The Beatles Were Overrated, Hendrix Was a Hack and Classical Music Is Stupid.

When I first heard Jimi Hendrix at age twelve I didn’t get it. I was neck deep in Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Black Sabbath and I just couldn’t understand what the fuss was with Hendrix.

Also, as a pre-teen I didn’t get the Beatles. I just thought it was all light and fluffy and kinda goofy with the mop-tops and all.

And even into my late teens/early twenties I didn’t get Dylan. Just didn’t get it.

And Classical? For far too long whenever I heard classical music, I swear I would hear Cartman from South Park whisper in my ear, “Dude, that is so Gay…”

Lately I’ve been having discussions with a musician friend who largely grew up on classical and instrumental music and is a self admitted late bloomer on pop and rock. So he’s been diving into the likes of Zeppelin, U2 and Radiohead. It’s interesting because much of what he appreciates or doesn’t appreciate about their music is largely based on the purely musical aspects of the songs. Like the odd time phrasing of Radiohead. Or the simplified open chord voicings of the Edge (which kind of annoy him).

It makes for some interesting conversation about the purely musical aspects of the artists and their work and it deepens my appreciation of their contributions –especially when I dig a bit deeper than usual. But one thing hitting me from our conversations is the importance of  putting on the ‘cultural lenses’ (to borrow my friend’s term) to really dig in and get the music. To feel it. To tap into the energy that came through the speakers the first time that Zeppelin/U2/ Stones/Radiohead song was played for the public. The first time it hit the airwaves.

So I think I’ve come to see an important reality for any music lover:

Tapping into the cultural and social context is key and essential in really getting music of any type.

Of course one can analyze music in relation to a certain standard and appreciate its beauty or greatness. In music appreciation classes you can really get a handle on why Beethoven’s symphonies are masterpieces and no sane person would argue they are simplistic or inferior. Or that Buddy Rich’s physical abilities on the drum kit are undeniably spectacular so much so even non-drummers appreciate it.

But what about Dylan? Was his singing spectacular? No. Were his lyrics any better than the writings of Shakspeare or Keats? Of course not. It’s hard to deny that Dylan wrote some great songs but the key to getting Dylan is to attempt to grasp it in the spirit of that time.

I once expressed my lack of Dylan understanding to a much-older roommate of mine who was around when Dylan broke through and his answer was, “Dude, you just had to be there. It was a revelation to think music could be about something important.”

How about the Beatles? Were their harmonies and chord progressions more complicated than anything ever seen in Western music? No. Why do you think musical elitists mocked them and called the whole thing a passing fad? Although they eventually grew into great artists, the phenomenon of the Beatles is best understood in the context of the time. Elvis became irrelevant. Kennedy was dead. And the kids couldn’t get excited about a good job and a white picket fence like their parents did. They were looking for more. The Beatles gave it to them.

Additionally, what’s interesting about this is it’s not like you can dismiss the quality of the music by simply saying it was ‘a product of the time’. I mean it would be really hard to argue that ‘Come Together’ is a poorly written song. Or to say Hendrix was not a good guitar player. His guitar may have been out of tune a bit too much but when he was on, he was great. No, the music/songs/playing that standout as classics are for the most part objectively good, it’s just the understanding of the spirit of the music that takes it to a higher level of understanding and appreciation.

After all, what does music ultimately do? It communicates. It touches. It causes us to feel, to be challenged, to be hopeful. It communicates something human and sometimes something spiritual that cannot adequately be explained in words. So although one can give a musical analysis of why a certain chord progression was innovative or a guitar tone was ‘a first’, nothing can speak like the excitement that comes from just getting it. From shedding your pre-conceived notions and hearing it the way they first heard it in 1975, or 1964, or 1812. It takes some effort, but it is well worth it.

Here are some examples of my personal ‘breakthroughs’:

The Beatles: I was a pre-teen tuned into Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath which at the time I was digging it, was still considered ‘old’ music. So my perspective of the Beatles was limited to ‘Please, Please Me’ and ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ stuff. It was fruity and goofy. Then someone gave me ‘The White Album’ and I put on ‘Helter Skelter’ and froze. I felt dirty. I felt mean. I felt empowered. I put it on again and turned it up. LOUD.

‘I GOT BLISTERS ON MY FINGERS!!!!!!!’

