Blog#6: Mop Tops!

sporting the Tony Curtis hair-do

If you compare a mop to a Beatle's head, you will clearly understand what a mop top is. This hairstyle was popularized by the Beatles in the 60s but it originated from their friend, Jurgen Vollmer. As the story goes, Vollmer went swimming one day and when his damp hair fell over his forehead like a fringe, he left it that way and never bothered to style it.  When The Beatles met Jurgen in Hamburg, they adopted the look and discarded their origional Tony Curtis look. Technically, it was actually Jurgen who started the fad, but the Beatles received credit for it.

Ed Sullivan with a Beatles Wig

     

       The Beatles influenced many people to cut their hair in this fashion. Although it was most commonly referred to as a mop top, it was also called the"Hamlet cut" in Sweden, and the "mushroom cut" in Germany. It was also called "Arthur" by some Beatles fans. This hairdo has become a symbol of the 60's and at that time it was cool and youthful. Many toy companies began producing the "Beatles Wig". It became so popular that Ed Sullivan wore a wig to one of his shows (picture to the left). If you wanted to dress up as a man from the 60s for Halloween, I highly recommend you to get a Mop top.

Resources:

http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Mop-Top

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles'_influence_on_popular_culture#The_mop-top_haircut

http://www.beatlesagain.com/a-hairy-beatles-story.html

Pictures courtesy of Google

Blog#5: Team McCartney vs. Team Lennon

      Parallel to the Team Edward vs. Team Jacob argument in today's world was the John Lennon vs. Paul McCartney argument. Who was better? It is very hard to approach this argument because more than 180 of the Beatles songs were jointly credited and written by both Paul and John. However, we can easily discern the different styles that the two of them showed in their music. While John had more of an edge to his songs and often experimented with different techniques, Paul used more melodic and harmonious styles. It is nearly impossible to put a label on the best one of the two, who were incredibly talented, and honestly it wouldn't be fair to put one of them on a pedestal and leave the other one below.

      The way I go about answering this question is by asking; who had the harder life? Paul obtained all the fame in the world and received numerous awards, partly because he managed to stay alive. On the other hand, John Lennon, during his lifetime, was constantly criticized for his infamous controversy, for possibly breaking up the band, and a few other things. I'm not saying that we should declare John the better of the two because he died at an early age, but i do believe that he deserves a special eulogy.


To read more about this insolvable argument take a look at the resources below.

Resources:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2251455/john_lennon_vs_paul_mccartney_pg2.html?cat=33
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lennon/McCartney
http://musicouch.com/genres/rock/paul-mccartney-vs-john-lennon-two-very-different-song-writers/
Pictures courtesy of Google

Blog#4: Where are The Beatles now?

       The lives of The Beatles now are significantly different from how they were before the band broke up in 1970. There are only two extant Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Star, while the other two, John Lennon and George Harrison, are no longer living.

       Paul McCartney, who was the bass player, the lead vocalist, and song writer, now has a very successful solo career. In fact, he is one of the highest played solo artists alive. Ringo Starr also has a solo career, however not nearly as successful as Paul's. Originally named Richard Starkey, Ringo used to be the band's left-handed drummer who replaced Pete Best. Next John Lennon, who was the guitarist and song writer for the band, had a good solo career after the band until he was nearly stabbed to death when someone broke into his house. John was always the scapegoat who was blamed for breaking up the band, even though the band was already drifting apart.  Finally, George Harrison, who was the lead guitarist for the band, went on to play with other bands after the break up. He married Patti Byod, who later unfortunetly left George for his best friend. Harrison was a devout Hindu which was why when he died of Lung Cancer in 2001, his cremated ashes were scattered in the Ganges River. Dead or Alive, the legacy of the Beatles creativity and iconoclasm will always be praised.

Sources:
 http://musicouch.com/genres/pop/where-are-the-beatles-now/
http://sks.sirs.com/the_beatles_now
http://sks.sirs.com/lennon_lives_forever
Pictures courtesy of Google

Blog#3: Beatles myths Busted

        The Beatles are normally very secluded from the outside world and tend to stay within a little bubble with themselves, their manager, and a few other exclusive people. Combined with the fact that so many people want to know about the lives of these interesting people, rumors are bound to form. Once an idea is planted into someone's mind, no matter how erroneous it may be, it is only natural that these ideas will disseminate.

Magazine Cover

        A popular and controversial myth that originated in the 1960s was the rumor that Beatles songs contained secret messages when played backwards. People believed that some of these back masked tapes hinted to Paul McCartney being dead and replaced by a look-a-like. One piece of "evidence" was that Lennon said "I Buried Paul" in the end of one of his songs, however, he actually said "Cranberry Sauce" As you can see by the front cover of the magazine to the left,  many people strongly believed this rumor and some people still believe these notions. Hundreds of fans who followed this legend compiled "clues" to support this idea from album imagery, back-masked songs, and other sources. In my opinion, I think this is completely false. First, The Beatles don't even know how to read or write notes so it would be very hard for them to form secret messages. Second, The Beatles wrote over two hundred and fifty songs and i don't think they would had the time to slip secret messages into them.

Julian Lennon's drawing

        Another myth is that the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds stands for LSD, a drug.  I can not say that The Beatles never did drugs, but this innocent song was inspired by a picture that Julian Lennon, John Lennon's son, drew in nursery school of a girl names Lucy O'Donnell. Lennon also said that the lyrics of the song were inspired by a chapter in Lewis Carol's novel, Through a Looking Glass.

This song is pretty interesting and if you want to here: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Resources:

http://www.beatlesagain.com/bmyths.html

http://www.reversespeech.com/music_reversals.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_is_dead


pictures courtesy of Google