Demographic B-Side: Beatles or Stones?

(Cross-posted at Redstate in modified form, Bee Gees or Manilow?)

(Just kidding: my browser remains unpoluted by Redstate.  So may it ever.)

As a supplement (B-side, if you like) to DrSteveB's ongoing "Demographic Tuesdays" series, and in the absence (so far) of an entry in that series for today, I offer this diary, with skymutt-like expectations for its success.  Though I am continually amazed by DrSteveB's ability to find yet another interesting demographic question each week on which to poll the Kossack community, I'm ready to move past all that superficial religion and race stuff to truly measure our deepest personalities.

Simple thinking (in which I find myself mired in the morning) has it that there are basically two types of people in the world.  A seemingly infinite variety of paired polar labels can be applied to these two camps, but I'll allow the song currently stuck in my head (no hints) to propose the terms today.  And so it's time, Kossacks, to throw open a tiny window to your soul:

Beatles or Stones?

Allow me to forestall a bunch of "Neither, they both suck, [Name of Band] rules!" comments by stating that this diary is primarily intended to measure the aggregate allegiance of the Kossack community as between those two bands, so please just move on to the next diary if you can't stand either one.

Ever since the first days of the British Invasion of the early 1960s, "Beatles or Stones?" has represented a classic division in musical taste.  To try to update it for the present day would be, I think, pretty much impossible.  What am I going to do, ask you which American Idol candidate you like best?  American Idol already does that.  And I don't care anyway.

So take a moment, please, to pull a lever in the poll below.  (It's much easier than trying to choose between thirty-one separately listed flavors of mainstream Protestantism or "Islam/Hindu/Buddhist/Wiccan/Satanist/Worshipper of Moloch.")

And where do I stand, in case anyone cares?  Goo goo goo joob, friends.

•  Feel free to name a favorite album

  in the comments.

  I've noticed that the "Beatles vs. Stones" debate seems no more rancorous than the "Revolver vs. Sgt. Pepper vs. White Album" debate among Beatles fans, or the "Exile on Main St. vs. Let It Bleed vs. Sticky Fingers" debate among Stones fans.

  Happy Tuesday.

  by Hippokleides on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:06:55 AM PDT

  •  I like

    Peter Green's "Fleetwood Mac."

    by dlcampbe on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:58:23 AM PDT

  •  The Beatles were LEADERS

    The 'Stones followed for awhile, and eventually led with various degrees of effectiveness -- they always had SOMETHING going that made Bo Diddley reassure them that they'd outlast the Beatles.

    Favorite Albums:
    The Rolling Stones "NOW!" (1964)
    The Beatles "Rubber Soul" (1965)

    by MT Spaces on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 10:19:59 AM PDT

    •  Stones = white-boy blues band.

      The Beatles were more creative in their music, the Stones mostly covered old R&B numbers with some adaptations. If it weren't for the Beatles and the British invasion, the Stones would be nobodies today - the Beatles carried them.

      by skrymir on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 11:04:58 AM PDT

      •  I hate to burst your bubble

        but research the Beatles and how Lennon used Smokey Robinson, Chuck Berry and Isley Brothers tunes as influences for his music. If you know how to put chords and musical scales together, you just created music and art. The Stones were very talented in their own right. Do you really think any of the Stones couldn't do musically what the Beatles could do? Remember the lyrics "it's only rock and roll and I like it".

        by tazz on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 12:17:32 PM PDT

  •  What's Going On

    by tazz on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 12:11:57 PM PDT

•  Sgt Pepper

  Gotta go with the Beatles here because they generally led the culture of their time. Stones, not so much so.

  The contrast is kind of more like U2 vs Aerosmith, in that respect. None of this points to any particular song or album, just an acknowledgement of their respective cultural impact.

  by The Raven on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:16:17 AM PDT

•  I went with The Beatles

  I love them both, but I think the Beatles offer more to more people and have a longer shelf life.

  This was actually a topic on my list for a future "Musical Interlude" diary; I'm glad you beat me to it because my diary wouldn't have been as good.

  by casperr on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:17:21 AM PDT

•  Both

  I am multitudes.

  by bumblebums on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:17:46 AM PDT

•  Stones.

  Then again, I'm only just now discovering them. My favorite album so far is "Let it Bleed."

  My favorite Beatles album is "Revolver." I dunno, sometimes I just want to listen to the Stones. It's just not that way so much with The Beatles. That mood seldom hits me.

  by droogie6655321 on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:19:09 AM PDT

  •  Let It Bleed.

    One of the best, maybe the best rock and roll album.

    by chesapeake on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:32:05 AM PDT

    •  you got it

      thats my fave

      by howardx on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:05:09 AM PDT

  •  I didn't really care for the Stones until seeing

    Apocalypse Now.  Satisfaction blasting while water-skiing behind a gunboat.  Now that was cool.

