Another Reason To Vote for Sharpton

Not only is the Rev. Al the most entertaining presence in the interminable Democratic Presidential Debates (the least watchable TV series since Manimal), he was the sole candidate to name Ringo as his favorite Beatle when asked by Blender magazine.

Here's the breakdown, as it appears in the November ish:

John: Kerry, Kucinich, Moseley Braun
Paul: Edwards, Graham
George: Dean, Gephardt
Ringo: Sharpton

Memo to Hillary: When you enter the race, distinguish yourself from the pack by proclaiming "Pete is Best."

Comments

[Robert Tagorda]

The debates became tolerable when, a few months ago, Sharpton referred to the candidates as "eight politicians, an officer, and" (pointing to himself) "a gentleman."

[Anonymous]

Al Gore invented the Beatles.

[Anonymous]

Lieberman and Clark are Wings fans

[Anonymous]

How do they all stand on Dirk, Stig, Nasty and Barry?

[Dan]

Speaking of Hillary having to make uncomfortable pop-culture decisions, does anyone else feel cheated that in not having a Cubs vs. Yankees World Series, we didn't get to see the Senator's head explode while trying to navigate through her own ridiculous backstory over exactly who her favorite team is/was?

[Brad S]

But, the much more important question than "favorite Beatle" is "favorite food". And, of course, more important than either of these questions is the ever-critical "if you were a tree, what kind of a tree would you be and why".

[StMack]

Dan,

The only people who feel really cheated by the series are the folks at FOX. Having either the Cubs or the Red Sox would have probably doubled their ratings. Had they gotten their wet dream series of Cubs vs Red Sox their ratings would have been through the roof.

When you get down to it, the only real link to MLB and Florida to most of the population is spring training - and would it have mattered to anyone other than a NY fan if the Yankess won again?

[Sporkee]

does anyone else feel cheated that in not having a Cubs vs. Yankees World Series, we didn't get to see the Senator's head explode while trying to navigate through her own ridiculous backstory ...

no. matter of fact, i have never given that matter any thought.

perhaps others feel cheated, however. should be interesting to see what kind of responses you get. folks: do you feel cheated or not?

[joe]

Do I feel cheated?

sniff

(joe lives in Massachusetts)

[david f]

hey joe...

understood. at least you keep manny (heh heh heh)

drf in chicago

oh, this world series was 212 vs 212 (retired)...

[Mark A.]

About twenty-five years ago, a local Pittsburgh DJ told of this exchange between him and his teeny bopper daughter:

Daughter (tentatively): "Daddy?"
DJ: "Yes dear?"
Daughter (incredulously): "Did you know that Paul McCartney was in another band before Wings?"

They broke up thirty three years ago, and half of them are dead. Can it really matter?

OTOH, someone should ask Paul and Ringo who their favorite Democratic candidate is.

[StMack]

The beetles were the back street boys of their generation. That they are so revered to this day is difficult to understand.

[JDM]

Any real man, when asked who his favorite Beatle is, will answer "Elvis."

[Mark A.]

"The beetles were the back street boys of their generation. That they are so revered to this day is difficult to understand."

StMack, are you being deliberately insulting or do you not know what music is?

[Anonymous]

Thank you, JDM. The second-best answer would be "Keith."

[StMack]

Neither, I just don't like their music. 95% of it today would be laughed of as bubble-gum pop. I understand their role and their impact on the culture in their day and I don't mean to diminish that. I just don't see them as the musical gods they are made out to be.

[Douglas Fletcher]

I've always enjoyed that old Negro spiritual, "Norweigan Wood."

[Douglas Fletcher]

I wonder at what point are the bottom 6 of these candidates going to drop out, or is this silly show going to keep touring like "Beatlemania?"

[Sandy]

Let me back up StMack and say that I find them highly overrated. Their influence was more on the idea of superstardom than "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" influenced, say, Led Zeppelin. When they started getting experimental and drugged out, other people were already there, especially in the London underground scene.

"Big" does not mean "quality" or even "longevity".

50 years from now nobody will know Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, but there will be the requisite copy of IWHYH on the Smithsonian Rock collection.

I would vote for a candidate who admits he doesn't care for them. Let the last sacred cow be AlGored!

[Todd]

"I Want to Hold Your Hand" is better than anything Zeppelin ever did.

And I'm a huuuuuge Zeppelin fan. (Well, I'm not huge -- I'm actually quite small -- but my Zeppelin fanaticism is huge.)

[StMack]

"I wanna hold your hand"

"Nah Nah Nah na na na nah"

This is musical genious?

[Todd]

This is musical genious?

No. Those are just lyrics. Since you're merely transcribing words onto a page, I'm not sure how you expect your post to stand as evidence one way or the other -- of musical genious or even genius.

Words are not music.

The genius comes in the part you can't read on a blog comments section -- the melodies, the chord structures, the arrangements, the rhythms, the harmonies. And even more intangible stuff, like texture and timbre and overtones.

