Paul Beique:
Welcome to Brainwaves, a podcast about big ideas produced at the University of Colorado Boulder. I’m Paul Beique. If you like what you hear on our podcast, or have a topic you think we should explore, email us at brainwaves@colorado.edu. As we approach the 50th anniversary of the breakup of the Beatles, this episode is all about music. We’ll hear from a music professor who puts the breakup into perspective. And we talk with a Gen Z music critic with his own take on Beatlemania and how technology has opened doors for new artists today. On January 30th, 1969, the Beatles -- and keyboardist Billy Preston -- climbed up to the roof of Apple Corps headquarters in London and played their last public performance. The last song they played was take three of “Get Back.” Paul McCartney made the breakup official on April 10, 1970. To find out what the breakup meant, I spoke with a student of rock and roll. Mike Barnett is an instructor, composer and a working drummer. He teaches Music in the Rock Era and Intro to Songwriting at CU Boulder. Mike, welcome to Brainwaves.
Mike Barnett:
Thank you.
Paul:
Do you remember the first time you became aware of the Beatles?
Mike:
Yes, it was probably mid-70s, mid- to later ’70s. I was still just a little kid but it was hard not to, you know, some of my earliest memories are of music, and of those are the Beatles. Paul McCartney was, you know, everywhere with Wings during the 70s. John Lennon was, you know, kind of here and there. He took some time away. The thing I think I remember most distinctly, the earliest, was anytime there was a Beatle, and anywhere on a TV interview or ,you know, reading an interview about them, they always were asked, you know, “When are the Beatles getting back together?” Or, “You guys have anything planned?” And that was always the question at the top of everybody's list, it seems.
Paul:
Help us understand how big the Beatles were and what the breakup meant at the time.
Mike:
I think it was clearly the end of something important. And those types of things, I think, in the moment, you don't have enough time to realize … . I don't think people even realized the significance, the lasting significance that the Beatles would have, and the lasting influence. You know, in 1970 or late ’69, you know that hadn’t really been felt yet, I don't think, in the way that we know it now, for sure. But I'm sure it was devastating to Beatles fans. But there was so much else happening, too, you know, with Vietnam. And on the musical front, you know, all these American acts like Hendrix and the Doors and Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead and all these bands that were bursting out of San Francisco and Woodstock. And, I mean, I think there were enough other things going on to nourish people's musical selves.
Paul:
One of the other elements that might have led to their breakup, they be all began to pursue their own creative musical endeavors, particularly George Harrison's work with Indian musical themes. Did it just become too difficult, do you think, to reconcile these differing styles and interests in one band?
Mike:
I suppose the pursuit of each of their own solo careers had a lot to do with drawing their attentions elsewhere for sure. But I think the Beatles had run its course in a lot of ways. I think if there hadn't been some of the sort of vitriol between in particular Paul McCartney and John Lennon in the press, you know, that maybe they would have reconciled after they had done their own thing for a little bit. I mean, it happens. And then you have it going in every direction, too. You can see other examples, like the Eagles or someone, you know, where they have these enormous successful solo careers and then they come back together at some point. If John Lennon hadn’t been killed, I mean, who knows what would’ve happened in the ’80s or beyond? It may have been doing reunion tours with the Eagles or with Fleetwood Mac or who knows who, you know, at that point.
Paul:
Occasionally, you’ll run into someone who says, “Nah, I don't like the Beatles.” What would you say to that person?
Mike:
People like what they like. But I would probably also say, “Well, have you really listened to the Beatles? Do you really know what they were about?” I think there's a difference between appreciating something and actually liking it, you know, in certain cases. And you know, with my rock class, I get a mixed bag of enthusiasm and a mildly, you know, indifferent approach to it. But I think by the end of the semester I think that those students who were unaware or didn't like the Beatles at least appreciate them and in some cases they have grown the like the Beatles and other bands that were just not on their radar. So, I mean, I have a different experience but just in general I think that everybody should at least understand the significance of the Beatles, you know, whether they like their music or not.
Paul:
Mike Barnett, thanks so much for joining us today on Brainwaves.
Mike:
Thank you for having me, appreciate it.
Paul:
Mike Barnett is an instructor, composer and a working drummer. He teaches at the School of Music at CU Boulder.
Paul:
Younger people might get the significance of the Beatles, but can they name the members of the Fab Four? We sent Cole Hemstreet onto the CU Boulder campus to ask Gen Z to name the Beatles. Don’t let us down, kids.
Ian Chitwood:
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and … oh, shoot, I always forget the last one, yeah.
Jack Eliot:
Ringo’s one …
Charlotte Bundt:
Ringo, George, John and Paul.
Jack Eliot:
Paul’s one …
Emma Greene:
Oh, gosh, uh … Paul, George ... mm … . No.
Jack Eliot:
George is one …
Jess:
Noo. No, I can’t, I can’t. I love the Beatles but I can’t.
Jack Eliot:
Uh, fourth one, I can’t remember.