    The Stones have grown on me over the years, but I like the Beatles better.

    by bherner on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:41:28 AM PDT

    •  Not to mention...

      "Paint it Black" in the closing credits. That's the song that hooked me and made me want to hear more of them.

      by droogie6655321 on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:46:55 AM PDT

  •  Revolver was voted by muscians

    as, IIRC, the most influential album in rock music. I have poster of the album cover over my fireplace.

    by yellowdog on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:56:24 AM PDT

•  Abbey Road

  I want you (She's so heavy)>Here Comes the Sun is the best album flip ever, and it works on CD, too.

  by zenbowl on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:19:12 AM PDT

  •  abbey road:

    one of a handful of albums that i can not start without listening to it in its entirety. a magnificent piece of work.

    by homo neurotic on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:56:57 AM PDT

•  ummm, let's see, oh yeah,

  SARGENT PEPPER!

  by Sargent Pepper on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:20:33 AM PDT

  •  but I think Bruce Springsteen is

    my present favorite, though there is so much great music:

    Richard Thompson
    Teddy Thompson
    Lyle Lovett
    Fred Eaglesmith
    Patty Griffin
    Lucy Kaplansky
    Allison Krause
    Over the Rhine
    Jackson Browne
    Don Henley
    Dave Mallett
    John Gorka
    Shawn Colvin
    Bonnie Rait
    John Prine
    Steve Goodman
    Little Feat
    Gin Blossoms
    Son Volt
    Whiskeytown
    Billy Joel
    Ellis Paul
    Mark Erelli
    Ryan Adams
    Dixie Chicks
    Emmy Lou Harris
    Jerry Garcia acoustic
    James (Laid is a great song)
    and many many more i love

    by Sargent Pepper on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:26:55 AM PDT

    •  Is That Just Off The Top Of Your Head ?

      Love the list Sgt Pepper!  Especially the John Prine inclusion.  He's one of the greatest American song writers that many people have never heard of!  That's a shame, but those of us who know him Love him!

      Well your flag decal won't get you into heaven anymore
      It's already overcrowded by your dirty little war
      Now Jesus don't like Killing
      No matter what the reasons for
      And your flag decal won't get you into heaven any more!

      by ssuba on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:31:44 AM PDT

      •  I love "hello in there"

        and donald and lydia, and the one the bonnie rait covers and that they duet on, can't think of it right now,

        left out Lucinda Williams, whom I adore, and Loudon Wainwright, James McMurtry, Steve Earle, Neil Young, Graham Nash, Peter Gabriel, (as I type this billy joel is singing "new york state of mind" oh my yahoo music station.)
        I like some of the new stuff, snow patrol, fray, nickelback, and of course the great 90s stuff from REM, James Taylor, early Jimmy Buffet, Graham Parsons, byrds, Poco, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Pure prairie League, Jerry Jeff Walker, Tom Waits, Van Morrison, and I'll stop boring you!!

        b/t/w, the new Patty Griffin CD is tremendous!  As is "Seperate Ways" by Teddy Thompson, his voice is amazing, though the songs are depressing.

        yeah, top of my head, i think i still have most of my 400 albums and close to 500 cds, and downloads i don't even know how many of those.

        by Sargent Pepper on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:59:51 AM PDT

        •  Angel from Montgomery

          Sarah Mc. who sings "Angel" among other songs,

          by Sargent Pepper on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:00:37 AM PDT

          •  Nanci Griffith, Carrie Roderiguez

            Josh Ritter,

            by Sargent Pepper on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:10:56 AM PDT

            •  Asylum Street Spankers!

              Trailer Park Troubadors!!  The Band.  Marshall Tucker, Atlanta Rhythm Section, 38 Special.

              by Sargent Pepper on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:16:24 AM PDT

          •  Angel Is A Great Song

            Susan Tadeschi also does a great version of that song.   Since you sound like a music nut (and I say that w/ the utmost respect!) allow me to recommend a couple more musicians:

            John Hiatt
            Alejandro Escovedo

            I loved your list - nice to know others share my passion for great music!

            Peace,

            by ssuba on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:17:51 AM PDT

            •  Love Hiatt!

              Perfectly Good Guitar!, and I'll have to check out Alejandro Escovedo,  I love Tish Hinahosa (sp) as well.

              I saw Susan Tedesci (maybe between the two of us one of us will spell it right!) last year before her new CD was released, and she is flat out amazing!!!

