EW came out with a great issue last week. As the front cover proclaimed: The Beatles Invade Again! (Just as a side note, I've always loved that picture of John and Paul, from back when they were still getting along). Now that Beatles: Rock Band has been released (I so want it!), along with digitally remastered versions of their albums, rock's greatest band is poised to make yet another splash on the pop culture scene. And while nothing will ever come close to the original Beatles craze back in the 60s, the fact that they still generate such excitement is a testament to their quality as a band and their impact on culture and history.
I didn't officially hop on the Beatlemania bandwagon until the holiday season of 2000. Ah, what a magical time; I had finished high school the previous summer, and had just started at the University of Waterloo, taking my first tentative steps into adulthood. Through December of that year I was working a part-time stint at the Hickory Farms kiosk at our local shopping mall to earn a little extra dough for Christmas. But you see, that kiosk happened to be located right outside the HMV store...and just a few weeks before, the album 1 had been released.
Some of you may recall 1. It was a collection of twenty-seven of the number one singles the Beatles released from their heydays of the early sixties until they broke up in 1970, and the first compilation album on one disc for the band. It also happened to become the best selling album of 2000 world wide, surpassing everyone's expectations and once again putting the Beatles back in the spotlight.
Now me standing at the counter of that Hickory Farms kiosk for a few hours a day, I couldn't help but listen to 1 as it was played over the HMV speakers...and I fell in love. Head over heels in love! From the youthful exuberance of "She Loves You" to the sorrow of "Eleanor Rigby" and the mature bluesy sound of "Come Together", the richness and variety of their music struck a chord with me big time (pun intended). 1 made it's way onto my Christmas list, and it was in my stocking that year. I still have it to this day.
I don't want to make my onset of Beatlemania sound like a religious experience, but in some ways it kind of was. Before that Christmas I was still lingering in my boy band phase of adolescent musical tastes. Once I got into the Beatles a whole world of music opened up for me. As I tried to experience everything I could having to do with the Fab Four I also got into the Stones, the Who and other 60's bands, then I moved on to the eclectic mix that was the 70s. For the last few years I've been way into New Wave and 80s music (still haven't really revisited the 90s yet; go figure). Suddenly the pop music landscape was much bigger and far more exciting than I ever could have imagined.
But the Beatles remain my greatest love, always at the top of my list of favorite bands. A Hard Days Night is also on my list of favorite movies (if you haven't seen it yet, it was re released on DVD back in like 2002, so hop to it!) When George Harrison passed away in November of 2001 I mourned with the rest of the world, partly because I feel like I didn't get the chance to have him in my life for as long as so many others had. With John Lennon assassinated in 1980 (about eleven months before I was born) Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are the only two surviving members now. I visited NYC for the first time in August of last year, and got the chance to see the Dakota and Strawberry Fields in Central Park, and I'm so glad I did.
While I doubt that everyone will have the same experiences with these mopped topped kids from Liverpool that I have, I am grateful to the Beatles not just for their music and not just for their impact on history, but for opening my eyes to a greater selection of music. Don't get me wrong, I still love the Backstreet Boys, but now I can add "Magic Bus" and "Paint it Black" to my iPod along with "I Want It That Way". And as the Beatles continue to make an impact in the world, I will cheer; I will experience it along with everyone else; I will join in the debates over which songs and albums are better than others; and I will keep listening to the music, no matter what format it comes in.
And you know Beatles: Rock Band will be on my Christmas list this year.
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