How To Disappear Completely

Think for Yourself

I own three of the top five on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time , thanks to the Beatles.

The Beatles mythology intrigues me. Some of the grad students in my program live and breathe JohnPaulGeorgeandRingo. In fact, the running joke is that the Beatles invented music (Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, and the Beatles.....except the first three were just a warm-up).

John and Paul are considered the creative minds in the band, though John was the artsy one, the one out to change the world. Paul was the meglomaniac administrator. Their break-up was worse than a messy divorce. "How Can You Sleep At Night" appears on Imagine. Some very emphatic sentiments concerning the last days of Beatle members: "I hope that Paul goes before Ringo....otherwise he'll have the last say regarding the history of the Beatles; we'll be stuck with the Gospel According to Paul...."

Ringo is dismissed as a necessary but uninspiring member of the band: some quotes of fellow students commenting upon particular songs (since Beatles generally form the backdrop to our social gatherings)....

Yellow Submarine: "This is why you don't let drummers write songs."
What Goes On: "So Paul and John were such masterminds of songwriting.....and then, of course, they let Ringo write songs like this."

So maybe "Octopus Garden" is a bit clunky and corny. Maybe the predilection for overused vocal backups makes Ringo appear cheesy. But we need some fun songs. And everyone has heard "Yellow Submarine."

George, interestingly enough, is never mentioned. So I name my post after a Harrison tune from the album (Rubber Soul) currently materializing in the sound waves surrounding my desk space.

And I don't know how anyone could make the call between Revolver and Rubber Soul. The former may have "Eleanor Rigby" and "Tomorrow Never Knows," but the latter has "Norwegian Wood," "Nowhere Man," "Think for Yourself," and "In My Life." Rather close in my book.

On a sad note, Kid A only made the list as 428 out of 500. But I suppose Radiohead is influential in a much smaller stream of music-making than the Beatles are.