The Beatles are overrated

I just want to give out my opinion about this, I think the beatles are overrated. I believe that they did not revolutionize the music industry nor have they reinvent rock and pop music. IMHO, they are overhyped and over-glorified as the goat of music bands. They’re popular for being popular, not for their own merits (if they had any to begin with).

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Depends on your age. My parent were the Elvis / Rockability age. They hated the Beatles. My Aunt loved them.

Its also follows your generation to your kids. I loved Metal. Hated Nirvana and the change to grunge but everyone else seemed to love it.

So its the End of the greatest generation and their Gen X like me
vs
Boomers and their kids…

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I’m 40 so of course the Beatles were before my time but I agree that I think they’re overrated. That dumb song “Hey Jude” is terrible, imo, but everyone seems to love it. I dislike songs that just say the same damn thing over and over.

I didn’t like them either. I thought Kurt Cobain had a terrible voice and their songs weren’t that good to me. But, I did love most of the other grunge bands.

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I am not good at guitar at all, especially in the era of guitar gods, but I could figure out and play their songs easily by ear. I thought if I can do this how could they be that good?

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As gen x you are their kids…

Also, they were not overrated. The problem is, we’re looking at them from a totally different position.

Back in the 60s, while playing you stood rigid, you had a clean cut look, and you done your song and that was that. Some of the coolest songs from back then were performed this way, although listening to them it’s funny how the voice paints a totally different picture of how we think they’d be done.

The Beatles came along. They moved when they played! gasp they shook their heads! gasp they had (for the era) unruly long hair! faints

Not only that, but they had energy!

It was a radical change, to us they seem stiff and boring because were so used to that and so much more.

Another (less known band in the states) that came out around the same time was the shadows. They were purely instrumental, and actually were pretty cool. They had the audacity to DANCE and play guitar! Yes it was three steps, but that was insane back then.

So you see, it isn’t just the music, it was the moves, the style, the fact the older generation hated it so passionately.

Even Bowie while producing some awesome stuff in the 60s wasn’t nearly as radical as they were at that point in time. Elvis was big too, for similar reasons, but you gotta remember he was what their parents listened to (having started in the 1950s).

Added to that, Americans weren’t really exposed to British music, and even then they missed out on knowing a lot of great bands and musicians. The Beatles were a novelty and something fresh.

It’s all about context.

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I know and I understand I don’t get it but… I still think they’re overrated and not that great :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m not really much of a fan of theirs either, but I appreciate what they done since I know how off the wall they appeared for the era.

It’s like nirvana, yeah I can listen to maybe three of their songs or so. The rest I can’t stand. But I understand how weird and new and rebellious people must have felt going from motley Crüe to that.

Just a constant evolution and dynasty of music. You’ll probably see a thread here in a few years saying something about your fav band and how they are overrated etc.

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Oh that already happens. “Led Zeppelin are thieves!” and “Tool sucks!” I don’t care what’s said… they’re still my favorite.

Yeah I like the immigrant song but that’s about it.

And closer.

But yeah can’t say I listen to those two much. But I’m a gen z, but a euro one so I’m more of a euro metal fan than anything.

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Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino all stood rigid and didn’t move when they played?

The music changed not the performances. It was blues based rockabilly that changed into something else. Maybe because it was translated overseas, but it was the change from rockabilly to me.

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Do I listen to Beatles these days? No, not really. I still don’t think they are over rated.
I think the Stones are over rated and don’t listen to them these days either.
Led Zeppelin, I still listen to them, not over rated.
Queen, I still listen to them to a degree, not over rated.
David Bowie, definitely over rated.
Nirvana, definitely over rated, not only that, they destroyed the music industry for 10 years with so many copy cats.
There were some fantastic alternative rock bands around when Nirvana grunged music up, the new fad, and many great bands were ignored after that fateful day.
Today, pop has come full circle and some is good. I can find good Prog rock bands, even though most are not known.
I still like 70s classic rock. 80s music generally sucks. Early 90s was great.

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I was referencing the rest of the world.
America isnt the only place music is made or performed.

No its not, but you have to admit most of the music in the world is directly influenced by American Blues.

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I find led zeppelin overrated (but still think they’re an awesome band worthy of praise) because a lot of their sound seems to have come from Steve Marriott and the Small Faces. Which interestingly would eventually morph into the band from which Rod Stewart came from.

This was before whole lotta loving, but I doubt many have heard it:

And then as Cairnage wrote, most of these songs came from the American blues. So it’s just continued extrapolation, perhaps. Still good music.

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But what about before blues?

Dude, that’s a game we can play all day long and no one will win. Until we get to hitting sticks on rocks, or stamping feet in the dirt.

Look, I love all forms of music, from classical to country to metal (only counting US kinds). About the only kind I don’t like is EAGD pop. Blues are not my favorite, nor are most of the derivatives of it.

Its ridiculous not to believe in the impact it has had everywhere. This topic started about the Beatles, who they themselves said they were influenced by American Blues (as were most of the British Invasion)

Its ridiculous not to believe in the impact it has had everywhere.

Which one had an impact everywhere, the beatles or blues?

The blues came first and influenced the Beatles (by their own admission). Therefore, anyone influenced by the Beatles were also influenced by the Blues.

Almost every form of American music is in some way influenced by the Blues.

And blues was influenced by Jazz and Classical music too.

Jazz came after and actually incorporated some blues techniques.

As far as classical, I am not sure many recently released slaves were listening to classical, though I could be wrong. Its been a few years since I studies Jazz and Blues history in college

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