Pick a side and debate like feck.
Lennon or McCartney
- Thread starter Wes
- Start date
Well Aaron Lennon is a midfielder and George McCartney is a defender, so they are difficult to compare.
However I would side with Lennon.
However I would side with Lennon.
Rooney or Ronaldo
Probably Lennon, he is dead and I never did like McCartney
Probably Lennon, he is dead and I never did like McCartney
Lennon.
Lennon
McCartney is a genius, no question. But it seems accidental, like The Music has just chosen to express itself on earth through this one slightly cheesy, soulless bloke. Not that his music is soulless, far from it, but he just seems it. I feel about him like Salieri felt about Mozart in "Amadeus": Why him?
With Lennon, he may have been something of a cnut - certainly he was a right thug in his youth and a bit of an acid casualty later on - but at least he would never have written "Obladi Oblada" or "Your Mother Should Know".
Although, if he hadn't died when he did, 99-1 he'd have written some truly terrible hip-hop at some point. He was already well on that road with Instand Karma and the like.
I secretly love Obladi Oblada, mind. That's the thing about Macca.
McCartney is a genius, no question. But it seems accidental, like The Music has just chosen to express itself on earth through this one slightly cheesy, soulless bloke. Not that his music is soulless, far from it, but he just seems it. I feel about him like Salieri felt about Mozart in "Amadeus": Why him?
With Lennon, he may have been something of a cnut - certainly he was a right thug in his youth and a bit of an acid casualty later on - but at least he would never have written "Obladi Oblada" or "Your Mother Should Know".
Although, if he hadn't died when he did, 99-1 he'd have written some truly terrible hip-hop at some point. He was already well on that road with Instand Karma and the like.
I secretly love Obladi Oblada, mind. That's the thing about Macca.
I don't really like an awful lot of Beatles music. I can't stand McCartneys solo stuff, it's dire. But I do have a Lennon greatest solo hits album. So I go Lennon
McCartney is a bit more, "this riff sounds quite good, I'm going to make a song around it". There's not enough quality control on some of his stuff. Without the Beatles to keep him in check he wrote some frankly embarrassing stuff. Although I like that song "Ever Present Past".
Also Macca was adept at loads of different instruments. Self-taught piano player who could play songs like Lady Madonna and Let It Be and sing at the same time. Impressive. He's also regarded as one of the most influential bass guitar players ever, despite assuming the instrument accidentally. Respect.
Also Macca was adept at loads of different instruments. Self-taught piano player who could play songs like Lady Madonna and Let It Be and sing at the same time. Impressive. He's also regarded as one of the most influential bass guitar players ever, despite assuming the instrument accidentally. Respect.
Is this even a debate? Lennon.
Oh dear
Yes... and Lennon also wrote a fair bit of dross, post Beatles
Even during the Beatles, sometimes he was the one on top of his game. For instance, on Revolver, most of the great songs are McCartney... Eleanor Rigby, Here, There and Everywhere, For No-one, Got to get you into my life. The only really good Lennon song on that album is Tomorrow Never Knows, and that's turned into a great song by Ringo deciding to turn in the greatest drumming display of his career, by far, that he'd never come close to again. "I'm Only Sleeping" is good too, but not amazing.
Song for song I don't think there's much between Lennon and McCartney. It's in general charisma and soul that Lennon wins it. Also, inasmuch as McCartney was a better musician, Lennon was a better lyricist... McCartney wrote some great lyrics but on his day Lennon was fantastic.
I prefer Lennon, he was a bit riskier. He was also truer, his stuff is mostly based on what actually happened to him, stuff like, In My Life, Julia and all, that was his music (leaving his acid freak-out to one side), whereas Macca was always just making up the songs as he went along. It sounds faker, though he pulled it off, from time to time. Stuff like She's Leaving Home off Sgt Peppers is fantastic.
I think its just interesting, Lennon was Rock n Roll at the start, whereas Macca was all pop. Then they switched and one would write a song which was the others style, just to feck with the other, and say, well, I'll bbeat you at your own tricks. I think Lennon won, overall.
I think its just interesting, Lennon was Rock n Roll at the start, whereas Macca was all pop. Then they switched and one would write a song which was the others style, just to feck with the other, and say, well, I'll bbeat you at your own tricks. I think Lennon won, overall.
