How many of you didn't watch one minute of last night's "American Idol" edition from Las Vegas, even if it was from the Beatles' "Love" show?
Sorry, but the idea of "American Idol" latching on to the Beatles for a faux tribute by a bunch of kids, some of whom admitted they never heard of them, doesn't warrant the attention it gets. This manufactured image (to borrow a phrase from the Monkees) isn't required viewing.
A Beatles tribute should not be injected in a talent contest.There are better ways to pay tribute to the Fab Four.
We've said it before. Try listening to the music -- the original recordings -- if you want to hear what the Beatles were all about. It's the real thing.
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Comments
I can't believe people watch this cr@p!
I watched for a while, but I had to stop. They were just butchering the songs.
And they'd never heard of them before? Lyric sheets? Blowing lyrics to "I Want to Hold your Hand"?
And someone get these kids off my lawn.
I didn't watch the program, but I hardly think that it deserves this kind of reaction, unless there was an overt attempt to disrespect the songs. It's a talent show where people sing classic and contemporary popular tunes -- you want to make the Fab Four's songs off limits for what reason exactly? Why frown on an opportunity for a new generation to get familiar with Beatle music? The Beatles got started playing other people's songs -- you want to be the guy that told his readers in '62 to go listen to the real Chuck Berry, not the faux version? And there are hundreds of GREAT cover versions of Beatle songs that ADD to the legacy of the group and appreciation of the music.
Lighten up, man. Lighten up.
who sold the rights of the songs? whos to blame here? paul ringo yoko and olivia?I think so
Check out today's New York Times.
Mean spirited crap...
I'm 25 years old and I have been a fan of the Beatles since I was 10 years old, and no my parents do not like the Beatles, I found them on my own. I watched American Idol last night simply because it was an episode full of Beatles music. At the end of the show they even played the real version of Hey Jude. I have to agree with a previous comment that this opens up Beatles music to a younger generation who maybe didn't know that much about the band before. If you take it for what it is, a talent show, and not a tribute to the Beatles then it's easier to enjoy or tolerate. What's interesting is that a part from some of the contestants getting the lyrics wrong, what really annoyed me was when Ryan Seacrest kept calling it "beatleSmania". It was an oh geez moment for sure.
Wait a minute - am I missing something? Beatles songs were written to be loved and enjoyed by everyone. And if the youngest generation of singers hasn't heard them - then what better way for them to get to know the songs than through "American Idol"? Put it this way, I'm a first generation Beatles fan. If my parents had wanted me to listen to their music - original Frank Sinatra - no way. That's the same with teenagers today - that hasn't stopped. I applaud "American Idol" for exposing these young singers and television viewers to great Beatles music. Now there's a better chance they'll search out and listen to the originals.
I also want to add that "American Idol" is a great showcase and opportunity for young singers. Some of these kids would never be discovered without this opportunity. And it's not just the winners who can find careers. Others can be heard doing cartoon voice-overs, radio commercials, Broadway - the list goes on. And I've said this before, (remember the Larry Parnes auditions Fab historians?). If they'd had "American Idol" or "British Idol" for pop groups in the early 1960's, The Beatles would've been in line to audition. They were dedicated, talented and would go out on a limb, (think seedy Hamburg as teenagers), to get to the "toppermost of the poppermost." Yeah, yeah, yeah American Idol!!!
Dave Schwensen - author of "The Bealtes In Cleveland"
Dave: My feelings about AI go beyond the Beatles "tribute." I'm not a fan of reality TV at all and I don't like this artificially inflated, sugar-coated talent contest. Adding the Beatles to it just makes it worse. As I said, some of the kids reportedly didn't know the songs. There are better ways for kids to latch onto the Beatles. "The Beatles Rock Band" was a lot more fun and legitimate than this. The whole idea of AI is to boost itself. The Beatles take a secondary role here. That's wrong.
You obviously didn't heat they good ones...
Of course they were BURIED in the episode under all the drama.
@Lauren_E_Turner was amazing. So was Rachel Zevita.
I refuse to watch A.I. because I am soooo sick of the washed up JLow crying ALL the time. She either has serious mental problems or she's on alcohol and/or illegal drugs. Somebody tell her that her 15 minutes of fame were over long ago.
So glad that many people are responding the way I am about to. What is the reason for your venom, Steve? If AI didn't cover the Beatles, you would say, "they're so stupid, they didn't even cover the Fab Four." Of course the Beatles' music is at the top of their list. And even if so many contestants didn't know their music when they got to Vegas, they do NOW. And for the next generation, this is the way to carry on the Beatles' legacy.
How else to do it...Rock Band and everything else....all you need is love, dude.
Shelley Germeaux
John Lennon Examiner
As I said to Dave, I'm no fan of reality shows. And I wouldn't care if AI didn't butcher the Beatles. In fact, I'd be very happy if they didn't, as would a lot of Beatle fans, judging from the comments I've heard here and elsewhere online.
Sorry, but if Beatles songs are being sung on American Idol, I'm there! I enjoy the show and it was interesting to see what some of the contestants did with the songs. I grew up with the Beatles and I used to feel that anyone else singing their songs was just a sham. I've gotten over that and now enjoy when anyone covers a Beatles song, as long as it's done well. And those kids last night did a pretty good job. I was a bit horrified when I heard that many of them didn't know Beatles songs. They got their education on Idol, though.
