"The British are coming, the British are coming!"
In 1775 this message would have been brought to you by a fat silversmith on a horse, and would have aroused hundreds of strapping minutemen from their beds and running to gather their muskets and hardtack.
Fast forward 189 years and this statement was delivered by radio and instead of arousing anger, it, quite literally, aroused thousands of young women and sent them scrambling for JFK airport.
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| I don't think I've ever been that excited for anything, ever. |
Yes, on February 7th 1964 The Beatles arrived in the United States for the first time. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" had been playing for 2 weeks in America by then and apparently the band wasn't sure how they were going to be received in America, especially since they had such a crazy fan-base back home. Well I think we proved that anything Britain can do America can do better because when the plane landed in the US there were an estimated 3 thousand hormone-fueled fans to greet them. And by greet them I mean scream at them until their lungs collapsed.
When the band appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show two days later it was viewed by 40% of the American public. No bands been that popular since, well, I guess N'Sync was pretty popular.
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| dreamy. |
Anyway, I know fully well that the Beatles changed the course of music history and rock and roll, so they get my respect. I'm not the biggest fan of their music though. Don't get me wrong, I like some songs like "I get by with a little help from my friends" and "I want to hold your hand" but other than that I never really got into them. It doesn't help that "Across the Universe" was a freakin' weird movie. And I like musicals. This just puts me in more of a minority here at Skidmore, but considering I'm a Country music fan, I never really aspired to fit in musically anyway.
Despite this I'm still open to new things, and if y'all have any good Beatles tunes you want to send my way in honor of this week, feel free to do so!
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| Anyone notice that yellow Volkswagen on the left is on the sidewalk? I wonder if the driver got a ticket.. |
The pictures you post are absolutely hilarious! I actually really like the Beatles but I agree that one either really likes them or hates them. Only a very few are in between.
ReplyDeleteLove The Beatles Kim, this is a really interesting post. But I can't believe I've never noticed that car on the side walk! European drivers are pretty nuts so I guess it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI love how you included a picture of NYSYNC in this! I also agree- I like the Beatles but I have never had "Beatle Mania" as many people have or as you mentioned most people at Skidmore. It's nice to know that there is someone else out there who doesn't necessarily see all the hype!
ReplyDeleteI would like to put forth the argument that The Rolling Stones were just as, if not more influential then The Beatles-
ReplyDeleteAs far as songwriting teams go Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were freaking amazing, Charlie Watts is a much better drummer then Ringo Starr, not to mention the Rolling Stones' longevity as a performing band.