It’s no secret I don’t like President George W. Bush. Hell, most of America doesn’t like him either. I don’t think he’s smart, I don’t think he makes good decisions, and I don’t think he even won the 2000 election. But I’ve never really understood how different I am from him until I heard this:
Mono or stereo, “Sgt. Pepper” did NOT win universal acclaim. Future President George W. Bush said he stopped liking the Beatles when they, in his words, “went through kind of a weird, psychedelic period.”
That’s Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, quoting our wonderful President, in a 40th anniversary retrospective of the release of the Fab 4’s seminal album, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band“.
George, are you fucking kidding me?
(more ranting after the jump...)
Cross posted at The Seminal - head over there for some nifty in-post audio! You know you want to!
Sgt. Pepper’s was a masterpiece, plain and simple. It’s number 1 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, it was the number 1 selling album on three continents (America, Britain, and Australia), it won 4 Grammy awards, and it has sold almost 12 million copies worldwide. If numbers aren’t your thing, try innovation. Sgt. Pepper’s was one of the first albums to use extensive multitracking and studio techniques such as automatic double tracking, phasing, and flanging that have now become classics. It included some radical instrumentation featuring string sections, sitar, Hammond organ, and sound collages of sampled noise and voices. On top of that, Sgt. Pepper’s was an early version of the concept album, with alter egos for each band member, songs and themes that come up again and again throughout the album, and smooth transitions and pacing between cuts.
For me, Sgt. Pepper’s was when the Beatles got good. Admittedly, I’m too young to have listened to their albums in order as they were released, but Sgt. Pepper’s marks the point where the Beatles completely abandoned their old pop sensibilities and struck out in a new direction. From there, things just got better, with The White Album, Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road (my personal favorite), and Let It Be following, each a masterpiece in its own right. No more “Please Please Me” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand” fluff pieces; the Beatles started to really indulge their eclectic musical tastes with Sgt. Pepper’s, and thankfully they never looked back.
The fact that George Bush stopped liking the Beatles when they released this wonderful album perfectly highlights the different universes Bush and I inhabit. In my version of reality, Sgt. Pepper’s is a fountain of creativity. In Bush’s, it’s “weird.” Never mind that I think Bush fabricated the connection between Iraq and Al-Qaeda. Who cares that the WMDs were never found. While it may make me angry that Bush authorized illegal wiretaps, advocated for the use of torture on detainees, suspended the right of habeas corpus, and generally fucked up this country, until now, I didn’t realize why it made me angry. Now I get it. Bush doesn’t value anything I do; it’s really that simple.
Bush’s lack of appreciation for Sgt. Pepper’s shows a lack of intellectual curiosity that I find appalling; a lack of intellectual curiosity that I think he brings to problem solving in general. Sgt. Pepper’s, while a little bit “out there,” certainly doesn’t qualify as avant-garde in any way. The music isn’t obtuse; it still has a beat, verses and choruses, and the familiar trappings of pop music that we are used to. It’s just made with different instrumentation, a great attention to detail, and a depth of thought that is too often lacking in mass musical offerings. If Bush can’t appreciate that, how is he ever going to find the imagination to solve America’s problems, let alone the world’s? Sgt. Pepper’s may be a bit “psychedelic,” but come on; George Bush has done enough drugs, he should be able to understand the music at least on this level.
You may think I’m reading too much into this; I really doubt it. If people see fit to judge a man’s leadership capabilities by the God he chooses to worship, or by the color of his skin, or by the way that he talks, then I can judge him for his taste in music. If people think what our prospective leaders do for fun, or what they eat for lunch has any bearing whatsoever on their worth as public officials, then I think I’m allowed to equate bad musical taste with poor leadership. I’ll stand by it. Anyone who doesn’t like Sgt. Pepper’s shouldn’t be running anything, much less the most powerful country in the free world. And I’ll go even further. Anyone who likes Sgt. Pepper’s would never have gotten us into an un-winnable war in Iraq. It just wouldn’t happen!
June 1st, 2007 will always stand out in my memory as the day I finally understood why I have no confidence in George Bush. It’s not because of his policies. It’s not because of his mannerisms. It’s not because he thinks clearing brush at his ranch is a manly activity. It’s because he doesn’t like “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, one of the greatest albums of all time. Listen to the album, and then if you still disagree with me, take it up in the comments.