              I like Dar Williams, too, and Cheryl Wheeler, and Catie Curtiss, Melissa Etherige, all the great Lesbians!! (except for Dar, I'm not sure but I think she's straight, not that it matters, but the others are lesbian)

              by Sargent Pepper on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:31:10 AM PDT

              •  Don't forget

                Susan's husband, Derek Trucks.

                by dlcampbe on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 09:03:13 AM PDT

                •  lucky guy

                  by Sargent Pepper on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 09:05:17 AM PDT

                  •  The Derek Trucks Band

                    is one of my favorites, along with the Allman Brothers Band.

                    And, of course the live shows of the J. Geils band.

                    My list favors the blues, I'll be back later with my list including "Cuby and the Blizzards."

                    by dlcampbe on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 09:25:34 AM PDT

                    •  i actually had dinner with Jay years ago, and

                      his then wife Chris, who was an equestrian. the lived in massachusetts, nice folks, very humble.

                      by Sargent Pepper on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 09:35:55 AM PDT

                    •  Ok, here's some of the 'stuff'

                      on my computer:

                      Albert Collins
                      Albert Cummings
                      Albert King
                      Albert Lee
                      Allman Brothers
                      BB King
                      Bonnie Raitt
                      Buddy Guy
                      Carlos Del Junco
                      Chicken Shack
                      Coco Montoya
                      Crawling King Snake Blues Band
                      Cream-Clapton
                      Cuby & The Blizzards
                      Delbert McClinton
                      Derek Trucks
                      Dickey Betts
                      Duster Bennett
                      Earl Hooker
                      Elmore James
                      Fleetwood Mac-Peter Green
                      Freddy King
                      Gary Moore
                      Gov't Mule
                      Guitar Slim & Jr.
                      Humble Pie
                      Jeff Healey
                      John Hiatt
                      John Mayall
                      Johnny Winter

                      I'll do the rest later.........

                      by dlcampbe on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 09:50:36 AM PDT

                      •  The rest....

                        I almost forgot another favorite,
                        Joe Bonamassa.

                        Then there are:

                        Muskee Gang
                        Napoleon Washington
                        Otis Spann
                        Randy Handy
                        Robert Cray
                        Ronnie Earl
                        Rory Galagher
                        Roy Buchanan
                        Ry Cooder
                        Son Seals
                        Sonny Boy Williamson
                        Sonny Landreth
                        Steve Earl
                        Stevie Ray Vaughan
                        Susan Tedeschi
                        Ten Years After
                        Tinsley Ellis
                        Tommy Castro
                        Walter Trout
                        and,
                        ZZ Top

                        by dlcampbe on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 10:16:37 AM PDT

            •  I am a nut

              I try to see as much live stuff as possible, usually the singer/songwriter, independent type who sell their own stuff, and try to buy things from them to help them out because I enjoy listening to music so much.

              by Sargent Pepper on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:48:56 AM PDT

    •  You've been channeling my ipod

      Listening to Son Volt now. Next will be the Knitters.

      by f furney on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:03:22 AM PDT

      •  I love Son Volt in all their

        permutations, Uncle Tupelo,and the solo stuff,

        and Blue October, a new (to me at least) Texas band that I really like,

        Barenaked Ladies, Dave Matthews, and there are tons of groups that I like some of their stuff, like Bryan Adams, Mellencamp, and I must admit that I like Dan Fogelberg!! Esp. his early stuff.  Morning Sky is the best "leaving" song, even better than Already Gone.

        by Sargent Pepper on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:13:20 AM PDT

        •  Dan Fogelberg

          is a great guitar plaer in his won right.

          by f furney on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:49:23 AM PDT

          •  yes he is. on most of his cds/albums he plays a

            variety of guitars, i learned to appreciate the sound of a 12 string listening to Souvenirs.

            by Sargent Pepper on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:57:34 AM PDT

            •  If you want a good acoutic album

              Pick up Mike Kenneally's Wooden Smoke. Obviously, Richard Thompson is the master of acoustic music.

              by f furney on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 09:19:38 AM PDT

              •  He Kicks ass on guitar.

                so does Doc Watson. I just dig that guy.

                by gustafgrapple on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 04:47:23 PM PDT

                •  So true

                  I've seen Rcihard Thompson many times over the years. Check out John Mooney as well. I've never seen him put on a bad show.

                  by f furney on Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 07:00:07 AM PDT

    •  Beatles and Springsteen

      are two-thirds of my Holy Trinity. (The third? The Beach Boys).

      by ChurchofBruce on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 09:35:09 AM PDT

      •  Bruce is god

        by Sargent Pepper on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 11:18:50 AM PDT

    •  i.m listening to Tom Russel right now

      You forgot Townes Van Zandt
      Lucinda Williams
      Greg Brown
      Richard Shindell (esp. Somewhere Near Patterson)
      Steve Earl
      Dave Alvin
      gillian Welsh
      there are also two bands I have seen recently from Sweden called Vessen and Dram that are really cool. (well, maybe not cool) Swedes arent't cool except for Anders Osborne
      Peter Rowan Tony Rice ect.... Black Sabbath?

      by gustafgrapple on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 04:45:32 PM PDT

      •  yes, love townes

        and richard shindell, gillian welsh, must admit i have never listened to dave alvin but thanks for the heads up!!!

        by Sargent Pepper on Wed Feb 28, 2007 at 06:41:26 AM PDT

•  Come On Up For The Rising!

