From (not the musician) davidbyrne:
The Beatles owe soooooo much to teenage girls for their success like i’m pretty sure it was teenage girls who were screaming and fainting at shows and buying all those records and not old ponytailed dudes or moody teen boys with bad hair? and somehow everyone forgets that when they’re yelling about “real music” and putting down teen girls for the performers they get excited about. like whatever. I see you.
Yes! The old ponytailed dudes love the Beatles because it was – at least for the actual baby boomers – the music of their teen years, when they were the teenage boys going to concerts with the screaming teenage girls. It’s especially ridiculous for lovers of the Beatles/Stones to look down on contemporary (teen) pop music because it’s so popular. The Beatles were literally a Top 40 band as well. Yes, a lot of their material is exceptionally well written, the members very talented pop musicians, and their music has proven to stand the test of time. But a) don’t put them on a ridiculous pedestal, and b) the Beatles/Stones were surrounded by a whole slew of mediocre beat bands no one really remembers because they were just a fib. Just like successful pop bands today. Some of today’s hits will become classics, too (just look at the way early Jay-Z is already canonized) and a lot will be forgotten.
Everybody has a special place in their heart for the music of their teens. That’s why I’m a 30 year old married man who still has a soft spot for pop punk songs about girlfriends.
For the generation before the baby boomers, i.e. my grandparents, the Beatles were loud indecipherable noise, with their electric guitars and their beat driven drums. The next generation then takes everything a bit farther (or, hopefully, in a different direction) that then revolts against the tastes of their parents.
It’s the natural order.
Thoughts?