If the Beatles were to be laughed off today as "bubblegum pop," it would be only because of the infiltration of Romanticism into rock, led by such un-rock-n-roll types as Bob Dylan, on through punk, and up to the Kurt Cobains. The notions of "authenticity" or "purity" or "suffering for the art" were not part of pop or rock music before all those bozos came along and loused things up. What a bunch of losers.

You may not care for the Beatles, and that's fine. But to say it's "difficult to understand" the band's enduring appeal speaks legions about your grasp on why most people listen to music in the first place: because they like a tune that sticks in their head. It's pretty simple, really, and not "difficult to understand" at all.

[JDM]

"The genius comes in the part you can't read on a blog comments section -- the melodies, the chord structures, the arrangements, the rhythms, the harmonies. And even more intangible stuff, like texture and timbre and overtones."

How about the unbearable shreiking? What part does that play in the genius?

I'm not a musician, but I know what hurts my ears.

[Todd]

What "unbearable shrieking"? Are you one of the few people who owns "Live at Hollywood Bowl" or something? Or are we back to Led Zeppelin again?

[JDM]

I mean during "I Wanna Hold Your Hand." Again, I'm not a musician, but I believe most of the "shrieking" is during the "chorus," though it occurs throughout the musical exposition, or "song." I think they're trying to "sing."

At any rate, Elvis never made a sound like that.

(Although he never made sounds like Robert Plant on "Since I Been Loving You" either, but that's my favorite Led Zepplin song. I suppose "wailing" is ok. "Shrieking" is right out, though.)

[Anonymous]

JDM, are you listening to a live version? Maybe you're hearing the teenaged girls in the audience screaming.

[Mark A.]

JDM,

"Since I've Been Loving You" has, IMHO, the absolute BEST guitar solo Mr. Page ever laid down, and one of the best anybody ever did.

[Mark A.]

.and it's a perfect counterpoint to Plant's wailing. The best kicked-in-the-balls blues tune ever. Again, IMHO

[Gwyn Thomas]

...and it's a dead nick from "Never" by Moby Grape."Dazed And Confused" was stolen from Jake Holmes,"Whole Lotta Love" from the Small Faces,"Stairway To Heaven" from several Chocolate Watch Band tunes.Oh,I'm sorry,it's a "reworking"...

[Argyles]

What about Stu Sutcliffe?

[Jesse Walker]

Put me down as another Ringo man. Sharpton in 2004!

[loup-garou]

And what was wrong with Manimal? Great title, great show. Gillespie is obviously a culture snob.

[david f]

what about John "Stumpy" Pepys?

or Viv Savage?

or Eric "Stumpy Joe" Childs (what a way to go)?

[Winston]

What Sharpton actually said was, "I'll go with Ringo, because John, Paul and George wrote all those songs ripping off the black man's music."

[Nick Gillespie]

Manimal was the "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts" of changeling TV series.

[Grant Gould]

And that chart is also the clearest possible demonstration of why Lieberman and Clark can't win.

[Winston]

"And that chart is also the clearest possible demonstration of why Lieberman and Clark can't win."

What does this mean? Please explain. I'm sure I'm not the only one spurred by your comment to waste my time clicking back to Gillespie's original post to figure out what you're talking about, only to discover that Lieberman and Clark aren't even on the list.

Is it this omission itself that makes it "the clearest possible demonstration"? Or is it some other (and clearly unclear) characteristic that makes you claim this?

[Grant Gould]

What I was saying is that no candidate who doesn't like the Beatles has a chance. If it isn't in the Constitution next to the bit about being a US citizen, it might as well be.
--G

[StMack]

The headline on this post is wrong - it assumes there was a reason to vote for Sharpton prior to the Ringo answer.

[Winston]

How do we know Lieberman and Clark don't like the Beatles?

[joe]

Edwards likes the second Paul. Graham, the dead one.

[mike]

I'll bet Kucinich likes Yoko.

[Kevin]

Memorable Ringo quote: "Everything the government touches turns to crap." Wonder if Al is still a fan?

[alkali]

What Sharpton actually said was, "I'll go with Ringo, because John, Paul and George wrote all those songs ripping off the black man's music."

Say what you will about "Octopus Garden," you have to concede that it doesn't rip off the brothers.

[Gwyn Thomas]

By the way,my favourite moptop was Apu,the "Fifth Bee-atle".

[nm156]

C'mon people! Everybody knows that Spinal Tap was the last true original rock band! After all, their amps go to 11.

[Total Information]

Not only did Pete and Stu go unnamed, but so did "Faul," that military intelligence agent who replaced Paul after he was killed in 1966. . .

Of course, with crap like Wings and "Ebony & Ivory" on his cv, it's no wonder Faul is dissed by music lovers everywhere . . .

[Roemer Jessi]

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DATE: 05/20/2004 06:15:00
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