The Beatles - Not Perfect

I am a bit of a pop tart: I generally like top 20 BS. It's mindless, but catchy and sometimes I like me some mindless and catchy. That being said I am a radio channel flipper: so I will often find myself on the Classic Rock station.  Basically: I like whatever has been popular at the time. Since it's 09-09-09 what has the classic rock station been playing? Beatles. Nothing. But. Beatles.

And I discovered something. The Beatles are far from perfect.

Now let me explain: even though I am a top 20 type of gal, I am getting REALLY sick of voice cleaning... or whatever the fuck it's called. Take a woman with a great voice,oh let's say Beyonce... I mean that gal can SANG, and clean up any rough patches. Or what could be percieved as rough patches. Take her track and bump it up a bit, and down a bit and voila: harmony. Perfect, perfect harmony.  It's the audio equivalent of airbrushing. The result isn't really human anymore, but it's the picture of what some marketting asshole believes perfection is. And maybe perfection to these guys equates $. I don't know.  And before we get all high and mighty about music and marketting assholes who make money: how many of the guys here love the airbrushed/siliconed beauties. Isn't it sort of the same?

That's why it's odd listening to the Beatles: cause as good as they are, their singing is... a bit um... rough in parts. Now... not REALLY rough... just he kind of "rough" you get when ... oh ... you know... you get two or three extremely talented guys singing in  a studio.  Now I don't think I would have ever noticed, except these computer driven top 20 is really starting to get to me. I have become aware of the fact that I haven't heard a real voice in quite some time. And forget backup singers, everything is overdubbed with the same artist.

Again: if we were to use the airbrushing analogy further: the Beatles would be a beautiful woman. And maybe she would havea bit of a tummy, a few wrinkles. But each mark and ripple would add character: she is a flesh and blood, breathing living person with a soul.  I am left to wonder what they would sound like if they came around today.

So yeah: Beatles. Imperfect.

Thank God.