  Sorry folks, but once you've experienced a Bruce Springsteen concert, well everything else pales in comparison.  So, I had to go with "neither"!

  by ssuba on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:21:07 AM PDT

  •  As much as I love the Boss

    --shit, he's my user name here :-)--and I have seen him in concert...he's still 1A. The Beatles are number one.

    by ChurchofBruce on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 09:36:12 AM PDT

•  White Album.

  C'mon, desert island, one LP, McGuyver (or Professor) lash up of a pencil, a sewing needle and a conch shell?

  Double Album and all white too, so it's easier to clean your dope.

  by ek hornbeck on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:21:48 AM PDT

  •  Yeah.

    I mean, of what practical use is a CD "jewel case," I ask ya?

    by chesapeake on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:46:43 AM PDT

    •  It's setting up those lasars...

      using nothing but sunlight and beach quartz that stops me.

      Very harsh environment for CDs a beach is.

      by ek hornbeck on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:56:54 AM PDT

•  Bennie Goodman or Duke Ellington?

  Can we get some bands that have mattered sometime since 1980 in here? :)

  (and I'm an old fart of 41...)

  Here we go - Regina Spektor or Lily Allen?

  by nightsweat on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:23:36 AM PDT

  •  Love It!

    You do realize that while you complained about the age of the music referenced, you used a Hunter S. Thompson tag line from the early '70's!

    Don't get me wrong - I love Hunter, just noticing!

    Peace!

    by ssuba on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:26:10 AM PDT

    •  No no no

      I'm using a line from the movie, not the book :)

      by nightsweat on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:42:26 AM PDT

  •  Benny. Love that Clarinet.

    by bherner on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:42:46 AM PDT

  •  Benny

    Love "Live at Carnegie Hall."

    by mini mum on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:00:00 AM PDT

  •  Duke Ellington...

    he could swing..You just can't beat The Mooche or Take The A Train.

    I can listen all night. I have a lot of the old 78s too.

    Thanks, Dad (my dad is a huge jazz freak since he was a kid--took me years to appreciate it)

    by vassmer on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:05:23 AM PDT

    •  Sing Sing Sing vs. Duke's Place for me

      But then, I'm a Miles Davis and T. Monk guy at heart.

      by nightsweat on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 09:24:24 AM PDT

      •  I am surprised none of you mentioned

        the man who built jazz into what it became, influencing almost all of what is considered jazz, the blues and rock and roll. Will someone mention Pops.

        by tazz on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 12:23:19 PM PDT

        •  Louis or Fats or W.C.?

          by nightsweat on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 02:19:57 PM PDT

          •  Louis

            or even Sidney Bechet.

            by tazz on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 03:18:54 PM PDT

  •  Regina Spektor

    More edge, less bitch, viz-a-viz Allen.  Lily's fun for a play or two, then she's a bore.

    by hubcap on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:25:49 AM PDT

  •  Glenn Miller :-D

    And, sorry, rock died in 1985ish :-D. And I'm the same age you are!

    by ChurchofBruce on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 09:37:05 AM PDT

  •  Composition wise, the Duke

    technical musicianship Bennie, however Artie Shaw was up there too.

    by tazz on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 12:20:51 PM PDT

•  Don't make me choose, please!

  I picked the Beatles, only because I don't think the Stones have done anything good since "Some Girls", but really isn't this like asking which one of your kids you love more?

  by dfb1968 on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:24:22 AM PDT

  •  uh, no

    It's asking which is better, the greatest group of all time, or an overrated band that blatantly copied the Beatles from 65-68?

    ducks :-)

    by ChurchofBruce on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 09:38:16 AM PDT

  •  The Stones' last awesome album

    was Tattoo You.  Side 2 is the best blues they ever played.

    by trashablanca on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 12:31:45 PM PDT

•  Beatles: Think For Yourself

  The Stones are great but the Beatles are clearly the best band ever.  It's hard to pick a "best" album but some front runners are Rubber Soul (featuring my favorite Beatle song of the moment "Think For Yorself"), Let it Be and Revolver.  

