Ok, I had this idea Sunday while shoveling. A list of the best Beatlesque song for each year since 1970 or 1971 (the year after the final Beatles song).
I wasn't sure of the criteria
- songs that the Beatles might have made, had they still been together
- songs that sound most like the Beatles
I wonder if this already exists.
1970: No Matter What (Badfinger); With My Face on the Floor (Emitt Rhodes); 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 (Zoot)
1971: Baby Blue (Badfinger); Day After Day (Badfinger)
1972: Alone Again (Gilbert O'Sullivan); Nobody Knows (The Raspberries); Couldn't I Just Tell You (Todd Rundgren); Stuck in the Middle with You (Stealers Wheel); I'm Coming Home (Stories)
1973: Bluebird is Dead (Electric Light Orchestra)
1974: September Gurls (Big Star); Can't Get It Out of My Head (Electric Light Orchestra); Cry (The Raspberries)
1975: New York City (Artful Dodger); Good Company (Queen)
1976: Telephone Line (Electric Light Orchestra); Yes It's True (The Flamin' Groovies); Sub Rosa Subway (Klaatu)
1977: Chance To Get Away (Dwight Twilley Band); Mr. Blue Sky (Electric Light Orchestra); Baby It's Cold Outside (Pezband); The Things We Do For Love (10cc)
1978: Flying With Broken Wings (Angel); Where Have You Been All My Life (Fotomaker); See You Tonite (Gene Simmons)
1979: Good Girls Don't (The Knack); South Bound Saurez (Led Zeppelin)
1980: Another Nail in My Heart (Squeeze); I Just Want To Touch You (Utopia)
1981: Absolute Beginners (The Jam)
1982: If You Want My Love (Cheap Trick)
1983: Cry Just A Little Bit (Shakin' Stevens)
1984: Valotte (Julian Lennon)
1985: My Love Explodes (Dukes of Stratosphear)
1986: World Where You Live (Crowded House); Earn Enough for Us (XTC)
1987: Hank's Little Fingers (Guided By Voices); Long Distance Man (Guided By Voices)
1988: Into Temptation (Crowded House)
1989: Everybody Needs A Holiday (Big Audio Dynamite); Paper Girl (Guided By Voices); Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz); Sowing the Seeds of Love (Tears for Fears); The Loving (XTC); Mayor of Simpleton (XTC)
1990: How Loft Am I? (Guided By Voices); Baby's Coming Back (Jellyfish); She Still Loves Him (Jellyfish); Feelin' (The La's); I Can't Sleep (The La's); Way Out (The La's); Every Little Thing (Jeff Lynne); Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah (The Pogues); God On My Side (World Party); Put the Message in the Box (World Party); Take It Up (World Party)
1991: Chance of a Lifetime (Material Issue); Window Pane (The Real People); Top of the Pops (The Smithereens); Girlfriend (Matthew Sweet); I've Been Waiting (Matthew Sweet); What You Do To Me (Teenage Fanclub)
1992: Exit Flagger (Guided By Voices); Long Way Down (Michael Penn); Seen the Doctor (Michael Penn); As A Child (Suzanne Vega); Blood Makes Noise (Suzanne Vega); Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead (XTC); My Bird Performs (XTC);
1993: Wish I Was Skinny (The Boo Radleys); Crutch Came Slinking (Guided By Voices); Hey Aardvark (Guided By Voices); Kisses to the Crying Cooks (Guided By Voices); My Love (Lenny Kravitz); Into Your Arms (The Lemonheads); Hang On (Teenage Fanclub); Silver Naked Ladies (Paul Westerberg); World Class Fad (Paul Westerberg); Is It Like Today? (World Party); Sunshine (World Party)
1994: End of a Century (Blur); The Game of Eyes (Gorky's Zygotic Mynci); Echoes Myron (Guided By Voices); Yours To Keep (Guided By Voices); Kite (Nick Heyward); Live Forever (Oasis); Shakermaker (Oasis); Supersonic (Oasis); Whatever (Oasis); Love and Kisses (Sam Phillips); Strawberry Road (Sam Phillips); I Hate My Generation (Sloan); Snowsuit Sound (Sloan); Worried Now (Sloan)
