What do you think of Revolution 9 (The Be
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Topic: What do you think of Revolution 9 (The Be
Posted By: Zitro
Subject: What do you think of Revolution 9 (The Be
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 15:23
| Well, what do you think? |
Replies:
Posted By: Man With Hat
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 15:53
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I like it...alot. But i don't think its a prog masterpiece, humorous (though it does make me laugh alittle), drug trip, or failure. ------------- Dig me...But don't...Bury me I'm running still, I shall until, one day, I hope that I'll arrive Warning: Listening to jazz excessively can cause a laxative effect. |
Posted By: RoyalJelly
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 15:54
| What, there's nothing between total masterpiece and drug trip and failure? I'd call it a very important opening of rock (or at least being on a rock album) into realms of avant-garde and electronic/musique concrete. Very daring and experimental in this context, and pushing into realms of sound as an element of composition, telling stories by means of soundscape. Influenced by Cage and Zappa, and still somewhat ahead of its time. |
Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 16:08
| Experimental for its time but it certainly confused people who loved The Beatles for songs like "Yesterday". It's not something I listen to very often. |
Posted By: Bj-1
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 17:05
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Very confusing song Indeed. I don't know what to say really. It's good. ------------- RIO/AVANT/ZEUHL - The best thing you can get with yer pants on! |
Posted By: Kord
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 17:39
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I don't like it....I prefer absolutely revolution n.1 ------------- [IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5f/Genesis_Group.jpg" border"> |
Posted By: Philéas
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 18:44
| It's interesting for sure, but not a masterpiece. Though I don't really consider it failure or filler either, and as far as I know, it was rather serious, which rules out the "humorous" option. "A druggy trip" is probably the best alternative, but I'm not really sure what to call it. |
Posted By: bhikkhu
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 19:02
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It's not really a song, it's performance art (or studio art). I find it an interesting curiosity. Sometimes it gives me the willies. So it is effective on some level. ------------- a.k.a. H.T. http://riekels.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow - http://riekels.wordpress.com |
Posted By: Lota
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 19:03
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Lennon was working on Plastic Ono Band by that time, making those weird noises with Yoko, so he thought it would be fan to put something like that on The White Album. McCartney wasnt that happy with that song either. But everybody decided to put it anyways. Aint that bad, but it doesnt reach Beatles standards ------------- And In The End, The Love You Take, Is Equal To The Love You Make |
Posted By: bruin69
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 19:10
| Horrible horrible stuff, only marginally more horrible than most of the Beatles' work |
Posted By: tdreamer
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 19:25
| Spoils an otherwise great album. |
Posted By: el böthy
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 19:44
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Well, it works with the album...but its not a song I think the Beatles just wanted to experiment and (once again) do something nobody had ever done before... ------------- "You want me to play what, Robert?" 
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Posted By: micky
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 20:18
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the ultimate druggy trip.... so I've heard .... and there's one person who hasn't heard it.. my god... stop watching the damn MTV...stop even with Prog Metal... and go back to where it all started and check out that era of the Beatles hhahha ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: bhikkhu
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 20:35
Blasphemy!!! 
Get your pitchforks and torches. We have a heretic here! 
(  )------------- a.k.a. H.T. http://riekels.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow - http://riekels.wordpress.com |
bruin69 wrote:Posted By: micky
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 20:38
we must have an American Idol reject hanging out here...... burn him...at the stake... hahhaha ------------- The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip |
Posted By: Zac M
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 22:43
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Number nine, number nine, number nine... Pop goes avant garde ------------- "Art is not imitation, nor is it something manufactured according to the wishes of instinct or good taste. It is a process of expression." -Merleau-Ponty |
Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: July 06 2006 at 22:52
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When I first heard it I didn't know what to think, and now after a few years of listening I still don't. Ambitious, but clearly underdeveloped. Not a favorite of mine. ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: RoyalJelly
Date Posted: July 07 2006 at 10:22
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Posted By: mystic fred
Date Posted: July 07 2006 at 10:54
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At the time "The Beatles" was first released the listening public were still rather conservative and cynical of anything regarded as "new" in any form, just as they have always been, and probably always will be.
