Suddenly, it’s like we have been taken back to 1964. People are arguing about who’s the best band, the Beatles or the Rolling Stones.
For those who can’t remember 1964, this was a constant thing at the time. You had to pick a favourite. Either you were team Beatles or team Stones. Although really, I don’t think people really cared. It was just something to argue about. Something to discuss that was fun, but really didn’t matter. All of us were quite capable of listening to both, and many did.
It was one of those things that continued to pop up over the years. Both bands have their strong points and both still have their fans.
But recently, Paul McCartney went and called the Stones a blues cover band in an interview, and suddenly, music reporters all over the world heard them as fighting words.
What Paul said was that he thought the Beatles were better, and since he was a Beatle, why wouldn’t he feel that way? He very rightly should be proud of the body of work he created over the years. He said that he thought the Beatles cast their net a bit wider, as far as what influenced them. The Rolling Stones tended to approach pretty much everything as a blues band.
I can’t say he’s wrong. But it’s still a hard question to answer as to who was best.
The Beatles fell apart many years ago. The Rolling Stone continue today. The various members of the Beatles continued to put out music, some good, some bad, throughout their lives. The Rolling Stones do the same.
The fact that this argument continues almost sixty years later tells me a couple of things.
First, both of these were great bands and have produced great music over the years. Music that people continue to feel passionate about.
Second, given the chance, it just seems people will fight about pretty much anything. Even things that really don’t matter. And we seem to like it even more if celebrities get into a feud.
Personally, I’ll continue to listen to both and many others as well. Just depends on what mood I’m in at the time.