1995: It's Lulu (The Boo Radleys); Wake Up Boo! (The Boo Radleys); Wilder (The Boo Radleys); Alright (Cast); Big Me (Foo Fighters); As We Go Up, We Go Down (Guided By Voices); Chicken Blows (Guided By Voices); Closer You Are (Guided By Voices); Little Whirl (Guided By Voices); Game of Pricks (Guided By Voices); Watch Me Jumpstart (Guided By Voices); You Will Know (The Inbreds); Limited Liability (Chris Knox); Mirror Mirror (Chris Knox); Don't Look Back in Anger (Oasis); She's Electric (Oasis); Some Might Say (Oasis); Wonderwall (Oasis); She's Electric (Oasis); Passion Play (Papas Fritas); Just (Radiohead); Try To Please (The Spongetones); Alright (Supergrass); Time To Go (Supergrass)
1996: Tea (Brendan Benson); C'Mon Kids (The Boo Radleys); Not the Girl You Think You Are (Crowded House); If We Wait (Guided By Voices); It's Like Soul Man (Guided By Voices); Stars in Her Eyes (Nick Heyward); Cambridge California (Lilys); Almost Arms (The Minders); The Day We Caught the Train (Ocean Colour Scene); We'll Talk (The Odds); Nothing Beautiful (The Odds); Anybody Else But Me (The Odds); Courtyard (Olivia Tremor Control); Green Typewriters (I Don't Wanna Hear That Song) (Olivia Tremor Control); Jumping Fences (Olivia Tremor Control); No Growing (Olivia Tremor Control); The Opera House (Olivia Tremor Control); The Good In Everyone (Sloan); The Lines You Amend (Sloan); That Thing You Do (The Wonders)
1997: About Your Fame (The Apples in Stereo); Tin Pan Alley (The Appples in Stereo); Beetlebum (Blur); Lily Dreams On (Cotton Mather); My Before and After (Cotton Mather); Main Street Electrical Parade (Richard Davies); I May Never Know (Bill Fox); Jane of the Waking Universe (Guided By Voices); No Gnashing Teeth (Eric Matthews); D'You Know What I Mean (Oasis); Don't Go Away (Oasis); Stand By Me (Oasis); Live By The Water (Papas Fritas); Love is the Law (The Seahorses); Say Yes (Elliott Smith); Winter (Teenage Fanclub); Mermaids (Paul Weller); She's The One (World Party)
1998: Comb Your Hair (The Boo Radleys); Kingsize (The Boo Radleys); A Viper In Hiding (Doleful Lions); For Anyone That You Love (Bill Fox); My Baby Crying (Bill Fox); Over and Away (Bill Fox); Day After Day (Julian Lennon); Hooray for Tuesday (The Minders); Now I Can Smile (The Minders); Pauline (The Minders); Yeah Yeah Yeah (The Minders); She's Everything (Myracle Brah); Baby Britain (Elliott Smith); Oh Well, Okay (Elliott Smith); Mr. Underground (Superdrag); Hellbent (Superdrag)
1999: Strawberryfire (Apples in Stereo); If We Can Land a Man on the Moon... (Beulah); Olde Tyme Waves (Elf Power); Choking Tara [Creamy Version] (Guided By Voices); Hold On Hope (Guided By Voices); Dimes Make Dollars (Lilys); Another Mellow Winter (Mellow); Albert's Hand (Myracle Brah); Treat Her Right (Myracle Brah); A New Day (Olivia Tremor Control); Hideaway (Olivia Tremor Control); Do It Yourself (Salako); I'll Be There (When You're Down) (Salako); The Idiot Boy (Ron Sexsmith); The N.S. (Sloan); ELT (Wilco); My Darling (Wilco); Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (Again) (Wilco); I’d Like That (XTC)
2000: Alright/Not Quite (Apples in Stereo); Pissing in the Wind (Badly Drawn Boy); Anything You Want (Mike G); A Crick Uphill (Guided By Voices); Flesh Ears From June (Guided By Voices); Sing It Out (Guided By Voices); Wondering Boy Poet (Guided By Voices); Go Let It Out (Oasis); Problem With April (Of Montreal); Sorry Paul (Oranger); Stoney Curtis In Reverse (Oranger); Heart of Mine (Peter Salett); Somebody That I Used To Know (Elliott Smith)
