John Lennon had nothing but disdain for people who tried to interpret his music in any way shape or form. Outwardly, he was just trying to write good rock & roll songs. That was difficult enough considering the quality output he was able to consistently maintain for so many years as a Beatle.

By the late ‘60s, Lennon had taken hundreds of acid trips and he was concerned that the commercialization of the Beatles had reduced them to a ‘formula.’ He was fed up with the public façade that went along with being a Beatle. John became indifferent to the music, and he was disillusioned by the Apple Boutique experience in 1968 and the Manson murders in August 1969. In Hunter Davies’ biography, Lennon referred to the Beatles as a con: “Beethoven was a con, just like we are now. He was just knocking out a bit of work: that was all…”

By this time John was with Yoko, and he was looking for an excuse to leave the band. He was far more interested in her than he was in The Beatles – even though questions remain about his true motives at the time. Frankly, it was all bravado. Paul has commented about John’s hard-edged exterior. It was just his ‘tough guy’ persona speaking at the time. John Lennon had as big an ego as anyone, despite all the much-touted “ego-destruction” of LSD. He knew the meaning of every single one of his songs, and he knew there was meaning behind his lyrics. He just didn’t appreciate anyone else’s opinion about them. In any case, he told Davies:

“People think the Beatles know what’s going on. We don’t. We’re just doing it. People want to know what the inner meaning of “Mr. Kite” was. There wasn’t any. I just did it. I shoved a lot of words together then shoved some noise on.”

I doubt most fans would agree with that assessment; however as a musician and a songwriter I am certain that John, Paul and George were indeed simply trying to write good pop songs – at least in the beginning. That is step one.

In that sense, there’s no need to analyze their music too deeply: it’s hard enough to write one good song. Just ask Ringo.

John and Paul wrote approximately 180 songs together, and they are (arguably) all great. That in itself is an incredible achievement for any artist.

Their music is timeless. The songs sound like they could have been recorded last week. The crystal-clear quality of George Martin’s production on four and 8-track analog still sounds better than the present day product, with all the digital compression and Auto-Tune. There arguably isn’t a bad song in the entire Beatles catalog (Revolution #9? Discuss). Imagine having an album where every song is brilliant: It can’t be done today.

Most contemporary pop music is utter crap. The Beatles’ legend endures because of the quality and the artistry of the music they produced, period. You can’t compare The Beatles with anything that passes for music in this day and age. To mention talentless hacks like Katy Perry, Lady Ga Ga, Beyonce or Justin Beiber in the same breath as The Beatles is an insult to music and a crime against humanity. There is simply no comparison.

Corporate music made by computers for robots to dance to: that’s what is being crammed down the throats of the current generation. There is no artistry or talent involved in it. It’s mostly just a beat to dance to.

No wonder people keep returning to The Beatles for inspiration. Their music is so much better than anything being created today. They epitomize musical quality.

Nothing will ever compare to the pristine quality of the music that The Beatles produced. That time is gone forever.

Today we’re surrounded by mediocrity: America is a cultural wasteland just like it was in the early 60s. Maybe something new will come along, but probably that ‘something new’ will be The Beatles, rediscovered once again. With each generation, they become something brand new to behold.

Truthfully, there is still quite a lot of great music still being made today – still some excellent stuff to be found in the ‘Alt.’ genres, but you have to really dig for it to find anything of quality. The Beatles never sat back on their laurels. Like all true geniuses, their art reflected the revolutionary changes in society and the transformations going on inside of them and all around them. The music was always moving forward, advancing in complexity and significance.

The Beatles were great because their music kept evolving. As they grew wiser and as their technical abilities increased, their music changed profoundly. Unlike today, where once you find a successful formula you have to stick with it, The Beatles never got stuck in a musical rut. They were always ahead of the trends, refusing to be pigeon-holed or classified as anything but ‘Beatles.’