Paul:
That was Jess, Ian Chitwood, Jack Eliot, Charlotte Bundt and Emma Greene. And now we turn from the Beatles’ breakup to a breakdown of music that’s popular today. Brainwaves’ Cole Hemstreet spoke with Frank Furtado, founder of the music storytelling YouTube channel Middle 8. You can find a link in the description. They talked about the Beatles’ influence, the changing music industry and where music is headed. We’ll start with Furtado taking a deep dive into “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes.
Frank Furtado:
My name is Frank Furtado and I started Middle 8 as just a platform for me to talk about the music that I really loved.
Cole Hemstreet:
So, Beatlemania, it didn't come out of a vacuum. Can you summarize it if you can to those of us who may have not been around for it?
Frank Furtado:
I mean, I wasn't around for it, either, but I think it was just one of those times that music really started being looked at as almost a commodity, I guess, at that point. You have this band, the Beatles, who aren’t the greatest music players, at least when they first started. And then just the commercial success that they received from going from the U.K. to the U.S., and then blowing up and becoming this sensation. But they sort of pushed themselves to progress with every album. And they could have easily just created singles for the rest of their career, but instead they decided to really push their sound and push what a rock band could do, and it went from people just casually listening to music, I think, toward people starting to buy records and starting to buy albums. And I think they really influenced a lot of other artists to push their own sound and become a better band.
Cole:
So how do you think the idea of stardom has kind of evolved with today's stars?
Frank:
Being an artist or getting your music out there is a lot easier than, say, for example, it was back in the Beatles’ day, and a lot of that is owed to the internet. So, somebody today could instantly—they have an idea—all you need is a computer with some music software, or like beat production software, and you can kind of go from there. And I think that's one of the reasons why trap has really taken off right now, and I guess the rap genre in general, is people can just make this in their bedroom. And you don't need four people in a band anymore. You don't need a drummer, you don't need a guitarist, a bassist and a singer. Like, you can kind of be all of that with music editing software now. But, yeah, I don't think it's really changed much. If anything, there's just more avenues for them to talk about it or to show it off, I guess, because of social media and the internet. But I'm sure the Beatles were just as egotistical as Drake probably is now. It's just we see it, or it’s more in our face than it was back then.
Cole:
So what other ways do you see the music industry changing?
Frank:
Streaming has definitely become, I guess, the go-to way of consuming music. If an artist isn't on a streaming platform it's almost more difficult for them to kind of get ahead. And I don't see this model changing for a long time. I think eventually one day, if smaller artists don't start seeing returns on their music we could see like a protest towards streaming platforms and getting them to pay more for those smaller artists. But, I mean, at the same time it’s kind of like if they're not on there then nobody's listening to their music. So it's gonna be interesting going forward, but I definitely think we've seen a lot of changes happen, at least in the last 20 years, and that kind of kicked off with Napster and them making file-sharing and listening to music much more readily available. In terms of physical releases, not many people are buying CDs as much anymore, so we’ve almost lost that physical touch with albums even though we’ve seen a bit of a resurgence with vinyl records. But I definitely see streaming as like the new form for the music industry in general. And we’re also kind of moving away from the need for a label, the need for any backing to distribute your music because of streaming. So, if anything, now, like, the new managers and PR companies an A&R is like the new label. You don't need a label at this point anymore to become big.
Cole:
So that kind of leads to my next question, which is, a lot of artists complain that it's very difficult to make money because of these streaming platforms. Do you think there's a way for the music industry to be more profitable? Or, how are these artists getting by? Is it through ads, and how does that work exactly?
Frank:
And, yeah, that's the thing, is that, like, if you want to make those big dollars, I guess, you kind of do have to be with a label or you do need a manager. But if you're going to get into music, I don't think that making [money] should be your top priority. Like, if [garble] an artist and you care about your music and, like, you kind of just want to get rich quick, you'll kind of see that a lot of those artists come and go. They get, like, their 15 minutes, they get a ton of money and end up wasting it all.
Cole:
Like a Lil Pump-type character?
Speaker 0:
Yeah, yeah, or even, for example, like Lil Nas X. Who knows how long he's gonna kind of carry on with the “Old Town Road” thing. Like, whether or not that's going to pan out for him to be a bigger artist in the future. But then you have somebody who, for example, like Tame Impala, who—the art form is more important than anything to him, or at least it was in the beginning. I don’t know how it is now. But I think kind of building up that longevity of being an artist is how you make money in the long run.
Cole:
OK, so, last question: How much more are artists relying on touring these days?
Frank:
I think it's just as consistent as it was even before. The thing is, I think artists do make more throughout their touring than, say, for example, their album releases sometimes. The bigger artist you are, the bigger venues, then obviously you're making more from tour.
Paul:
That was Frank Furtado of the YouTube channel Middle 8. Thanks for joining us this week. I’m Paul Beique. If there’s a topic you think we should cover, email us at brainwaves@colorado.edu. Cole Hemstreet and I produced today’s episode. We’ll see you next time on Brainwaves.