On December 24th, The Beatles music was finally added to the library of my streaming service of choice, Spotify. Finally, I can listen to arguably (one of) the best artist’s music with ease.
I love The Beatles. I grew up with my dad playing them, and me singing along. Their music is a part of me. But now, as a Music Production student, I’m starting to listen to them in a completely different way. I’ve noticed the panning to is very heavy in a lot of their song. I found this to be intriguing. I feel like, if The Beatles were making new music to cater to the portable music players and in ear headphones we see so much of today, where its easy to slip one out for a minute while still listening, the way they panned would be different.
I also noticed that I was drawn to their slow, simple songs, with lovely lyrics. Being a songwriter, it makes sense, but this wasn’t an intentional songwriter move.
Anyways, since I’ve been yearning to stream The Beatles ever since I started using the application in about March of 2013, I felt the need to look through through the entire library, so I could add the songs I love to my library. The Beatles have about 250 unique tracks available on Spotify. Of that, I choose about 70 favorites to add to my library of music. See what songs I choose, and follow the playlist by clicking here.
People always ask me, “what’s your favorite Beatles song?” So, I took the playlist of 70, and started narrowing down to decide a favorite. I couldn’t pick just one. There are 6 songs that I could not live without. In alphabetical order, the The 6 Beatles Songs I Cannot Live Without, and why are:
- Across The Universe
- This song just makes me so happy. Turning it on turns my lips into a grin. All my worries seem to leave my body, and I feel at home with myself. It’s so simple, yet so well crafted.
- Blackbird
- Once again, such a simple song that makes all my anxiety disappear. The guitar is so beautiful, and the vocals are soft and lovely. I just want to sip tea and be happy while listening to blackbird.
- Carry That Weight
- Part of Abbey Road, Carry That is the middle song in the 3 song medley (Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End). The way it seamlessly weaves from Carry That Weight amazes me, two different songs melded together with such craft in 1969 boggles my mind! The song sounds so full to me, it truly fills all the frequency ranges in the perfect way. The drums are so well crafted and well played, the bass is perfect, the trumpet comes in with the melody of “You Never Gave Me Your Money,” the 9th song of this album (Carry That Weight is 15th) and just gives me chill. It’s perfectly slow and soothing with enough movement in. There’s so much continuity to prove that it’s one song, but it’s ever changing. It’s such a well crafted and beautiful song.
- Eleanor Rigby
- To begin, the strings in this song are absolutely spectacular. The strings make this an atypical Beatles song, but it’s still extremely recognizable. This song doesn’t have drums, guitar, bass, or most of the instrumental things you’d expect to hear. It’s just strings, and vocals. In this song there are 4 violins, 2 violas, 4 cellos, and 3 vocalists (Paul, John, and George). The strings are so well crafted, you would think they’re part of a classical song, but they you layer in the vocals, layers and layers of amazing harmonies, and above all that, beautiful lyrics. Eleanor Ridgy took my heart as a pop song that wasn’t just cheery and happy. It was one of the first pop songs to deal with loneliness and death. It just hits you in the feels.
- In My Life
- This song has been a favorite of mine. Every summer, In My Life would be sang at at least one of our weekly campfires. It was part of my childhood, my favorite place on earth, and how I spent my childhood. When I became a counselor and was the Choral Director of our camp’s choir, I began to analyze the harmonies. Simples oos in the background, and vocal doubling over the beautiful guitar, bass, and percussion. A song so simple, yet so powerful musically. But the music is second to my love for the lyrics. All I can think about are how powerful memories are and how important it is to be grateful for the people surrounding you. Every day is important, every person influences you, and what you do with that is what matters. "All these places have their moments / With lovers and friends I still can recall / Some are dead and some are living / In my life I've loved them all” These lyrics are so powerful to me. Everyone has the good moments in all different places, with all different people, and although they won’t all be in your life, it’s so important to appreciate them, how they shaped you, and what you learned from them. Such simple lyrics, yet such powerful meaning.
- Strawberry Fields Forever
- I have no idea what drew me to Strawberry Fields Forever, but it has always been one of my favorite Beatles song. It drops out perfectly to grab the attention of the listener. It has strings, horns, music that just sounds spiritual sounding music, weird effects, and it’s just full. There’s no holes, it’s all filled, it’s all beautiful, it makes me content with whatever I’m doing, wherever I am.
So, what are your favorite Beatles songs?
