Im glad somone is starting to see things a little like I am. Yes, The Beatles were popular. Is there a difference between pop and popular? Pop is short for popular, so in that sense, I guess not. Pop is such a broad term, it might as well just describe whatever is popular. Were The Beatles just a poppy formulaic band? No. And I think a lot of people try to make them seem that way.

But The Beatles were Pop, as in "a poppy formulaic band", perhaps not throughout their entire music career, but it put them on the map. The Beatles were also popular. They are the epitome of near-timeless pop culture. The Beatles were pop.

If they were a formulaic band then all their albums would of sounded like the first one. Theres no way they were that. Sure they were inspired by Buddy Holly, but, those first albums set off a mass of bands that were imitating their sound. They were setting the trend, not going with it. They were one of the most innovative bands of their time.

The song "Norwegian Wood" is now acknowledged as one of the cornerstones of what is now usually called "world music" and it was a major landmark in the trend towards incorporating non-Western musical influences into Western popular music. Other production innovations included the use of electronic sound processing on many instruments, notably the heavily compressed and equalised piano sound on "The Word"; this distinctive effect soon became extremely popular in the genre of psychedelic music.

The list of innovations is pretty long. They were far from a band who found a sucessful formula and stuck to it. They were always changing and experimenting. Certainly not a characteristic of a formulaic pop band.

:banghead:

:soapbox:

They are one of the biggest pop bands ever because they are one of the most successful bands of all time and they played pop music.


Who says pop musicians don't change their style? The Beach Boys did. Madonna certainly did. Bowie did too. I've already mentioned that Buddy Holly did, despite having an incredibly short career. Hell, even Elvis did to an extent.

As you yourself have indicated, the Beatles dabbled in various styles throughout their career. Describing them as a psychedelic band, for example, isn't all that useful since it only applies to some of their music. "Pop", on the other hand, covers them more thoroughly. And since they are generally considered one of the key pop bands of the 20th century, who exerted a very large influence on pop music, not using the term when discussing them would be very odd indeed.

:laughing:

It's becoming a matter of semantics.

I disagree with your use of the word "semantics". :laughing:

Being formulaic isn't part of pop's requirements and you seem to have acknowledged this by specifying "formulaic pop band"