I'm not against covers of Beatles songs. My collection is full of them, including some really off-the-wall ones. But AI is more about propagating itself and not the music.
Also didn't see the show, but I have mixed feelings about the use of Beatles songs on a program such as this. I'm not a big fan of AI--I've never been able to sit through one show basically because of the oftem mean-spiritedness of some of the so-called "judges." But, as others have commented bringing the Fab Four's music to a wider, younger and arguably "hipper" audience is a good thing; Personally, I think that listening to a Beatles song in a soap commercial is far more insulting to the legacy than some pimply-faced kid stumbling through the lyrics of I Want to Hold Your Hand.
I knew I couldn't watch it....just would have been too painful for me. I also knew that many people who don't understand my long-standing love for this band WOULD watch and enjoy it. To me, it's just another sign that The Beatles will go on forever, there's just no stopping it.....Shows like American Idol (love it or hate it) help make that a reality.
On the business side...The Beatles made a lot of money last night! That's a lot of Beatles' tunes in prime time!
I thought there were some decent performances... some not so decent. These kids are so far removed from the 60's, they may as well have been trying to learn Mozart in an hour! It would have made little difference to them.
Come on Steve, how can you be so ignorant?
So, your article is about how you don't like "American Idol"? And how is this news-worthy? There's plenty of shows I don't like that have respectfully used The Beatles music, and all I think then is "how nice. There must be a fellow Beatles-fan involved." Get over yourself!
I, too, am not a huge fan of AI. I watch it primarily because it's what my kids tune into. Watching my own children singing along with the contestants last night was perhaps more of a gas for me than the actual performances itself, but it was pure vindication for me. Forty-six years ago when my parents complained about me constantly listening to my Beatle records until I wore the grooves flat, I told them that one day, their grandchildren would still be loving those timeless tunes. Mom, Dad, I rest my case. To those of us who lived and loved the Beatles in their era, seeing their works performed by a new crop of baby-faced inductees was extremely poignant. Did some of them not get it and murder the songs? Yes, of course, but those who got it did those boys from Liverpool proud. It was always about the music and it is obvious that the music lives on. Love AI or hate it, it made this ancient Beatlemaniac misty-eyed. And that it was performed on the LOVE set only further goes to emphasize the total impact of The Beatles on our world. Thank you, lads. The dream is truly alive!
i can't believe I just wasted 20 seconds reading this "article" and another 20 seconds commenting it...
It was tough to watch! Some of the teeny's never even heard of The Beatles and it was difficult to not want to change the station when some of the classics were massacred
I'm all for people getting exposure to the Beatles in any way. Hearing them sung on Idol is bound to send some people to the originals. Keep it up.
Surely you see this?
I'm right there with you, Steve. I'm all for kids getting turned on to
The Beatles but I have a real problem with "manufactured" music.
The last place I want to hear the music of my "idols" is on American Idol. Shows like AI are what's wrong with music today....
Take a chill pill! It's self-righteous attitudes such as this that turn people off to avid Beatles fans. It was not a "tribute" in any sense... it was designed to be a test of talent... of the singer's interpretation of the song.... not as an improvement, duplication, or mastery of the original. if you are a true Beatles fan, you can understand the difficulty of this task, and thus the reason that such s song catalog was chosen for the show's hierarchy of talent selection. If you recall, last year during the Beatles segment Macca sent a message to all the contestants relaying how thrilled he was that they were interpreting these songs. I am not an American Idol fan at all... I tuned into this particular episode solely because I am a Beatles fan. More power to anyone... in any situation.. who finds reason and/or joy to play/sing Beatles songs!!!
As I've said, AI cares more about itself than letting kids sing Beatles songs. I have no problem with the younger generation trying their hand singing Beatles songs. It's when a show makes itself more important than the music as AI does that it bothers me.
Lighten up. If you don't want to watch it, then, um... don't watch it. I guess they should have only done covers of covers that the Beatles done.
Like the horrible Mr. Moonlight
or the nasaly Anna
It's kind of pompous for a show to say, at the end of the season, you will have a new American idol. But hey, these guys get screamed at on the show and in their hometowns like they are idols.
And they go on to big careers. You got Trisha ... something, who sings those country/pop kind of songs. And... Well it's not my kind of music anyway. I did hear Adam Lambert's song on the radio a couple of times.
It's funny. Even though you recognize it as good singing, it's not something you want to listen to.
I haven't watched this year's Beatle show yet, but in previous years, you can tell, some of these kids like the Beatles. If they get a few extra votes because of this, great.
Steve, AI isn't that bad. Some of these kids can actually sing. Some are even potentially GOOD artists...like last year's Crystal Bowersox. She hasn't set the world on fire like Kelly Clarkson, or Carrie Underwood, but, that might be a good thing.
Check out her first album, "Farmer's Daughter." Considering she probably had to fight powerful music executives trying to "market" her, it's a pretty decent collection of (mostly) original material.
I predict her NEXT album will be even better, as she gets more comfortable, and gains more artistic control.
And, any show that has people sing Beatles songs is ok in my book. It helps keep the music alive.
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