British Invasion

Laura, you're absolutely correct. The world doesn't revolve around The Beatles; it revolves around American Idol, Nigel be praised!

Or so saith the IDF forums.

Love your blogs and your choice in music. Keep them coming!

I'm baffled. Okay I am down with not doing The Beatles again and moving on. But to down play them and to try and elevate The Clash and The Sex Pistols into the their leauge is so off base it made me laugh out loud!

If you were The Producer of American Idol they never would have made it to season 2 and this site would not exist. No offense. Maybe as a free cable access show.... maybe.

To be fair, I will go listen to your suggestions as I have with your other Blogs and as before I will cock my head like Scooby Doo and close the window.

Okay now the elite who think it's cool to like non commercial music can line up and bash me! However... the fact is people tune into Idol because they recognize the music that is chosen and they can compare the hopefuls to the originals. Something that is done on this site like religion!!

I've never heard of any of those bands. I'll definitely check them out.

I would also like to live in your dreamworld where american idol was about finding good music and artists rather than being the pop and dollar motivated monstrosity that it is...

however, I can't see why you need to run down one of the most successful commercial and artistic acts ever in doing so...

I love many bands but the Beatles hold a special place in my heart that few other bands have ever come close to...and I know I'm not alone in that...

and if anything makes what makes the Beatles truly special more clear...it would be my experience on the train in Brooklyn a few months back when some, a teenaged black brooklyn kid admitted he didn't know Lucy in the Sky, and three of his friends looked at him like he had three heads and in unison chorused, "how do you not know the Beatles, son?"

I kind of agree with you, although I value lauras opinion as well. Now I am, as I have stated many times before on this site, a larger than average Beatles Fan. I can't see relating The Beatles to The Sex Pistols as any type of comparison. Or comparing The Beatles to any type of "non commercial" music of then or now. The fact remains that I have a difficult time finding a band today that cannot claim to have Beatle influence. And surely a band such as the Zutons who classify themselves as Alternative / Rock / Soul on their own Myspace page would claim to have a Beatle influence or two.

I also have to concede That John Lennon himself once said "It was just and band and we broke up, it's not the end of the world" But the fact remains that they changed the face of music and remain the most influential band today. Surely the same cannot be said about The Clash.

However I was upset when The Beatles received one week from Idol, let alone 2, I think A British Invasion week would serve as beneficial to both the singers and the listening fans as the world of music is still today so strongly influenced by the sounds of the United Kingdom.

I did like what I heard from the Zutons, as I do enjoy british bands, so Laura I thank you for writing this article, at least for the exposure to new music!

I met a band who had a "we are indie rock and you are SOOOO lame if you listen to the Top 40" schtick. In fact, I've met a ton of people with that particular schtick. They're called douchebags. Pitchfork-Media-reading, uneven-haircut-to-emphasize-trendiness, vintage-jeans-bought-with-daddy's-oil-money douchebags. Indie snobs are the absolute bottom of the barrel.

That said, good choices otherwise. I like the Zutons a lot, and even though I normally view the word "lo-fi" as a synonym for "sloppy, fuzz-ridden production that hides a band's innate lack of musical talent", the Subways' "Somewhere" is a killer song.

The genius of The Beatles seems to have to be defended every generation. Fine. I feel fine about that. Just listen to their music, their whole catalog. Ignore For the Benefit of Mr. Kite and Revolution Number Nine, and Carly The Plant Hennesey-Smithson MCA's-TwoMillion-Dollar-Failure Randy's Girl's Come Together. Even the best have stinkers.

Before I go on, I hope everyone realizes that Simon Cowell has "huge wood", if you catch my meaning, for Paul McCartney. He is far from alone. McCartney's genius of melody especially in the 60's and early 70's is without peer, seemingly, forever. But I digress ...

The Beatles DID sign peace treaties! They ended the War in Vietnam once their manager Brian Epstein died, in the form of John Lennon, beginning with "Revolution" (number one) and pretty much his whole life after that. They were much more than a band. But AS a band they were the singularly most innovative trend-setting act of all time, and they have profoundly affected music since, I don't care what REM says. Morons.

I conclude with the 25 top musical acts in America of all time, rated, so folks can understand their influence. I have the top 100 actually but don't wish to break servers, heh.

Beatles, The 170

Presley, Elvis 118.5

Brooks, Garth 116

Led Zeppelin 109.5

Eagles 91

Joel, Billy 79.5

Pink Floyd 73.5

Streisand, Barbra 71

John, Elton 69.5

Ac/dc 68

Rolling Stones, The 66

Strait, George 65.5

Aerosmith 65.5

Madonna 63

Springsteen, Bruce 62.5

Carey, Mariah 61.5

Jackson, Michael 60.5 <== should be higher but, well, you know ....

Metallica 57

Van Halen 56.5

Houston, Whitney 54

U2 50.5

Rogers, Kenny 50.5

Dion, Celine 49

Fleetwood Mac 48.5

Kenny G 48

Okay, I like both The Cribs and The Subways, but dear lord, do I hate the Zutons! I actually posted a user review last year for their last album, Tired of Hanging Around, on metacritic.com:

Upon hearing this album for the first time, I could not escape the feeling that I was listening to a very bad Hall &; Oates tribute band. I know all the cool indie rock kids are pillaging every aspect of 80's new wave these days, but cheesy white boy R&;B pop a la Huey Lewis and the News is just as lame today as it was then and should be left buried with the careers of those who originated it..

Yes, I am a pretentious music snob.

At least if someone like David Cook did a song like "Men's Needs" he would be forced to *gasp* actually rock. Oh, and you can suggest what you want, but you know that if anyone ever did the Zutons, they would only get as far as "Valerie".

Now we just need "British Invasion part 2" I know there at least 3 more bands worthy of spotlighting.

These bands you like wouldn't work in a show where the point is to manufacture a pop star. Nobody would watch Indie Idol, and it would suffer the problem of trying to maintain some sort of credibility, which is something they do not have to even worry about in the current format.

It is the same problem Josiah had.