Long Live The Beatles

Following the release of “The Beatles 1” in 2000, IU senior Nick Kieper fell head-over-heels in love with the lyrical mistresses “Eleanor Rigby” and “Lady Madonna.”

In the throes of modern Beatlemania, when “The Beatles 1” became the fastest-selling album of all time 30 years after The Beatles disbanded, Kieper grew out his hair, wore hemp necklaces and became philosophical about the brilliance of “Revolver” and “Abbey Road” during his formative years in high school.

Kieper went on to learn guitar and form Bloomington’s The Founders, which he describes as “something like ‘Good Morning Good Morning’ without the brass or ‘Think for Yourself’ with heavier bass.”

Although most think of The Beatles as the decade-defining pop/rock band of the ’60s, influencing Bob Dylan, The Byrds, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie and many others, their impact can be heard and seen in a myriad of current music. The Beatles widely influenced a variety of popular modern music with their genre-blending style, meticulous album construction and intimate and accessible songwriting.

“When ‘The Beatles 1’ came out, I was among the masses who suddenly had a newfound love for Lennon and his ilk,” Kieper said.

And there truly were masses upon masses.

The album went on to sell more than 27 million copies worldwide, making The Beatles the first and only musical artists to have best-selling albums in two separate decades – “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” in the 1960s, and “The Beatles 1” in this decade. The album’s success further affirms The Beatles’ long-lasting influence on the music industry and modern artists.

Currently, “Sgt. Pepper” is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest and most influential albums in music. With seamless transitions, interwoven lyrics, alter-egos and a common theme, The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper” pioneered the art of a concept album.

Since “Sgt. Pepper,” numerous current bands have released their own Beatles-esque concept albums: Deltron 3030’s self-titled album, Devendra Banhart’s “Cripple Crow” and Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea.”
For critics, “Sgt. Pepper” even became an eponym for a cohesive, well-constructed concept album. In a positive review of Of Montreal’s “Gay Parade,” Allmusic.com’s Jason Ankeny said the album “is Indie pop’s very own ‘Sgt. Pepper,’ a richly detailed, grandly ambitious concept record.”

Having created the original concept album, The Beatles explored different styles and genres of music throughout their career.

“The Beatles were one of the first bands to create a discography that consumes so many different types of musical styles,” said Bryant Fox, current member of Bloomington’s melodic Alexander The Great and Husband & Wife, both of which have albums coming out this year. “They perfected pop and incorporated that into blues/rock/Indian music/big band, etc., and did it very well.”

In turn, The Beatles’ music is reflected across genres, from hip-hop to electronic. In addition to creating a copyright brouhaha, Danger Mouse’s “Grey Album” proves The Beatles’ music’s versatility and flexibility among genres. Danger Mouse combined a cappella versions of rapper Jay-Z’s 2003 “Black Album” with instrumentals from several samples from The Beatles’ “White Album” to create his own mash-up album. Now listeners can hear Jay-Z’s hip-hop rhythms and rhymes backed by the late John Lennon.

The Beatles remain successful and influential because of their superior ability to meaningfully package a message in short, accessible pop songs. Thom Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead and solo artist, cited The Beatles’ short song length as inspiration for his 2003 album, “Hail to the Thief,” which contains songs in the two- to three-minute range.

The Beatles again inspired Radiohead with songs like “Karma Police.” Radiohead used the chord progression from The Beatles’ “Sexy Sadie” – a song from “White Album” – as an intro to their ’90s hit.

In Bloomington, The Beatles also inspire bands indirectly. The Beatles’ simplistic “White Album” influenced Love Anchor, a one-man band fronted by singer-songwriter Brock Lents, with its roundabout influence on Radiohead and Elliot Smith.
“I’m attempting to generate complexity in a perceptibly simple way,” Lents said. “I don’t feel like I need a lot of studio musicians to accomplish my goal.”
Lents echoes The Beatles in their later days when they eschewed big production after “Magical Mystery Tour.”

With no signs of letting up, The Beatles continue to influence bands from Britain to Bloomington.

“As long as there is planet Earth, there will be The Beatles,” Fox said.