Everybody Have Fun Tonight.
I was recently defriended on Facebook by someone I’ve known for years over an argument about the Beatles.
Let me explain.
First off, we need to establish the fact that you will always have a friend that obsesses over the Beatles. This is only one of the true facts of life besides the fact that you will get old and die. You might be able to avoid this until you are in your golden years, but without fail, you will encounter someone that is also knocking on death’s door, and they will tell you about how the Beatles changed music forever. Fine. You may not like it, but you will have to accept it.
Secondly, they will argue with you until a deathmatch about how great the Beatles are. It doesn’t matter what your rebuttal is, they always win. And the reason they always win is because they are out of their goddamn minds. They have built up what was, essentially the first boy band, in their head to be the single greatest catalyst in their experience with music. Don’t bother arguing with them over this. The Beatles are the beginning and end of music to them, and no one else will ever matter as much.
But, for arguments sake, let’s say that you have a far differing opinion. You can like the Beatles. Fuck, you can even love the Beatles. But, because you don’t hold them in the same regard that they do, they will wind up hating you. They will think that you’re being difficult, or trying to dismiss the social and cultural importance of the Beatles.
This leads me to my story.
Do I like the Beatles. Of course. Do I think that they get far too much credit? Absolutely.
The Beatles were, are and will be, important for popular music. They were responsible for setting off a phenom with music that had yet to be witnessed until they arrived on the scene. And yes, they had a limited amount of output, yet succeeded with all of it, which makes them even more important in most peoples minds.
With that being said, I don’t care.
There are a great number of bands that have existed since the Beatles that have changed everything. Sure, they always wind up being compared to the Beatles, but it’s usually just because the people talking about them are only casual music fans, and have no better point to reference anything to.
Which brings me to Wang Chung.
Wang Chung may have appeared to have a couple of top 40 radio hits and then disappear, but I would argue that they are far more worth obsessing over.
For one, they are still performing today. Yes, I know that Ringo and Paul are still doing shit, but I DO NOT CARE. Ringo had a number of solo albums that were far better than anything McCartney put out, and McCartney is still performing Beatles songs as if he was the gatekeeper, but I don’t care.
If you are able to look at it objectively, Wang Chung could have been the Beatles of the 80’s. They presented a new-ish sound to the masses. They, from the beginning, had a much deeper meaning with their name and philosophy. The Beatles name came about because of many unfounded origins. The simplest version is that Stuart Sutcliffe used the name “Beetles” as a play on Buddy Holly’s “Crickets.” Lennon later changed that because of the “beat” or if you’re nuts, because of a dream he had.
Wang Chung was based on, depending what you believe, a Chinese philosopher, or the Chinese meaning of “perfect beat.” Already, far more intellectual than the “Beatles.”
Now, I might be losing some of you here, but stay on board. It might be worth it.
I’m not a Wang Chung fan like I am of the Beatles. But when you do the research of Wang Chung, they are far more interesting. The Beatles were four guys that got together from Liverpool to play music and get pussy. When you break it down, they were no more respectable than Weezer is. Wang Chung at least had a deeper, philosophical side to them.
Am I saying Wang Chung are better than the Beatles?
No.
What I am saying, is that why not have an unnatural obsession with Wang Chung?
Why not get into bizarre, unfounded arguments over the validity of Wang Chung? They obviously had more integrity, and probably still do than the Beatles ever did, (that is, until they started taking themselves too seriously.)
From now on, if anyone puts on “Revolution” and can’t shut up about it, I’m going to put on “Dance Hall Days” and regale them with the importance of Wang Chung. Because at the end of the day, “I Want To Hold Your Hand” lives on the same level as “Everybody Have Fun.”