2001: Up In The Sky (The Anniversary); Something to Sleep To (Michelle Branch); Glad Girls (Guided by Voices); No Fear of Falling (I Am Kloot); (Drawing) Rings Around the World (Super Furry Animals); Near Perfect Smile (Swag); Flowers in the Window (Travis); I Can't Wait (The White Stripes); Now Mary (The White Stripes); We're Going To Be Friends (The White Stripes)
2002: Wednesday (Tori Amos); She's Telling Lies (Apples in Stereo); Good to Me (Brendan Benson); Dreaming of You (The Coral); Do You Realize? (The Flaming Lips); You'll Be Sorry (The Greenhornes); Cheyenne (Guided By Voices); L-O-V-E (Irving); A Question For Emily Foreman (Of Montreal); Pancakes for One (Of Montreal); LA Breeze (Simian); Grace (Supergrass)
2003: People Who Care (Vic Conrad); Family Romance (Department of Eagles); Girljacketdrunk (The Emergency); Look What You've Done (Jet); Anytime Soon (Marshmallow); Her is You (Mull Historical Society); Saint Simon (The Shins); So Says I (The Shins)
2004: Baby I've Changed (Fountains of Wayne); Girls of Wild Strawberries (Guided By Voices); Hospital Bed (Ben Kweller); Riverside (The M's); Memory Lane (Elliott Smith)
2005: Brighter Than Sunshine (Aqualung); Where Has All The Love Gone (Sheryl Crow); The World May Never Know (Dr. Dog); Eleanor Put Your Boots On (Franz Ferdinand); Twin Cinema (New Pornographers); Thank You (The Redwalls); Spanish Teeth (Robbers on High Street)
2006: St. Paul (Capstan Shafts); Together (Raconteurs); Shine (Take That)
2007: Will You Return (The Avett Brothers); The Trilateralist Told You Not To (Capstan Shafts); Keep A Friend (Dr. Dog); Hang On (Salim Nourallah); Nicely Now (Robert Pollard); Whatever (Elliott Smith)
2008: Furr (Blitzen Trapper); Middles of June (Capstan Shafts); Weekend Wars (MGMT); Nine in the Afternoon (Panic at the Disco); Landscape Typing (Unbunny)
2009: Any Fun (Coconut Records); Sawdust Man (Ben Kweller); Everyday (Vetiver)
2010: Heaven and Earth (Blitzen Trapper); Look Out (Peter Case); Coquet Coquette (Of Montreal); "Young Veins (Die Tonight)" (Young Veins)
2011: The Roller (Beady Eye); Sleep Forever (Portugal. The Man)
2012: This is Sally Hatchet (Father John Misty)
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Will have to think of certain songs later but I'm sure there will contributions from Crowded House, XTC, World Party, Teenage Fanclub, Badfinger, The Jam, Squeeze, Smithereens, Matthew Sweet. Here's one of top my head -- Sowing the Seeds by Tears for Fears, I think 1989 release. How bout links to the songs in the master list?
ReplyDeleteRob replied through e-mail again. He's in quotes...
ReplyDelete"That’s tough because what is Beatlesque (early Beatles or let it be?) and they by nature redefined themselves with each release. By 2000 they may have been the Beastie Boys. Maybe just the best song each year most obviously influenced by the Beatles.…you could create a Beatles station on Pandora to get some good ideas."
I've been trying to come up with songs that could fit on a Beatles album. Plenty of good songs have been influenced by the Beatles - Nirvana, NIN, etc. - but, to me, that's not enough. It's gotta sound like the Beatles could have written, or even recorded, it. (Sound of voice aside, I suppose.)
"What’s a Wonderwall anyway? –Travis (probably should make the list somewhere)."
Nice ones, Andy. I don't know many of them though. I see why you'd like a link to each. Most, if not all, have 30 second clips on allmusic. I'd like to get a compilation together. Some years would be tough to declare a winner, and other years might be weak. We're doing well so far though.