  BTW  the best Beatle cover band around is the "Fab Faux". They were on Letterman a couple weeks ago and you can see their awesome (and I mean AWESOME) version of "I am the Walrus" here.

  by MQAblog on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:27:19 AM PDT

  •  Best Ever?

    Obviously you never heard of the band the Merry Ghosts of Mozart. Just kidding. There is not a best of anything. It's a generational thing. Why don't you write about whose music inspired both bands more. You'd be surprised to find out both bands thought African American music to be the best. So why isn't any of that music or bands on your list.

    by tazz on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:48:19 AM PDT

    •  Besides

      Everyone knows that Frank Zappa was the best ever!

      by f furney on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:59:41 AM PDT

  •  "I am the Walrus" link fixed

    YouTube removed the origional video but I found another copy of the amazing cover of "I am the Walrus" by the Fab Faux.  No Beatle fan will be dissappointed by this serious and talented group of musicians tribute to the (Yes, I'll say it) best band ever

    by MQAblog on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:07:11 AM PDT

•  Both

  I don't remember any division of "Beatles or Stones" - it was "Beatles or Beach Boys"

  by Catte Nappe on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:28:16 AM PDT

  •  The Beatles vs. The Beach Boys?

    Even The Beatles thought The Beach Boys were better.

    by dfb1968 on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:30:35 AM PDT

    •  Yes, Wilson

      It's widely known that Lennon and McCartney were competing with Brian Wilson for daring and inventiveness in composition.

      by Athena on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:33:50 AM PDT

      •  You notice

        how everything truly daring the Beatles did came after "Pet Sounds"?

        by dfb1968 on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:36:15 AM PDT

        •  Aye but Pet Sounds was post- Rubber Soul...

          by ignatz uk on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 09:21:55 AM PDT

          •  and was insipred

            by Rubber Soul. "This album is a gas! I wanna do one just this good!"--Brian Wilson on first hearing Rubber Soul. Good on him, he did one 'just this good'.

            by ChurchofBruce on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 09:39:53 AM PDT

      •  Ah, but if I remember correctly

        the Beach Boys shelved a whole new album (who remembers albums....?)
        when Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released.

        by PBen on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:59:14 AM PDT

        •  Actually,

          I think EVERYBODY shelved an album after Sgt. Pepper came out.

          by dfb1968 on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:11:00 AM PDT

        •  Not quite

          it was pretty much shelved before Sgt. Pepper came out. It was shelved because of Brian Wilson's drug-fueled paranoia and band infighting, not because of the Beatles.

          And, since Brian Wilson, two years ago, re-recorded and released it, one can now hear how friggin' AMAZING it is.

          by ChurchofBruce on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 09:41:11 AM PDT

    •  The Beatles, especially John Lennon

      thought the Isley Brothers, Chuck Berry and Smokey Robinson were better. That's why many of their first tunes were covers of their songs. In fact, of the 30 something songs Lennon had on his jukebox, almost a third were written by Smokey.

      by tazz on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:56:35 AM PDT

•  Exile on Main Street.

  It's a matter of taste, of course.  Beatles were more pop/innovative, whereas the Stones had more of a classic blues-based sound.

  by Geekesque on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:29:06 AM PDT

•  Beatles, like, OMG, totally duh!

  The Stones? As if!

  Are you on Millennial overload?

  by Nathaniel Ament Stone on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:29:50 AM PDT

•  Revolver

  is quite possibly the greatest thing ever recorded.

  by HoyaBlogger on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:36:03 AM PDT

•  Stones

  I may be biased by my age, since the Beatles were winding down by the time I was born and the Stones have kept on Rolling. Flowers is probably one of their most underappreciated albums. I think the poll question about the 80's garbage is spot on. In fact, I think they shoudn't record new stuff anymore.

  by Tipsy McStagger on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:36:16 AM PDT

•  For next week: Hemingway or Faulkner?

  by vome minnesota on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:37:02 AM PDT

  •  Great idea! Post it as a diary!

    by chesapeake on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:38:06 AM PDT

    •  I've already got it teed up

      in my "Diary Drafts" section.... :)

      These lazy-man diaries pretty much write themselves.

      by Hippokleides on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:54:22 AM PDT

      •  Boy, I'll have to try this!

        Ben & Jerry or Hagen-Dazs; dogs or cats; Atlantic beaches or Pacific beaches; hot dogs or hamburgers; Elvis or Jerry Lee; Aretha Franklin or Billie Holiday. It's a whole cottage industry for the indolent!

        by chesapeake on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:02:50 AM PDT

        •  The genre, I'm afraid, reached its nadir early on

          in Do you hang the toilet paper over the front or down the back?

          by Hippokleides on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:28:51 AM PDT

          •  lol.