I wanted to break things. I wanted to jump on my drum kit and hit it so hard the heads split –the cymbals cracked AND I BLED. I too had blisters on my fingers from hours of thrashing away at my drums. Fueled by the confusion of mixed messages I got from that cute girl in class leaving me yelling, “DO YOU OR DON’T YOU WANT ME TO LOVE YOU!?!?”

I didn’t know how to say it. But I felt it. And then I heard Paul say it for me–no, YELL it for me. And I knew I was not alone. I got the Beatles. It was through that window of angst that I began to see the beauty of ‘Dear Prudence’ and the tongue in cheek cleverness of ‘Penny Lane’. And through that window I saw and felt why they were such a phenomenon.

U2: It all sounded the same to me. I knew they were a step above all the other ‘New Wave’ type bands but still it was like…whatever.

Rock really grew stale. And stupid. Big hair. Tight spandex. Oh Lord…it was horrible. And the ‘popular’ music was just as bad with a cheesy synth turned way up in every track. There was no place to go except backwards. The only refuge I found was in listening to my Zeppelin records and wishing I was born in an earlier era so that I could have been there when the explosion of 60’s and 70’s music was happening. But I wasn’t. I was a young teen born at the wrong time. So I was screwed.

Then I heard it.

Doom, du WACK!, doom, du WACK WACK!

I turned it up.

“Wow. This freaking rocks. It’s not Metal. It’s not ‘New Wave’, or Punk… Is that the U2 dude singing?”

Yep, it was. ‘Bullet the Blue Sky’.

Thank you Lord. It was what I –and 50 million other people were waiting for –a breakthrough. It was rocking, but not Metal. It was organic, but not ‘folky’. It was human. It was passionate. It was the Joshua Tree.

From there I dug back and saw the progression of their work –how they grew into the Joshua Tree. And I grew to love the early stuff to –if not just for it’s naiveté and risk taking. It was inspiring to know one could progress as a singer and artist like Bono did. That a band could really grow and develop into a force to be reckoned with.

Some timeless songs yes, but also something much more than that. It was hope. It provoked one to reach higher than big hair and spandex. Much higher.

Jimi Hendrix: ALL of my rock idols spoke so highly of him. Why? It all just sounded so old. I mean Purple Haze sounds like it was recorded in the bathroom.

Then I stayed up late one night and came across ‘Hendrix: Live at Berkeley’.

Whoa. Now that’s a-rockin’. I watched the whole thing. Mesmerized. I was converted.

I just read an interview with Jeff Beck where he talked about seeing Hendrix for the first time. He said he basically realized there was no point. Hendrix was doing everything the British boys were trying to do. The showmanship was incredible. Beck said, “All we were doing was mustering up the moody glare here and there and Hendrix came down from another world –just dominating the stage”. Fortunately Beck didn’t quit, due in part to Hendrix coming up to him after the show and telling him how much he loved him –that he had a huge influence on him. I guess that would boost anyone’s confidence.

Bob Dylan: Everybody knows Dylan wrote some great songs. Everybody knows Dylan is a legend in pop culture. But I think the best window into understanding Dylan is the Scorsese film ‘No Direction Home’. He really draws you into understanding the why of Dylan’s status. And with it, a deeper appreciation of his music. Even if his voice still bugs ya.

My personal Dylan journey was a mix of revelations that built on one another. The older roommate ‘who was there’. A singer songwriter friend named Frank Drennen who once told me, “You should read a biography –then you’ll really get it”. But I must say, this film really helped seal it all together.

Classical: It just made me think of love scenes from movies and shampoo commercials. All fresh and windy and free…yuk. Or black and white vampire movies.

Then I heard a Fugue by Bach –I can’t remember which one unfortunately –and it just drew me in. It was intense. I mean really intense. From there I branched out to see the complexity and intensity of much Classical music is why there are a million PhD’s that do nothing but study it. It is an endless well. I studied further and further in, first species, second species… and now it’s about all I listen to when I’m home. Except when I’m cleaning. Then it’s Audioslave baby.

And many of the composers of their day were the rebels, the rockers and the cutting edge. Paganini was accused of being possessed because he was such a freak on the violin.

Even the Godly church goer J.S. Bach was constantly getting reprimanded by the church elders. They wanted him to play ‘Creep’ over and over and he said, “C’mon…you gotta check out my new record. It’s called ‘Amnesiac’.”  Rebel.

So, bottom line is, if you hear about it, and then you hear it but you just don’t get it –go there.

There is no greater feeling than when it finally hits.