Ohh! Hi!!! Good morning there! How are we all today? As most of you know.. this is a blog full of surprises! Full of art in general... magick and enchanted sounds! So today, I decided to talk about those sounds and whatever they bring, create, weave around us.
Music is the foundation of life for me and for most of you I believe. Music is what makes the world keep moving and wanting to exist! Makes the universe pulsate and generate life. It fabricates stories, it creates emotions, it lifts us to other planes... to planes we never heard about before and usually it's a revelation when it appears. We don't even know how to explain it, we don't usually understand it when it happens, yet we feel the awe of the unknown!
Something like that, happened to the people of the 60s, well... the young people mostly. Something completely new, unknown, original and revolutionary hit them and they could not even describe it!They had no words for it! So they screamed! They screamed with all their might!!! They screamed their hearts out while singing and dancing! No, I wasn't there myself! But I've seen the footage, heard the screams, saw the fainting of the girls and listened to the music! The elders, couldn't understand either so being trapped in their mainstream and ordinary lives, their only reaction was to ban and condemn the youngsters reactions to this revolutionary wave!
I would like to try and explain why this frenzy about the Beatles took place in the 60s. Yesterday evening, I was listening to music with my mum and my daughter and one of the songs that came up was "Yesterday" from a live concert in New York City. I heard the screams of the girls for the band and especially for Paul McCartney. Well... to be honest none of them were particularly handsome. Actually, they were the opposite. It's not like Johnny Depp was singing in front of them! Hahaha! I believe I know why this happened.
It was a time that everything was sterilised, that everyday life was so tight and conservative. In this western society where women were not allowed to talk freely, to wear what they wanted, to be where they liked and everything was predetermined, something weird happened! Through some new sounds and some lyrics that showed more than all this, more than the conservative life with no freedom! Sounds that made people feel another plane of existence inside them! Showed them that there was something more in their mind and hearts! It was a new feeling! They felt wings on their backs! Especially to the youth, where there's always problems! It was a blessed generation! They had all the problems of the previous ones but now... there was a way out! A solution! A way of expressing it all and shout about it! Dance, to show they were free beings! Dance and sing aloud and bringing all oppression out , rebelling in a way!
It was a perfect time and place to start a revolution! And the best revolutions happen through art, the ones that really matter anyway.
The Vietnam war, affected the whole of art wave, every expression of it! It was something that was happening so far away from them and yet, it was in every living room! It was no.1 topic of discussions, conflicts... It was huge... and the youth reacted to it, especially through music! Artists broke free of the stereotypes and started "yelling" against the war! It was their conviction, their dissaproval! It was their way... the artistic way, to show that peace, is above all! Art and peace go together in the most wonderful, miraculous way! It was the outbreak of a new kind of music, the revolutionary road of art!
So, I conclude that it wasn't because Paul or any other of the Beatles was so excessively handsome, but that they gave the young people a proper way to feel different and alive! The music was different... new... fresh! The lyrics... revolutionary, uplifting and gave a feeling of freedom! They compelled people to live, to enjoy, to dream and create! This also came to an era, troubled to a large extend, on the political life of the western world. It was the perfect moment in history for a musical revolution to take place!
But, I also want to introduce those cute bugs to people who never had the chance of listening to their music! Music can never be old or outdated. Music is always there! Music is always contemporary! It just, depends on the mood. But sometimes we need to see things from an historical point of view and find out why they shaped minds and beliefs so much and so fast! I leave it up to you to decide if I'm right or wrong and I welcome every debate on the matter! ;)
So...
The Beatles!
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band later explored music styles ranging from ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements.
Led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the Beatles evolved from Lennon's previous group, the Quarrymen, and built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over three years from 1960, initially with Stuart Sutcliffe playing bass. The core trio of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, together since 1958, went through a succession of drummers, including Pete Best, before asking Starr to join them in 1962. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their domestic success after signing to EMI Records and achieving their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. As their popularity grew into the intense fan frenzy dubbed "Beatlemania", the band acquired the nickname "the Fab Four", with Epstein, Martin or another member of the band's entourage sometimes informally referred to as a "fifth Beatle".
By early 1964, the Beatles were international stars and had achieved unprecedented levels of critical and commercial success. They became a leading force in Britain's cultural resurgence, ushering in the British Invasion of the United States pop market, and soon made their film debut with A Hard Day's Night (1964). A growing desire to refine their studio efforts, coupled with the untenable nature of their concert tours, led to the band's retirement from live performances in 1966. At this time, they produced records of greater sophistication, including the albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966) and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), and enjoyed further commercial success with The Beatles (also known as "the White Album", 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). The success of these records heralded the album era, as albums became the dominant form of record consumption over singles; they also increased public interest in psychedelic drugs and Eastern spirituality, and furthered advancements in electronic music, album art and music videos. In 1968, they founded Apple Corps, a multi-armed multimedia corporation that continues to oversee projects related to the band's legacy. After the group's break-up in 1970, all principal former members enjoyed success as solo artists and some partial reunions have occurred. Lennon was murdered in 1980 and Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001. McCartney and Starr remain musically active.
The Beatles are the best-selling music act of all time, with estimated sales of 600 million units worldwide. They hold the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart (15), most number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart (20), and most singles sold in the UK (21.9 million). The band received many accolades, including seven Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award (for Best Original Song Score for the 1970 documentary film Let It Be) and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and each principal member was inducted individually between 1994 and 2015. In 2004 and 2011, the group topped Rolling Stone's lists of the greatest artists in history. Time magazine named them among the 20th century's 100 most important people.
And I believe, this was absolutely accurate...
So many artists have covered their songs and also were made huge hits! But what I want to share with you, coming to an end for today's article, is the phenomenal tribute movie with the title "Across the Universe". It is definately on my top5 movies of all genres. It's about the life of a bunch of people, who became friends, lovers collegues and the footsteps of each one's life, formed a very strong bond between then in a time of rivalry, exploration, war and revolution! Exactly the era I was describing earlier. All songs are been sang and danced by the protagonists. It is a gem, a phenomenon in the history of cinema. A brilliant work of art and a great story indeed! I will give you an example below the original Beatles songs, just to get a glimpse of what an amazing covering they did!
I will share with you a couple of my favorite songs :)
Have fun... stay on the bright side of life, whether it's sunny or raining...
A surprise article indeed dear!