do they make you play better? You know there are tons of musicians out there that think so. And some of the best records in history were made while “under the influence.” Or that’s what is said in musician drug circles.

Some Bands on Drugs:

• Beatles
• The Who
• Pink Floyd
• David Bowie
• The Doors
• Greatful Dead
• Rolling Stones
• Jefferson Airplane
• Led Zeppelin
• ETC..etc..etc

But drugs have a way of telling lies. Maybe these people were talented and creative rather they were on drugs or not. Perhaps creativity is a gift… Drugs are just taking the credit. What do you think?

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