            Rewarmed success is the basis of one of Hollywood's biggest , crappiest moneymakers: the sequel.

            The Toilet, Part II: Single or Double Ply?

            by chesapeake on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:41:26 AM PDT

  •  Did I miss Mary Ann vs. Ginger week? n/t

    by dfb1968 on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:39:13 AM PDT

    •  Uh, yeah.

      You sure did.

      Go to dKosopedia and look up "Pie Wars".

      by Jon Meltzer on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:55:01 AM PDT

      •  Wow

        I wasn't here for that.  But looking back, it's pretty funny.

        by dfb1968 on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:12:26 AM PDT

  •  Also: Scorsese or Coppola?

    by chesapeake on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:39:25 AM PDT

    •  Francis or Sofia?

      I'd vote for Sofia, but I prefer talking films to high-body-count films.  Si, soy una mujera.

      by vome minnesota on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 01:52:13 PM PDT

  •  Hemingway or Fitzgerald in the classic

    Supposedly you can't love both of their writing.

    I lean Hemingway.  I read his books. I like his sentences.  They are short. They are declaratory.  Damn the rain, damn the rain.

    by nightsweat on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:49:07 AM PDT

    •  Wouldn't it be pretty to think so. n/t

      by Elwood Dowd on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:59:37 AM PDT

      •  Faulkner-

        Too late-

        The moon is full.  My inner Faulkner has come out.

        The cool mist settled in the hollows of the night as the idiot stood by the fence contemplating (as well as his child-like mind could) the bovine somnolence that stood before him, serenely dreaming lactative 4 stomach dreams of endless fields of daisies, yes daisies for that was her name- Daisy, bright as the summer sun, long slow munching of grass and partially digested grass, methane producing, global warming Daisy.  She smelled of the earth and as he approached her side, careful not to disturb her gentle 'earth gifts', he could feel the heat of her fermentive power, the transformation of cool clay, the wetness of spring floods, and the greenness, the awesome greenness of the whole valley.

        Gently he pushed her and she collapsed, even now unconscious, the pastures of her youth playing in her mind as the idiot re-crossed the boundary between what was her and her kind's alone, back to the mundane reality that waited for him, back to his own kind and their cruel taunts.

        As the sun rose the mist fled.  Daisy, startled, rose to her feet and resumed her life as if nothing had happened.  The idiot, wracked by guilt, finished his undergraduate degree in english liturature, not only never forgetting his youthful indiscretions but in fact REVELING in them as he said to me-

        "Do you want fries with that?"

        Aooooow.  Someone get a silver bullet- please!

        Hemingway-

        Aoooow...

        it's too late.  I'm tired of my inner Faulkner, time for my inner Hemingway.

        The woman scratched the dog's ears.  In the distance he could see the smoke from the train.  The coffee was still too hot.  He would have to speak.

        "Train coming."

        "Yes."

        The dog grinned.  The woman scratched.  The dog's tail wagged.

        "It will be here soon."

        "Yes."

        Suddenly the dog got up, scratched it's neck vigorously, then laid down and rolled on it's back.  The woman leaned over to rub it's tummy.  He stared off into the distant mountains.

        The dog's left hind leg twitched.  With a loud noise the train came into the station and ground to a halt.  The dog didn't care until the woman stood up abruptly.

        "Goodbye."

        "Goodbye."

        He turned away and whistled for his dog.  As they left the station it growled at the English Major.  When he told me this story he said-

        "Do you want fries with that?"

        by ek hornbeck on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:01:17 AM PDT

•  Lennon-McCartney-Harrison

  were a great songwriting team. Prolific, and produced so many classics. But I have to vote for the Rolling Stones, who were just thoroughly accomplished musicians (Charlie Watt is a great drummer) and wrote some of the most moving and sophisticated rock and roll ever produced. Both were great bands.

  And neither is my favorite.

  by chesapeake on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:37:02 AM PDT

  •  I had to think about your comment

    I like both bands equally, not my particular favorites though. Your comment:

    But I have to vote for the Rolling Stones, who were just thoroughly accomplished musicians

    I don't think any of them were anymore accomplished than the other. As an old musician myself, it's where your taste lies. Harrison was a very gifted guitarist, although his licks were much different than the Stones guitarists. Different chord progressions, nothing fancy just consistent. Young people since the 60s have touted Hendrix, Santana and Clapton as the best. However, I know studio musicians like Steve Cropper, Robert White and Marvin Tarplin who played on more hits that any of those other guitarists who were superstar front men. When you get to be at that level, they're all accomplished. If you want to hear accomplished, visit to Juliard or Curtis Institute.

    by tazz on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 10:33:57 AM PDT

    •  Ok.

