Does the Beatles’ music sound ‘dated?’

Aww, did somebody get a [SHATNER][/SHATNER] filter installed here...?

 

True. But the British blues stuff grew to be pretty experimental.

 

Weird that I disliked 80's music during the 80's when I was growing up. Now I am discovering how good some of it was regardless of the production and how dated it now sounds!

 

I would argue that the roots-rock movement was experimental in its own way. It may not have been as shockingly original as Hendrix or The Beatles, but it certainly wasn't simply rehashing old sounds.

 

Yes

 

Good question. Not sure I'm objective enough to give an answer. To me, it still sounds head-and-shoulders better than almost anything else ever recorded.

However, we live in a dumbed-down time when subtly has gone out the window. The Beatles put a premium on positivity, melody and songcraft. Those aren't things that are celebrated much today. And even if they were, there comes a time when everything from the past seems less than contemporary.

I'm sure glad it's part of my life, though. It hasn't dated a whit to me.

 

Millions of teenagers today listen to the Beatles and enjoy their music....

But no, the Beatles discography doesn't sound like it was recorded yesterday. No. Not even the WA or Abbey Road. It's the kind of crap that Velvet Underground fans claim as well.

 

None of it sounds dated? Let me guess, they are your favorite band?

I think a lot of it sounds dated, but a lot of it is undoubtedly great and timeless. I think they are worth listening to but music progresses and IMO there is a lot more interesting music out there. I certainly wouldn't want to listen to only 60's era pop/rock over and over again - this would be quite boring (like classic rock radio). It's not fair to lump all music post-Beatles into the same category - music has tried to be music after the 1960's, right on through to today. Not everyone is writing music just to be cool and have a hit.

 

Sometimes that was true but other times it was simple, commercialized 70s rock (in my opinion)

 

The Beatles music is timeless...

 

Sure, but is that really a problem? I’d rather have some variety than for everything to be super complex and artsy. Also, complex does not necessarily equal experimental or vice versa. Sometimes it’s bolder to put out something simple but different than it is to put out something “mind-blowing” or complex.

 

To each their own.

I think it's more rigid (this is what you meant?) when nostalgia blinds us to the fact that the things we loved in our youth were very much a product of their time and that this time was over 50 years ago. Even for great bands like the Beatles while they were making some of my favorite albums and stretching the possibilities of what could be done in the studio. I have no time for nostalgia or for those who think the 60s are the be-all of great music, though I always have plenty of time for great art.

 

Yes very much so but still good to listen to sometimes.

 

True, but a lot of 70s rock is kind of bland to me for the reasons I mentioned. I mean, I can say that about any era but I find that 70s classic rock is the most overrated to me. A lot of it I do like, but stuff like Billy Joel, Tom Petty, Kansas, Lynrd Skynrd, etc. does nothing for me.

 

Of course it sounds dated, every last note of it - but the content is nearly as vital as it ever had been. Just like the comments on race, consumerism and alienation in episodes of The Twilight Zone remain potent and necessary today, despite the men wearing top hats and tweed suits while the women are in Donna-Reed type dresses as they futz around in the kitchen. The sound of a record is pertinent, but the sound of the music is virtually irrelevant.

 

What does that have to do with deconstructionism and unnecessary double quotes?

 

Most of their stuff is timeless.

 

Dated sounding Beatles songs:



I Want To Hold Your Hand (Remastered 2015)

Not dated sounding Beatles songs:

The Beatles - Eleanor Rigby (From "Yellow Submarine")

Here Comes The Sun (Remastered 2009)

 

On that note, all music becomes status quo eventually, providing leverage for fresh sounds, which then becomes status quo eventually....

That’s why groundbreaking albums like Sgt. Pepper’s no longer have the same impact today because we’ve heard it all before, reinforced by music it has influenced, in my opinion.

Or as John replied when asked which was his favorite Beatles song?

“The next one....”

 

Expect it to sound like today's music? I don't know where people get these silly questions.

 

It's always sounded dated to me and very much of its time, and not in an appealing way. Whilst I recognise their significance and importance in popular music and culture, at the time, their music I've always found uninteresting. And that, in the end, or maybe to begin with, is what it's about.

 

Most of it sounds dated but song elements can be heard in music released decades later and that can help give the Beatles, and other influential bands, a timeless feel.

 

People still buy the reissues So I would say that it doesn't sound Dated to the average person.

 

It would only sound dated to me if I left it for a long time and then came back to it.

Since I keep playing it over these past 50 years, no, it’s not dated at all!