Music - impact for different generations

[BaggieSingh]

Had a thought today as we were playing music n sitting in the garden
My daughter loves the Beatles but not from being pushed to it by me, I like the Beatles but I was wondering what it is about the Beatles she likes

She has written on her whiteboard her favourite tracks and blackbird, strawberry fields, penny lane and come together were there, she plays the violin so I thought it was from that but it isn’t as she’s on things like drunken sailor and stuff like that

I haven’t pushed her to listen to the Beatles and if anything we play popular music from 70s to now

I was thinking there must be something special about what the Beatles did as she knows so many of the songs and listens to them on her own motivation and enjoys them

I dont think it’s a coincidence that so many people love the Beatles and their music has endured and lasted so long, but it’s a weird one as it’s not something you can explain and it’s only today it’s dawned On me when I saw her fav songs on her whiteboard after listening to stuff in the garden and her knowing and requesting lots of Beatles songs

Would love to hear thoughts it explanations for this as someone must have done some research in this area

[baggieal]

Had a thought today as we were playing music n sitting in the garden
My daughter loves the Beatles but not from being pushed to it by me, I like the Beatles but I was wondering what it is about the Beatles she likes

She has written on her whiteboard her favourite tracks and blackbird, strawberry fields, penny lane and come together were there, she plays the violin so I thought it was from that but it isn’t as she’s on things like drunken sailor and stuff like that

I haven’t pushed her to listen to the Beatles and if anything we play popular music from 70s to now

I was thinking there must be something special about what the Beatles did as she knows so many of the songs and listens to them on her own motivation and enjoys them

I dont think it’s a coincidence that so many people love the Beatles and their music has endured and lasted so long, but it’s a weird one as it’s not something you can explain and it’s only today it’s dawned On me when I saw her fav songs on her whiteboard after listening to stuff in the garden and her knowing and requesting lots of Beatles songs

Would love to hear thoughts it explanations for this as someone must have done some research in this area

Strange one as many kids under 14 would have never heard of them apart from talk from their parents. My daughter knows of them and especially Strawberry Fields from our many visits to New York and Central Park where they retain memories. I think you have been to New York BS - so perhaps caught on from there too!

Always thought Lennon was the better and most talented of the two.

[BaggieSingh]

Strange one as many kids under 14 would have never heard of them apart from talk from their parents. My daughter knows of them and especially Strawberry Fields from our many visits to New York and Central Park where they retain memories. I think you have been to New York BS - so perhaps caught on from there too!

Always thought Lennon was the better and most talented of the two.

We’ve been to New York but before she was born I’m not a massive music fan so don’t really play that much around the house or in car it’s mainly whatever my daughter wants
I was seriously surprised when she knew so many Beatles tracks today and appreciated them eg Blackbird who would have thought?

That’s what got me thinking there must be something particularly special about Beatles songs as it’s been so long
As for who is better, I don’t think it was Lennon, I think McCartney is a genius but so is Lennon but they are different sometimes it’s just about the combination

[mickd1961]

It’s a good thread is this one BS.

I’ve somewhat struggled to get my kids to engage with music from previous era’s.

My dad loved The Hollies and I picked that love up from him and my catalogue to listen to is nearly all 60’s and 70’s music, I love The Beach Boys as well.

Both of these bands fall into the same category as The Beatles in my opinion in that their songs were written in a classic way and with three part harmonies at their core I believe.

My son is 30 in a weeks time and his favourite older songs are “Sweet Child Of Mine” by Guns N Roses, “Alone” by Heart and “China In Your Hand” by T’Pau which were all released in the 80’s before he was born.

I think the construction of a song is the secret.

If you think about it, consider songs that were written before you yourself were born that you really love, I’ll bet that none are tracks that weren’t “hits” in whichever era they came out?

There is something about a huge hit that makes it appeal to the human brain, something that stimulates us even if we were not around at the time it was in the charts.

I’ve just been listening to “Runaway” by Del Shannon from 61, what a record, I can’t believe that anyone wouldn’t find themselves humming along to that or The Everly Brothers.

It’s harmonies isn’t it, that’s the common denominator!?

I was only thinking in recent days, within the next 20 or so years we will lose almost every great musical artist of the 60’s and 70’s and I was contemplating the fact that 200 and more years from now DJ’s will be on the radio playing Fleetwood Mac of whoever and these bands etc will have no connection with the people listening to them.

I do wonder whether all the great music will end up being covered by bands of their era in the future.

[BaggieSingh]

I agree there must be something in the composition
And I know certain sounds, visuals etc are more pleasing to us innately but I don’t know why or if someone can explain this

To someone who knows nothing about music composition it amazes me really, why us some classical music just more engaging than other classical music there must be something in it

[DaveP67 is back!]

What gets me most is that up until the 80’s every generation had its own distinct music, post the 1980’s we haven’t seen a new genre at all.

[westcountryvillain]

It's a personality thing to some degree I think - for the dreamers it's the lyrics, for the smouldering brooding types it's songs in a minor key, and for the happier souls among us it's tunes in a major key. None of these are mutually exclusive of course

[boingy]

I’ve noticed this too over the years there have always been kids into the Beatles (as I was) Their songwriting was phenomenal. One song after another and completely different from the last (as opposed to bands like Quo, same three chords, same sound). The Beatles got me into songwriting way back then. Lots of their songs sound great orchestrally too which speaks volumes as to their melodic content.

[kettering_baggie]

So many big hits are really quite simple musically, complex songs are not easy for people to hum and sing along to themselves. There is a sort of ‘formula’ that so many hit songs have used, and of course there are many exceptions but I V m6 IV is your starting point for a hit song. I am no expert on music theory but if you try to play music, you can see this in so many hits, the First, Fifth, minor sixth and Fourth from any scale; it works!

[phild]

Music revolutions saw 1957 Elvis and rock n roll. 1967 saw flower power, Beatles. 1977 the era of punk, Pistols, Stranglers. 1987 was the new Romantics, Duran, Human League and then er....that was it. Music sh1te ever since