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Stephen of Borg

The Beatles Still Relevant And Ready To Rock the World 9/9/09

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The repetitive refrain from one of The Beatles' most mind-bending journeys into psychedelia -- "Revolution 9," the audio pastiche from "The White Album" -- is now serving as the backbeat of a big day for the biggest band in rock 'n' roll history.

 

On Wednesday -- 9/9/09 -- remastered versions of the Beatles catalogue will be released, giving listeners what the remaining members of "The Fab Four" say is the closest reproduction ever of how their music sounded in the studio.

 

The same day, the video game "The Beatles: Rock Band" is set to be released by Harmonix. Modeled after the already popular "Rock Band" game, and closely supervised by The Beatles and their estates, the game lets players sing and strum along on a huge list of Beatles classics over scenes ranging from Liverpool's Cavern Club to their final performance on a London rooftop.

 

And on top of that, there's rampant speculation that a planned "music-themed" announcement by Apple Inc., also scheduled on 9/9/09, could involve the supergroup.

 

The Beatles are one of a handful of groups whose music has never been approved for sale by Apple's iTunes, and the timing of the announcement has fueled speculation that could finally change -- or even that specialized Beatles iPods, like the ones sold in 2004 loaded with U2's music, could be in the works.

 

It's a remarkable amount of buzz for a band whose roots stretch back nearly five decades. And it's a clear sign, observers say, that through time and a multitude of cultural shifts, the group's hold on the public's imagination has endured.

 

"People are still looking at Picasso. People are still looking at artists who broke through the constraints of their time period to come up with something that was unique and original," said Robert Greenfield, a former associate editor at Rolling Stone magazine who has written about the band. "In the form that they worked in, in the form of popular music, no one will ever be more revolutionary, more creative and more distinctive than The Beatles were."

 

Research shows that more than 40 years after their last public performance, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr's music remains as interesting to young people now as it ever was.

 

A Pew Research survey released last month showed that 81 percent of respondents between ages 16-29 said they liked The Beatles. Eleven percent said they dislike the band and only 4 percent said they have never heard of them.

 

By comparison, current rockers Coldplay received 39 percent positive responses, with 45 percent saying they'd never heard of them. Forty-two percent said they like hip-hop star Kanye West.

 

"To put this in perspective: Try imagining young adults back in the 1960s putting the big jazz bands of the roaring '20s at the top of their list of favorites," the survey reads. "Not very likely."

 

Walter Everett, professor and chairman of music theory at the University of Michigan, said his students know The Beatles catalogue as well today as they would have 30 years ago.

 

He said the cultural phenomenon that was The Beatles -- the frenzy-inducing early concerts, the furor when John Lennon said the group was "more popular than Jesus," the pre-Internet obsession over "Paul is dead" rumors -- made them something more than just another rock group.

 

"They were just idolized," said Everett, who has written several books on the band. "It was a musical revolution, but [also] the hair, the clothing, their attitude about the establishment, their support of everybody, young and old alike, to try to understand each other at a very difficult time.

 

"Some of that message endures."

 

But at the heart of the phenomenon, experts agree, is the music. From the charming, school-boy bop of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" to the blistering assault of "Helter Skelter," the songs, they say, were just that good.

 

"The point is how great the music is," Greenfield said. "It isn't about the fact that The Beatles were willing to practice and get better at what they did -- it was the fact that that band contained at least two-and-a-half geniuses [Lennon, McCartney and, at times, Harrison]."

 

Wednesday's announcements -- and, in Apple's case, possible announcement -- show that the minders of The Beatles legacy are keeping up with how today's music consumers behave, said Bruce Birch, director of the University of Georgia's music business program.

 

"A lot of bands and artists have been slow to embrace the fact that technology is driving the industry," Birch said. "Their music is not going away and this is a step for them for their music to come into the 21st century."

 

EMI, which will be releasing the remastered recordings, has been famously protective of The Beatles brand and music. Digital reproductions like MP3s have lower sound quality than albums or compact discs -- one of the reasons they've been slow to embrace iTunes.

 

But if an announcement on that front is coming, Birch said, it would signal an acknowledgement that such quality-control concerns may be obsolete for the majority of the music-buying public.

 

"It's just a different audience out there," he said. "They're used to listening on ear buds. The sound quality, in some cases, maybe isn't' as important to them."

 

Everett said that, even with all of the news expected Wednesday, the Beatles music will no doubt remain popular for decades to come -- meaning more new wrinkles are almost certain.

 

"There's still more that can be done," he said. "Who knows where technology may be in another 10 years? We may have holographic images."

 

And regardless of how it's delivered, no one's expecting another band to ever eclipse the four lads from Liverpool who would go on to shape popular culture the world over.

 

"There will probably be another artist that comes along and captures the imagination," Birch said. "But it will never be like The Beatles."

 

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/0....999/index.html

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Yeah....I've already pre-ordered Beatles Rockband as well as the remastered cd set. Can't wait til they get here!

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I don't have any modern gaming systems, but I'd consider buying one for this game.

 

Sorry VBG. lol

Just last week, they announced that they are cutting the price of X Box by $100 !!!

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here's the commercial for the game, really cool :yucky:

 

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type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>">
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type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350">

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I actually know the guy who they based the template of "Paul" on in the game. His name is Graham Alexander. He's 19 years old and plays "Paul McCartney" in his own band called "Beatlemania Now" and he also substitutes for the regular "Paul" in the best Beatles tribute band of all called "RAIN". He's a really nice guy from Jersey and very humble.