      I feel properly put in my place. Let me run this one by you for a group of accomplished musicians: The Band. Effective as an ensemble, everyone was good at several instruments, more than one good vocalist. What do you think?

      by chesapeake on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 10:50:33 AM PDT

      •  Absolutely a great band

        Like I wrote, when you get to that level, it's not about how good a musician you are. Believe it, they are all very good musicians. I love everything the Band did. I wasn't trying to put you in your place. Only to illustrate that beauty or music, is in the eye of the beholder. What makes the Beatles so popular was not that they were great musicians, it was because they were good musicians who struck a chord with the rock public (besides having a marketing machine to blow away anything like it before). I am a jazz freak. I marvel at how Downbeat comes up with their top musicians list. What criteria do they use? Why put someone like Eddie Harris all the way down the list several years in the 60s when he did things with the sax that no one else I ever heard does. Then I go to a concert to watch the old Philadelphia Orchestra with Eugene Ormandy conducting (ok, I am showing my age) and witness absolute perfection and how musical struture and counterpoint is played perfectly. When I walk past Philly's Rittenhouse Square in the afternoon, I always strain my ears to try to catch Curtis Institute musicians practice. As long as you are a music lover, you have soul because it means something harmonic reaches you inside. It doesn't matter if its Coltrane or Bach, Rap or Country.

        by tazz on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 11:04:29 AM PDT

        •  Post a jazz diary sometime, tazz.

          by chesapeake on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 11:23:24 AM PDT

•  Rubber Soul

  hands down, with their greatest song, imho, being In My Life

  No song is more haunting and beautiful in their collection, no song

  by Progrocks on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:40:50 AM PDT

•  Mixing Apples and ... errr... Stones

  Why does there have to be a "best"? Neither band seemed all that concerned about their alleged rivalry.

  Both bands were unbelievably good at what they did (sorry for the past tense in the case of the Stones, but I think it's appropriate here.) On the other hand, both bands were most likely to look human at those times when they tried to sound more like the other.

  Still, the legacies that these bands left behind will not fade away. Anyone who says they're irrelevant today simply needs more relevant ears.

  by Nowhere Man on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:42:40 AM PDT

  •  Absolutely

    The bands certainly didn't see each other as rivals or polar opposites - I don't know why fans have to pretend that they owe allegiance to one or the other. I love them both, but I do esteem the Beatles more highly (as most critics, musicians, and fans do). The Stones were a stellar, if traditional, blues-based outfit who rarely varied their classical approach, whereas the Beatles continued to grow and expand their musical horizons consistently during their lifetime.

    Fave Beatles albums

    5. Seargent Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band

    4. Revolver

    3. The White Album

    2. Rubber Soul

    1. Abbey Road

    Fave Stones album

    5. Exile on Main Street

    4. Between the Buttons

    3. Let It Bleed

    2. Sticky Fingers

    1. Beggar's Banquet

    by FutureNow on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:14:28 AM PDT

•  Impossible to deny

  the first alternative rock band of all time.

  Count me in for the Beatles.

  But the Stones are also great.

  by tipsymcstagger on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:44:37 AM PDT

•  Stones: All of it

  though I'm partial to the Sticky Fingers album and the song Can You Hear Me Knocking in particular. That Mick Taylor could play.

  by Ex Con on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:46:21 AM PDT

•  The Beatles changed my life, Stones didn't

  As soon as I heard the first radio play of The Beatles, I was hooked, I stopped getting haircuts (except for two years in the Army), I hooked up wth a SF rock band as the roadie as soon as I got out of the Army in 1968, and I have never looked back. It's all on my website, if you care.

  At the same time a friend returned from England,. and he swore that there was another band, the Rolling Stones, that he said would eventually be bigger than the Beatles.  He was right, but only by default.  Once Brian Jones died, the Stones locked into a narrow epression that worked for them, but stopped exploring new ground.  The last good Stones allbum was Between the Buttons in 1967.

  I have seen the Stones live twice (1972 and 1982) and enjoyed the show.  They're  great band, but they didn't change my life.

  by RepackRider on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:50:06 AM PDT

  •  Beatles changed my life too--I became SOMEBODY!

    I was a nerdy undersized twit in school, pathetic I know. Then the Beatles came into town. I suddenly became the most popular kid in school.

    Why? My grandmother was English. Anything English became big. I brought to school pics my English cousins sent me of the Beatles, my family's heirlooms from England, even bringing my grandmother to class to talk about growing up in England and her recent trip "back home." Kids actually would point me out to their parents, "Look, he's English like the BEATLES!"

    I got a Beatles haircut. And my mother (a fan) bought me a guitar and drums. I got lessons and formed a band (we weren't the best being just 8 or 9 years old.)

    Sure, later I got into blues and still play blues guitar but I owe the Beatles a lot.

