Here is a list of five musicians who really just did not like the Beatles.
I have met some people - including some musically inclined people - who also expressed their dislike of the Beatles. It always surprises me to meet someone who almost seems to go out of their way to not like or respect a band like the Beatles. After all, this was a band who at one point played and practiced something like ten hours a day. That will tend to make you quite good. Two of them were regarded as virtual genius song writers, and a third grew and blossomed to become on in his own right. The band members seemed to influence and shine together, putting aside their egos to produce some of the most cherished and influential music of the 20th century.
Yet, whenever someone obtains a certain level of success - regardless of what field - there are almost certainly bound to be those who detract from them. I feel like this is human nature, to reject and/or undermine what everyone else seems to like or is doing. Hell, on some levels, it's probably what helps our worlds go around.
Still, it hits a bit harder when it's an actual musician who is expressing this dislike and disrespect. I know at least a little bit about all of the musicians on this particular list, the ones who seem intent on not liking the Beatles. They are Lou Reed, Quincy Jones, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Michael Stipe of REM, and Julian Casablancas of The Strokes. It would not have surprised me if Elvis Presley had made the list, because I heard he had some serious issues with the Beatles, even to the point of meeting with then President Nixon in order to try and get them out of the country. Yet, Elvis was not in this particular list.
In some cases, like Reznor, they grew out of their temporary dislike of the Beatles. It was early in his musical career, and mostly just a standard rejection of what everyone was doing or liked. Over time, his respect and perhaps even appreciation of the Fab Four grew. Casablancas also seemed to ground his dislike of the Beatles more or less on those grounds of rejecting the norm.
There are other cases where it feels like there is some measure of jealousy. That felt like the case with Quincy Jones. To suggest that the Beatles were the worst musicians in the world, and that they were entirely talentless smacks more of sour grapes. Whatever you think of the Beatles, even if you dislike them, they most certainly were not the worst musicians in the world, which is an obvious exaggeration. There are some immortal works that have become among the most iconic and influential songs of modern times written and performed by the Beatles, either as a band or individually. Songs like "Yesterday" and "A Day in the Life" and "Something" "Let in Be" and "Hey Jude" and "Imagine" come to mind, just to name a few. Hell, whole albums come to mind, like Rubber Soul and Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's and the White album and Abbey Road. Obviously, they would not have produced anything remotely as iconic and immortal as those works, which have all withstood the test of time, if they were mere talentless hacks, as Jones suggested.
Then there are those who simply have different tastes, or at least seem to. This seems to be the case with Lou Reed and Michael Stipe. Those are two musicians who I tend to like and respect very much, and who I continue to like. That said, I obviously don't agree with everything they say or do, and this would be an obvious example of it. My guess is that they were tired of how popular the Beatles were, and that it might have been popular in their collective crowds or genres - particularly with Lou Reed - to have a very different opinion than the standard one regarding popular music, and perhaps that is especially true with a band as popular as the Beatles. The suggestion by Stipes that the Beatles amounted to "elevator music" is just, frankly, stupid. Still, everyone is entitled to their opinions, after all.
In any case, below is a video about some famous musicians who expressed their distaste for the Beatles.
Take a look, and enjoy:
Top 5 Musicians Who HATED The Beatles
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