Lennon or McCartney video

this was said upthread, but it seems fairly clear that most of the respondents are picking based on Lennon and McCartney's (relative, public) personas, not their music. but few people are music heads, even in the industry, so this really isn't much of a surprise.

the filmmakers might as well be asking 'badass or romantic?'

 

No, Bieber has been a 2pac fan (bad boy/ poet/activist) since before he was discovered. So I actually wasn't surprised he chose Lennon at all. And it's a huge assumption to claim if they took a few moments but said John that they were thinking Paul. It's a really tough question for people who love music, The Beatles and especially for those who like their solo material as well. I think the ones who took a while actually see them as equals.

 

I don't like either of them personality-wise that much, but musically, they're pretty much on the same level for me.

 

If i were to choose I would say Lennon in the Beatles, but McCartney for solo artist.

 

John was always thought of in this way even when he was still alive. So in a way the "martyrdom card" that some people may play is many times irrelevant. It seems sometimes as though John gets revered in the front line just because of the tragedy of 1980... but yet if you look at the vibe even before that horrific night, Lennon was still thought of as the "leader", or the "cool edgy one" (or whatever other attributes one might use, be they right or wrong). Take just something like the 1979 movie Birth Of The Beatles... even there the movie put John up front and the man was still living.

 

The contrarian in me wants to choose Paul simply because John the more popular Beatle , but Ram (Paul's masterpiece) IMO isn't even in the same stratosphere as Plastic Ono Band. So, I'll reluctantly pick John.

 

Ha!

In all honesty, it doesn't bother me who anyone chooses, it was just something I picked up on, a sort of hesitance when picking Paul.

I wouldn't be able to answer this question, because if we are talking about their work whilst in the group, they are equal IMO.

 

True, but also added the highly historical inaccurate comment by a 1960 or so Paul, referring to himself as the one who wrote most the songs.

 

I have never seen RAM as a masterpiece or even a great album. Band on the Run though is a masterpiece IMO

 

I get plenty of those! Just tired of the McCartney revisionism.

 

For me it's
Solo: Paul > John
Beatles: John > Paul

Cool video.

 

Which revisionism? This forum has tons of Paul love. The only revisionism I see on here is how many of his post Beatles albums are classics.

 

If I call them equals but use your above way of thinking, it can come down to quantity in both. Paul didn't have as much Beatles stuff and John didn't have as much solo. Doesn't mean John didn't have a lot of great solo or that Paul didn't have a lot of great Beatles stuff.

 

Love em both. It's nearly impossible to compare the qualities between their best work, so I just went based off the quantity of great work, and to me, John slightly out did Paul during the Beatle years, and Paul, even before 1980, out did John, but not by a huge margin at all. It's all subjective and stuff, and I'm glad I get to hear em both

 

I probably wasnot clear - I agree with you and was being sarcastic in my original post (or trying to be).

 

Lol my bad, I thought you meant a revisionism that made Paul look bad

 

Ha, I wouldn't hesitate a millisecond. It would always be John. But that doesn't mean that I don't absolutely adore Paul... cuz I do! So much of his music exists in my own personal pantheon of beautiful things, but it's just this visceral thing about John. His music speaks to me just a bit deeper and his personality and personal aesthetic are really more compatible with mine.

I hate to get into the John is cooler than Paul meme because it really just depends on a person's perspective. However, that being said, I think John's way of being/creating aligned more to that generally accepted mid-20th century concept of the sensitive but tough rebel - the archetypal "cool" guy.... which may explain the responses in the video.

 

John wins "cooler" for the sensitive but tough rebel but also as the mature socially aware and politically active man.

 

I didn't watch the whole video, but I felt like most of the respondents didn't really know how to answer because they weren't familiar enough with the Bealtes as a whole.

I know it's frightening, but the majority of people on the street don't know that the Walrus was Paul, etc. They are aware of the Beatles, and respect them as icons of pop music, but I don't believe that the average listener is educated about all of the intricate contributions that they each made, which renders the original question a bit moot.

That being said...McCartney.

 

We already had this somewhere here.

 

Then you might want to watch it all because plenty seemed to know more than you say.

 

Maybe within a thread but I couldn't find it as it's own thread.

 

Could be. I just remember doing this before. Maybe it's Deja's VU all over again.... It was t a criticism just an observation.

 

And his subversive sense of humor.

 

Beatles - John (just)
Solo - equal (mainly because of quantity)

For me John's best just edges out Paul's best solo and together