Re: Poll: Beatles or Beach Boys?

JohnB <johnbooth@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

> Yes, ok.  But for me anyway, I love the Beach Boys for their great
> singles and their fun, but their albums, even Pet Sounds, don't really
> get me in *here* <hand on heart>.  It's clever but it doesn't move me
> like Pepper.
>
> But I've never been to California, never stood on a surfboard, never
> likely to either; whereas I have lived in Liverpool.  That's bound to
> make a difference.

I grew up in the Northeastern US, and when I was a teenager in the early
60s I too had never stood on a surfboard, and I never had my own car
until my third year in college; I couldn't afford it.  So while I loved
the Beach Boys' music, their lyrics never spoke to me in their early
years.  Personally, I found the Beatles' music to be more inspiring (to
the degree that they led me to get my own guitar by the time they
appeared for the first time on the Sullivan show).  But more to the
point, I found their lyrics to be more universal and not attached to a
particular lifestyle.

Consequently, well before A Hard Day's Night, I was firmly ensconced in
the Beatles' camp.