    My college sweetheart who is now my wife-my first gift to her to woo her for her B-Day was Paul McCartney's Wings album.  

    Stones didn't do anything...for me.

    by vassmer on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:19:41 AM PDT

  •  Beatles changed my life, too

    And, in my case, they changed my life 7 years after they broke up. I was 12 years old in 1977, in 8th grade, when a buddy took me over his house and played me the Red and Blue albums.

    They're the reason I took up the guitar, the reason I started writing songs, the whole bit.

    by ChurchofBruce on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 09:43:49 AM PDT

•  I like both

  but to choose just one band, has to be the Beatles.
  Right now I'm in a phase of either watching "Concert for George", or listening to the Beatles "Love".

  by anniethena on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:51:55 AM PDT

•  You might dig on the Rolling Stones...

  ...but they could never ever rock like Nina Simone.

  by mighty monkey on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:54:03 AM PDT

  •  Nina!

    Wild Like the Wind
    Sugar in My Bowl
    and, our wedding song -

    Baby Just Cares for Me.

    How can you not love that woman!?

    by nightsweat on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:57:43 AM PDT

  •  I just got done listening to Baltimore

    One of the few covers that was better than the original. Now you're talking my kind of music. The Divine Sarah Vaughn, Ella, Lady Day, Anita O'Day, Joe Williams, Billy Eckstine. I heard Barbara McNair just passed on a couple of weeks ago. RIP.

    by tazz on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 10:52:03 AM PDT

•  Hey, Paint it Black. Paint it Black.

  Paint it Black you devil!

  Of course the Stones and of course the live version of Sympathy for the Devil on Get Yer Ya Ya's Out, especially the dueling guitar solos at the end.

  But I love the Beatles too, especially Rubber Soul.

  by kaleidescope on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:55:08 AM PDT

•  Rolling Stones

  If only for "Wild Horses" and the nasty vibe of "Gimme Shelter."

  by monkeybiz on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 07:56:59 AM PDT

•  love the stones, but lean beatles

  got to see the stones for the first (no doubt last / only) time in october in oakland. was surprised and delighted at how thoroughly they so still rock.

  keith was coherent, upright, and non-ashen. i wonder if the trip south out of the coconut tree might have jostled some manner of good into him.

  some girls is probably my favorite of theirs; shattered, when it comes on kfog, gets the goes-to-11 treatment every time.

  still, i grew up in a beatles household. and it stuck. seargent peppers. rubber soul. revolver. abbey road. (the latter of which is among my personal top 5, regardless of genre.)

  by homo neurotic on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:01:44 AM PDT

•  There is One Choice

  

  by LunkHead on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:06:20 AM PDT

  •  Though the Beatles are

    my all-time favorites....I'd take the Who over the Stones :-)

    by ChurchofBruce on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 09:44:32 AM PDT

•  Was Thinking About Pete Townshend & The Who

  but I thought I was digressing too much from the main question.  Your great cartoon provided me a cack in the door to sneak in!

  Of all the "British Invasion Bands", my personnel favorite is The Who.  So many great albums, but one of life's great experiences is listening to Quadrophenia through a great set of head phones.  The complexities and subtleties of the music are just amazing.  So, for me, as Brit bands go, give me The Who!

  by ssuba on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:13:23 AM PDT

  •  I agree re: the Who

    and I really liked the Kinks!  especially the muswell hillbilly album.  

    some moody blues, love procal harum,

    the Strawbs!

    by Sargent Pepper on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:36:45 AM PDT

    •  Parallel Lives?

      Hey Pepper, could we be twins that were seperated at birth?  Some pretty obscure tastes in music that we both have in common!

      by ssuba on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:39:19 AM PDT

      •  Are you referring to Dave Mallett's

        live CD, Parallel Lives?  Recorded in Dublin, NH?  It is truly remarkable CD!! He's from Maine, great story teller, singer/songwriter!  He wrote "the Garden Song" that the muppets made famous, you know "inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow, etc."

        went to see him here in Bethlehem PA at Godfrey Daniels, all of 20 people were there, but my friend turned out to be a distant relative of Dave's as their ancestors both came over on the mayflower!  too funny, he saw my buddies name on our table as it was reserved in his name (not that we needed reservations) and they chatted after the show.  Now he calls him "cousin william."

        by Sargent Pepper on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:52:12 AM PDT

•  Beatles!

  Beatles, no contest. They were musical and cultural revolutionaries. Hard to pick a favorite album, they all had individiual appeal but certainly Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, White, and Abby Road provide the cream of a tremendous crop.

  by diaretic on Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 08:17:03 AM PDT

•  Q: Beatles vs. Stones?

  A: Led Zeppelin.

  by