The Beatles and me
If there’s one band that clearly defines and describes how much I love music, it has to be the Fab Four. Their music is indelibly imprinted on me not just as a music lover but as a person. My inevitable downward spiral towards music obsession mirrors how I slowly got into their music as well. I can still vividly remember my mom listening to their “teenybopper” phase songs every Sunday when she tunes in to this old radio show that played music from the Sixties. I yeah-yeah’ed to “She Loves You” decades before I fell in love with Karen O. In highschool, the esoterica that The White Album represented was presented to me by that other BAND — U2. Helter Skelter was a song that made fully realize that The Beatles was not just making music, they were making a template, a font of imagination and creativity from which other artists will drink from in the future. In college, I got introduced to Revolver by a good friend, who I may or may not have loved — very Beatle-esque if I may say so myself. Now that I’m a father, my son and daughter are being fed a constant diet of Black Bird, Julia and Here, There and Everywhere (my favorite lullabye songs).
Through the years, The Beatles have been a constant in my life. They are the band that I never get tired of listening to. Their work remains fresh to this day. I always discover something new in their music and I always hear their influence in whatever form of music I hear.
But here’s a big secret. Up to now, I only own three of their albums — The White Album, Revolver and Rubber Soul. Personally, I think these are the pillars of their life’s work. As a music collector though, I couldn’t bring myself to buy a CD because of the relatively poor way the albums were put on disc. It just doesn’t give their music justice. That’s why I am very stoked about September. Finally, we’ll get to buy The Beatles’ catalogue in its remastered state. All of the stumbling blocks have been passed. The albums are finally here.
And the little boy who yeah-yeah’ed is grinning in anticipation.