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awesome!

 

I almost can't stand the wait, Best Buy has some pretty cool stuff for fans. You can buy "the Beatles crate" for Abbey Road, Let It Be, and Revolver. The crate includes the remastered album and a T-shirt. I'll probably get the Stereo Box set that has all 14 remastered albums plus a documentary DVD.

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the game has already received great reviews and here is the set list for the game

 

"A Hard Day's Night"

"And Your Bird Can Sing"

"Back in the U.S.S.R."

"Birthday"

"Boys"

"Can't Buy Me Love"

"Come Together"

"Day Tripper"

"Dear Prudence"

"Dig a Pony"

"Do You Want to Know a Secret"

"Don't Let Me Down"

"Drive My Car"

"Eight Days a Week"

"Get Back"

"Getting Better"

"Good Morning Good Morning"

"Hello Goodbye"

"Helter Skelter"

"Here Comes the Sun"

"Hey Bulldog"

"I Am the Walrus"

"I Feel Fine"

"I Me Mine"

"I Saw Her Standing There"

"I Want to Hold Your Hand"

"I Want You (She's So Heavy)"

"I Wanna Be Your Man"

"If I Needed Someone"

"I'm Looking Through You"

"I've Got a Feeling"

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"

"Octopus's Garden"

"Paperback Writer"

"Revolution"

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"

"With a Little Help from My Friends"

"Something"

"Taxman"

"The End"

"Ticket to Ride"

"Twist and Shout"

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"

"Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows"

"Yellow Submarine"

 

The following songs below are going to be available to download for the game through the rest of this year, which i'm sure with more to come

 

"All You Need Is Love"

"Maxwell's Silver Hammer"

"Oh! Darling"

"Because"

"You Never Give Me Your Money"

"Sun King"

"Mean Mr. Mustard"

"Polythene Pam"

"She Came in Through the Bathroom Window"

"Golden Slumbers"

"Carry That Weight"

"Her Majesty"

"Fixing a Hole"

"She's Leaving Home"

"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!"

"Within You Without You"

"When I'm Sixty-Four"

"Lovely Rita"

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)"

"A Day in the Life"

"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)"

"You Won't See Me"

"Nowhere Man"

"Think for Yourself"

"The Word"

"Michelle"

"What Goes On"

"Girl"

"In My Life"

"Wait"

"Run for Your Life"

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I'm getting a real bad case of butterflies just thinking about how this game will be out tomorrow!!! I need to calm down or I won't be able to sleep tonight! I've been waiting for this ever since it was annouced and it's hard to believe it is only a day away. I also can't wait to get my hands on the remastered albums. I'll feel like I've died and gone to Beatles heaven :yucky:

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you getting just the game or the bundle that comes with the guitars, mic and drums? I'm getting the bundle not only for it bein Beatles replicas, but I broke my drums from playing not stop the other games. lol. I could always use a spare guitar and mic as well.

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you getting just the game or the bundle that comes with the guitars, mic and drums? I'm getting the bundle not only for it bein Beatles replicas, but I broke my drums from playing not stop the other games. lol. I could always use a spare guitar and mic as well.
I'm getting absolutely everything!....lol....The premium bundle plus all the extra guitars! Edited by Kor37

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i love this game! I've finished it, but I go to quickplay and play my favorite songs over and over and over! lol. It drives my roommates crazy. Starting with Sgt. Pepper is when the game really gets good when it is not just concerts, but beautiful scenery that really compliments the song. There were only a couple of songs that I don't know that well that I struggled through, but most of the songs were great. I just wish that I Need You was on there, it has become one of my favorites. Maybe it will be added in the future.

 

The Beatles have some difficult vocals! I guess that is why they are the best. I do pretty good, but it is even kind of hard to match their singing when I have it only set on Medium difficulty. I overall really love this game

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''Hard Day's Night'', ''I Wanna Hold Your Hand'', and ''Can't Buy Me Love'' are my favorite Beatles tunes, though I have to confess the only record I have of theirs is ''Yesterday'', that someone gave me, when I was spinning the vinyl 45's back in the early seventies, on my parents' old record player....good times. I am sure this gaming thing will bring more generations into liking the Fab Four.

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it's great and so are the remastered albums. You can just hear so much more guitar and it doesn't just sound like a lot of noise on the harder songs like Helter Skelter, but you can hear ever instrument. It makes all of the beautiful songs like Something and Julia even more beautiful to listen to. I actually had a tear in my eye.

 

The thing I discovered that makes the Rock Band game even better is that you can sing and play guitar at the same time. It makes you feel like a Beatles! Very cool it comes with a mic stand :yucky:

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it's great and so are the remastered albums. You can just hear so much more guitar and it doesn't just sound like a lot of noise on the harder songs like Helter Skelter, but you can hear ever instrument. It makes all of the beautiful songs like Something and Julia even more beautiful to listen to. I actually had a tear in my eye.

 

The thing I discovered that makes the Rock Band game even better is that you can sing and play guitar at the same time. It makes you feel like a Beatles! Very cool it comes with a mic stand :yucky:

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I saw on a preview something that looked like you'd be able to sing harmony. Is that so? I'm not getting the game, but I always thought that would be a great addition to Rock Band. Because I wind up singing harmony and getting low scores on the vocals. Lol.

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