Musicology

This week marked the 13th year (Martens, 2012) of Coachella Music Festival, one that has seen many of the world’s greatest all time musicians and groups give historical performances in the music industry. A perfect platform to display ever evolving technology in music, this year marked an incredible historical event - a resurrection. Tupac Shakur, who has been dead since 1996 (Montgomery, 2012) was immortalised during the performance of Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre using 19th century visual effects (Markham, 2012). The performance has sent twitter and facebook a flutter with fans of rap, fans of technology and fans of the amazing clicking the share button sending it viral (Dawson, 2012). The sheer magnificence of the concept really got me thinking about famous and historical musical performances.

When talking about historical music performances, the Beatles really shine through. In June 1966 the Beatles finally made is to Japan, after being delayed by a hurricane, the group finally made it to their Japanese tour. The tour was noted as one of the 50 key events in the history of world and folk music (Lewis, 2011) and their performances were referred to as the Beatles Hurricane by the Japanese media.

Possibly one of the greatest live musical moment in the history of the Beatles (and even in the history of rock and roll), is the Beatles performance of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" on American variety show "The Ed Sullivan Show" (Rybazsewski, 2009). The 1964 performance was the bands breakthrough into the US, and the start of "Beatlemania" (Stuart, 2000):

While the recording of the performance immortalises the band in their prime, I wonder if Beatles fans would be happy to go to a Paul McCartney gig and have Ringo join him on stage, with holographic representations of John and George? Does the appeal of the technologically enhanced performance only appeal to a certain age and genre? Fourtwozer0 and DDraig seem to think the full Fab Four will be with us in no time:

Fourtwozer0 says:  "THIS IS CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!! how much longer til The Beatles are touring again?" (2012)

DDraig says: "yeah the Tupac one was proper mad, we'll have the Beatles touring again soon!" (2012)

Time will tell if it was a once off extravaganza, or if it will take off and we will soon be able to see our favourite dead musicians. The Fab Four may walk among us again!

References

Dawson, J (2012, April 17) Tupac Shakur Hologram Full Performance: Tupac Goes On Tour (Video). Long Island Press.com. Retrieved from http://www.longislandpress.com/2012/04/17/tupac-shakur-hologram-full-performance-tupac-goes-on-tour-video/

Lewis, J (2011, June 16)The Beatles Tour Japan and inspire group sounds. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jun/16/beatles-tour-japan-inspire-group-sounds
Markham, R (2012, April 18) Tupacs Coachella Hologram: How it Works. MTV News. Retrieved from http://rapfix.mtv.com/2012/04/18/tupac-coachella-hologram-how-it-works/

Martens, T (2012, April 15) Despite Weather, fans get into spirit of Coachella. LA Times. Retireved from http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/15/local/la-me-0415-coachella-news-20120415

Montgomery, J (2012, April 17) Tupac's Coachella Hologram And The Rise of the Not-So Live Revue. MTV News. Retrieved from http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1683238/tupac-coachella-hologram-.jhtml

Montgomery, J (2012, April 17) Tupac's Coachella Hologram And The Rise of the Not-So Live Revue. MTV News. Retrieved from http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1683238/tupac-coachella-hologram-.jhtml

Introducing Your Personal Topic

Men and women, young and old for decades have indulged in the message of the Beatles. In their prime, they toured the US, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe (Davis 1985), collecting new found fans along the way. When John Lennon, met Paul McCartney at a church festival in Liverpool in 1957 (Roberts 2011), nobody could have predicted the dynamics of their relationship and what it would produce musically.

Over the space of the next 10 years, the band recruited two more members, produced 12 albums and 2 EP’s (Davis, 2009) and became one of the biggest musical phenomenons of all time. The Beatles bring a message for all with their eclectic mix of sounds with each album; there is literally something for everyone. From love filled ballads to psychedelic colors in sound, the Beatles offer a musical escape for those who want it, but more importantly those who need it.

The four members of the band each bring their own flavor the music and the stardom that followed. Even after the Beatles called it a day, their legacy lived on through the subsequent musical projects, social events and tragedies that followed. The message of the music never stopped and carried on throughout the preceding decades.

In modern music that we all know and love, have you ever considered the past influences? It’s a well-known fact that most musicians either listen to or respect the Beatles at one point or another in their careers. The musical, lyrical and social influence the Beatles have on music since their inception over half a century ago is of epic proportions and the examples are endless.

You could call the Beatles a band, a phenomenon, even an age – but to me the Beatles are pioneers in their chosen field. Riddled with talent for writing beautiful, catchy and whimsical music, the Beatles never fail to progress through each year they were together, always bettering themselves and their sound. This blog is dedicated to the journey of the Beatles.

From Zero to Beatles

Growing up, my house was always filled with sounds of the 60’s and 70’s. With bands like Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac and Credence, I grew up with an appreciation for older music and the impact it had on society and the evolution of music. I found myself popping in and out of musical era’s as a teenager, re-discovering past genre’s, seeking the influences that make up my favourite modern music. A big fan of independent music, particularly of the Rock n Roll variety, my tastes grew outwards to electronica, psychedelic and folk.

One band you could say encompassed all those things at one point or another, were The Beatles, however I just never seemed to give them the time of day. It wasn’t until 2009 when I was enjoying a farewell party, right before I would start what was meant to be a “trip” to the UK, my uncle Barry requested a photograph of me on the famous Abbey Road crossing. His passion for the band and vague jealousy that this is something I could do was somewhat inspiring. It would be another 12 months until I had moved to North West London, an area 20 minutes’ walk away from the Abbey Road studios where that fateful photograph was taken. It was also the year that I met my husband, an avid Beatles fan who would be instrumental in my entrance into modern beatlemania.

Still only visiting what would become fandom, I journeyed the short walk to Abbey Road. What I found was an abundance of tourists risking life and limb to get a personal replica of the photograph. After nearly being knocked down myself by an angry moped driver, I decided Photoshop would be a better way to appease my uncle’s request. The experience was quite insane, but also highlighted the relevance of the iconic band in this day and age, and again showed me the passion fans have for the empire.

After many wine and YouTube sessions, where my husband would repeatedly expose me to live recordings, I was almost there. It wasn’t until last year, when planning our wedding, when I really fell in love with the Beatles. We had to pick three songs to be played at our ceremony. I couldn’t get out of my head “Here Comes the Sun”, mainly because only a few months earlier, my husband to be and I had taken a temporary break from our relationship and coming up the escalators of the tube one morning, feeling quite blue, a busker cheered me up with a  rendition of the song. It’s the first song that played at our wedding - at Marylebone Town Hall, which is where Paul McCartney wed Nancy Shevell in the same year.

It seems the Beatles and their music started to follow me on a personal journey I started in 2009, and still prevail in my life now. You could say, my blog is about the Beatles, because I am now a Beatles fan, with sentimental attachment to the music.