ReplyDeleteI'm just throwing in songs that could sound like a Beatles song from any of their 'eras'. Some songs I've included sound like both early and later day Beatles within themselves. I am avoiding Oasis, lol.
ReplyDelete@Jim You can link to videos on youtube. Can you edit your post so that you can see a master list as soon as you look at post?
I wanted to include some Lightning Seeds and Jeff Lynne's "Every Little Thing" but then i thought too synth-y. Do others agree?
ReplyDelete@Andy. I wouldn't necessarily stay away from synth-y, or from Oasis. If it sounds Beatlesque, it sounds Beatlesque.
ReplyDeleteAs of this morning if you type in Beatlesque and Minders in a Google search, this post comes up on the first page of results, lol. Maybe there aren't a lot of lists like this out there???
ReplyDeleteHa! Comes up on the first page for the search
ReplyDeletebest beatlesque songs
too!
Can't believe we're possibly the first to compile such a list.
Pumice suggested moving this blog to "KingEverything.com" (currently used for nothing) to generate some free publicity (is that the right word) for my music. Maybe he's right.
This guy's got it. I'm about halfway through Podcast #1. Seems spot on. Although, we probably slant more toward indie bands, and more toward late-era Beatles influences.
ReplyDeleteHe includes songs written by the Beatles, performed by solo Beatles, and songs from the 60's. Three types of songs I wouldn't consider.
Plus the Rutles, which I'd exclude for the most part too. I don't know all the Rutles songs though, and if there are some completely original songs by them, then I'd probably consider those Rutles' songs.
Check it out though...
http://www.ripthemusic.com/beatlesque.htm
I like this rip the music blog b/c it seems dedicated to the Beatles and "Restless Restless" from HS. I'll have to check out the podcasts later. I'm listening to Kraftwerk right now so I'm in a slightly different state of mind right now musically speaking, lol.
ReplyDeleteSo far... We have 59 songs. And, we have a song from all but 9 of the years. And, I haven't looked through my CDs yet.
ReplyDeleteListened to podcast from rip the music. It's hosted by Vinnie Favale from HS who annoys me, so it'll one and done for that. Music is great though.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya there. It may be by #3 or #4 where he switches to using a computer-generated voice. Not sure if it's more or less annoying though. Funny that someone would do that though. Says it saves him time? Can't imagine the small amount of time savings would be worth it. I don't know. I also don't know if he continues to use the computer voice.
ReplyDeleteI've listened to the first two, pretty much straight through. And listened to one or two more, skipping songs I knew and some of the talking.
As you can see, I've been editing the top post here rather than adding new comments. Many of the songs I've added came from the Rip The Music site.
Eddie is truly Beatlesque here -- http://beatlestweets.posterous.com/eddy-murphy-was-the-5th-beatle
ReplyDeleteI'm building quite a database. Ha! The list is up to about 165 songs. And, I have over 100 mp3s already. The 70's and 80's are way under-represented. A disproportionate amount of it comes from the 90's.
ReplyDeleteAdded some YouTube links.
ReplyDeleteLove it! will look thru my collection over the next week for any adds.
ReplyDeleteTurned the youtube videos into a playlist. Check it out...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=2DFBD3B93BF168D7
Happy to announce the first entry for 2010... Young Veins "Young Veins (Die Tonight)" - I like it.
ReplyDeleteAdd to the list:
ReplyDelete1996: The Day We Caught the Train (Ocean Colour Scene)
2006: Shine (Take That)
Great additions, Grand! Possibly the best Beatlesque song of 1996. (Do we know who "Grand" is?? If not, it's nice to see the world chiming in on our little list.)
ReplyDeleteI added some new links, and a few new songs into the list. Check out the youtube playlist too...
http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=2DFBD3B93BF168D7
Liam adds the first for 2011 without Noel's help. Love it!!
ReplyDeletei've done a playlist on the same subject!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.topito.com/top-meilleures-imitations-beatles
:)
2009: Haven't Met You Yet (Michael Bublé)
ReplyDeleteCan't.
DeleteHow did you date The Zoot song as from 1980?
ReplyDeleteOops. Fixed.
Delete1983: Cry Just A Little Bit (Shakin' Stevens)
ReplyDeleteNeeded 1983.
Delete