Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Beatlemania!

Since the magical day of 09.09.09 (number 9, number 9, number 9), nothing has been more prevalent in pop culture as the reemergence of The Beatles. I was tickled pink to be able review The Beatles: Rock Band and it was the perfect opportunity to introduce the kids to the Fab Four. Adam is nearly 9 years old and in third grade, the exact same age that Doug discovered The Beatles back in 1968. Back then, The Beatles were in their hey day, still recording albums. Doug was so absolute in his fandom that for years he felt that he was betraying them if he listened to another band.

Doug’s and my musical tastes completely differ (he is forever stuck in the 70’s) except when it comes to The Beatles. However, if you ask which songs of The Beatles we like, there are some overlaps, but many disagreements! Take Golden Slumbers (me) vs. Carry That Weight. Or Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band/With a Little Help from My Friends (Doug) vs. I Want You (She’s So Heavy). I only started listening to The Beatles in earnest when the 1987 CD collection came out. I had the posters you see above prominently plastered in my apartment bedroom in graduate school. These albums are a combination of Doug’s and mine and those rockin’ kids are holding Doug’s Fender Telecaster Thinline and my Washburn electric bass (Doug is a real rocker, me not so much). Since then, I’ve added to my Beatles CD collection, still opting for used versions of the 1987 release, since I’m a cheapskate and need to cash in on everyone upgrading to the latest re-mastered versions.

When Doug and I were married 10 years ago, Doug picked a song to play with the band. It was The Beatles’ Back in the USSR. It was back in the days of film photography, so here’s a scan of the photograph. I told you he was a rocker! We were probably in the middle of singing the word ‘balalaikas’.

Wedding band

Nowadays, I’ve been blasting the entire Beatles collection from my iPod in the car. The kids are just lapping it all up, each with their favorite songs. Adam immediately latched onto Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Paperback Writer. Dova loves Let It Be and Hey Jude. We’ve played Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds so many times on Rock Band that it’s become a bad dream for Doug. I tried to take a video of the kids rocking to Lucy while I was driving (bad Mommy!), but I messed up the buttons and only got a second. Still, you can see how they are rocking out.

I’m so glad to be able to share our musical past with the kids and that they can hear The Beatles on the radio like they are still around. If (when) we go to Las Vegas as a family, we are also definitely checking out Cirque du Soleil’s The Beatles LOVE show.

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