[assorted]

God I hate the Beatles. I can't say they are or are not as influential as the music party line says as that would make me as knee-jerk as those that have the opinion. I'm not a recording artist and am unfamiliar with studio techniques before and after the Beatles, something I've heard they had great influence on.

I am familiar with pop culture and pop culture history however, and feel the Beatles spawned in that area trends that did far more damage then good. In my opinion they single handedly hijacked the late sixties into being an apolitical acid fest instead of being about any meaningful policital change. Lennon spawned a generation of shallow, insipid lead singers who feel that stating moronic, generalist statements like "All you need is love" and "Give peace a chance" is somehow "political" (Bono, anyone?).

Their massive popularity in and of itself may have made them "most influential." Then again, Elvis was pretty fucking influential as well. Can you honestly say that there would be no Radiohead, no Nirvana, no Sex Pistols if not for the Beatles? I don't think so; it's too many bands and acts removed from the Beatles to make that assumption now. If you do, I would shoot back that the same could be said for Elvis then, simply for breaking rock clearly into the mainstream homes of white america.

Oh well, only 2 more to go until they are finally wiped out. Now if only rock critics could clear them from their superlative lists when describing new acts.