I love Ringo's drumming on Strawberry Fields.
By being shot, Lennon's got mystique and was sort of frozen in time as a principled genius. Whereas McCartney has had almost 30 years more in which to embarass himself.
I'm a bit biased towards McCartney, as a bass player I love his work, he was really important to the bass becoming melodic and up front in rock music.
George Harrison
True...
Did you get the Love album? Not all of it works but what they did on Strawberry Fields, using the earliest acoustic take for the first verse, then bringing in more instruments and later takes until you get the single version on the last verse, was fecking spellbinding.
It generally doesn't work, though.
What's this, Love album? Never heard of it. Explain please.
I've got some of the Anthology albums, including one with Strawberry Fields demos and early versions... one of it has Ringo's drumming separate from everything else and without the fading in and out. It's intense.
Although I have heard What's Going On by Marvin Gaye with what sounds like the technique you described, gradually bringing instruments in. Works brilliantly if done well.
Yeah, some of it's a bit up its own arse for me, but there's some great stuff too.
What about the Grey Album, did you hear that? The first half of it worked really well, then it tailed off. Long Long Long was class!
Didn't I hear you say Oasis are your favourite tribute band?
I haven't actually. Unless you're on about the reworking of Let It Be, which is really good.
It's a recent album of Beatles songs mixed by George Martin and his son, they do loads of tricks like merging songs together and using, say, the drums off the end of Strawberry Fields in another song, etc. Clever stuff... it's for musos and obsessives really, but it's well worth a listen, especially if you've got a great sound system (I don't, but a mate played me it and it sounded fanastic, so much complexity).
The Grey Album was a mash-up of The White Album with Jay-Z's Black Album, by DJ Dangermouse. I don't actually like Jay-Z much at all but some of it worked amazingly well, especially Long Long Long.
You can't get it in the shops I don't think as it was pulled after EMI (I think) threatened to sue, but you'll be able to download it somewhere.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grey_Album
I read a book by George Martin. Him and the engineer (Geoff Emerick?) put a lot of interesting little quirks into songs that just make so much sense in retrospect.
i presume there rapping in it?
I was surprised how well The Grey Album worked.
Lennon had the funnier bits in A Hard Day's Night.
They should have called the album Blue Jay-Z Way
I'd rather tear my eyes out than listen to the Beatles with rapping over it, but cheers for the shout anyway.
I may get that Long Long Long track, mind you to solve my curiousity
I think Lennon's a surprisingly crap actor. You'd expect him to be good, but actually it's Ringo who's the real star of those films. Harrison's alright in his deadpan way.
Ouch, you're on form tonightOr Here, There and Rockawear
It's not just the Beatles with rapping over it though, it's a real blend of the two forms, to put it a tad poncily. Gets tiresome after the first half, but it's an interesting experiment.
McCartney
I like Lennon sticking the coke bottle near his nose on the train and sniffing it. I'm sure 99% of the people at the time had no idea what he was on about.
I hate both those cnuts but if I had to choose i'd pick
Lennon - he was more charismatic, and his lyrics were better.
Ringo because he hates scousers
Always preferred Dirk, but never underestimate the influence of manager Leggy Mountbatten:
McCartney.
let me see...mccartney wrote the frog chorus..lennon wrote imagine.
imagine is one of the worst songs ever written...so McCartney for me.
imagine is one of the worst songs ever written...so McCartney for me.
Well this is a first for me, I actually agree with something Dumpstar says.
Listen to the music that Lennon wrote in the ten years after the Beatles split up until his death. More great songs than McCartney wrote in that period and since. With the exception of "Live and Let Die" McCartney has written nothing decent. Anyone trying to defend him should be forced to listen to alternating loops of "The Frog Chorus" and "The Girl is Mine". Everything you need to know about McCartney could be summed up in his last video where he was mincing round some house strumming a mandolin.
Plech, I agree with you 100% on everything in this thread. or something.
that mix of Piggies and Change Clothes is something out of this world.
Lennon is my personal favorite but Macca isn't far behind.
McCartney...just cause he was my favourite Beatle.....
....and he hailed from Everton
....and he hailed from Everton