Quote:
Originally Posted by ribbons
Beach Boys and Beatles songs that move me emotionally:
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Ooo! Lists, and alphabetized.
I'll have to listen to the songs you listed that I've never heard, ribbons, because I can't recall some of them.
I *definitely* feel emotionally affected by many Beatles' songs. They often put me in a certain thoughtful, restive state of mind. One I especially liked listening to when I was a child (I'm talking 8 or 9 here) was "Strawberry Fields," which is on your list. My favorite lines were, "Living is easy with eyes closed."
Their songs made me think, leaving me more alert and unsettled, with new ideas to contemplate (such as, "What in the heck is the meaning of that song???").
The Beatles Strawberry Fields Forever (2009 Stereo Remaster) - YouTube
And "Here Comes The Sun" still puts me in a happy, mellow, and positive mood whenever I hear it. That's one of my favorite songs of all time.
However, the Beatles' songs don't usually pull me out of my own life perspective and emotional state into someone else's, like The Beach Boys' songs do.
When listening to the Beach Boys' "Don't Worry," for example, I feel as if I'm transported not just into another emotional state, but also into someone else's
life. Listening to this song is similar to watching a short movie that engrosses me: I feel as if I become the sensitive young man in the song who brags about his car and gets frazzled easily in social situations, and finds himself soothed and happy due to his girlfriend.
The Beach Boys' songs often leave a satisfied echo of emotional wellbeing after listening to them. On the down side, they don't challenge my intellect at all. They are often so simplistic and straightforward in their meaning that I never have any question what they are about.
Yet usually I forgive the lack of depth in The Beach Boys' music because their songs with their beautiful singing are just so warm, like an enveloping hug, that they affect me more than the Beatles' songs do.
Maybe the main difference is that Beatles songs frequently leave me feeling pensive and somewhat alone, while the Beach Boys' songs often leave me feeling contented and connected. I noticed this early on when I was a child listening to my brother's many records. I like both effects but if forced to choose would pick "contented and connected."
The Beach Boys - Don't Worry Baby (HQ Audio) - YouTube