Though most people like myself were pleased with the album, it has some brilliant songs on it, most of the music was unmercifully analysed and criticised by the press and media thinking the Beatles had "lost it" and their creative fountain had become infected through drugs and Maharishis, "Revolution No.9" seemed to add fuel to that rather cynical viewpoint, and it is customary in show business for artists to be "built up" and "knocked down" by the fickle public, we've seen it many times.
Most thought it was just a load of confused and maniacal voices and sound effects, when i first heard "No.9" i at first recoiled in disgust but over the years i had a fascination with it, like being hypnotised by a snake - i found it strange, weird, hypnotic, surreal, frightning, but i never got tired of listening to it and trying to understand it - there are still things in there that i missed, it's like going on a journey.
Some may call Lennon's Stockhausen-influenced piece a waste of time, or some could say one day all music will be like this!
For those that are curious, you might find this link interesting...
http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/ian.simpson/ian.simpson/rev%209%20minutes.htm - http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/ian.simpson/ian.simpson/rev%209%20minutes.htm
-------------  Prog Archives Tour Van 
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Posted By: dralan
Date Posted: July 07 2006 at 11:09
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Im not sure what to say about this piece. It is interesting and I can kind of see what Lennon was trying to do. But it just doesnt stand up to the Beatles high standard of songwriting. As everyone knows Ono was a huge influence on John at that time and I really think he had lost interest in the Beatles. Not a total failure but a curious anomaly and rather dissapointing for the Beatles.
BTW thanks for that interesting link Mystic Fred.
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Posted By: Dick Heath
Date Posted: July 07 2006 at 13:18
All the interviews about this track talk about Carl Stockhausen not Cage or Zappa - McCartney apparently was listening to avantgarde serious music on BBC Radio Three at the time, as a means of developing his musical education, and discussing it with George martin..
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Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: July 07 2006 at 18:20
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Agreed - Karlheinz Stockhausen was a major influence on Lennon particularly, after McCartney heard "Kontakte" and played it to Lennon (as I understand the story).
The composer's influence is apparent on "Rain" (b-side of "Paperback Writer), "She Said, She Said" and, of course, "Tomorrow Never Knows", among many others. Stockhausen didn't know he was such an influence - indeed, when asked if he would mind appearing on the cover of "Sergeant Pepper...", his first question was "Who are the Beatles?". 
Many other bands became influenced by the music of Stockhausen as a result - and "Revolution #9" is notable as being a fully-fledged Avante-Garde piece as opposed to a song using Avante-Garde influences like the pieces I mentioned above - thus encouraging the experimental approach further - hey, if the Beatles can do it... ------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |
Posted By: Bj-1
Date Posted: July 07 2006 at 18:54
...Turn me on dead man, turn me on dead man, turn me on dead man...
 ------------- RIO/AVANT/ZEUHL - The best thing you can get with yer pants on! |
Posted By: Zitro
Date Posted: July 07 2006 at 18:54
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I should have added an "interesting" choice. I choose "Ambitious Failure", though it can be so unlistenable in parts. |
Posted By: Peter
Date Posted: July 09 2006 at 00:36
It's certainly not a "song," per se. 
I consider it a druggy, semi-horrible, experimental piece of self-indulgent studio filler, but also a fairly revealing glimpse at both the times, and the (then) state of rock's most important band ever.
 It is what it is.
 (It is and it isn't.)
Are we clear on that now? ------------- "And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy. |
Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: July 10 2006 at 15:17
Is that also your opinion of "Kontakte"? How about "Gesang der Junglinge"? They sound remarkably similar in style 
------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |
Posted By: soundsweird
Date Posted: July 10 2006 at 22:50
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As a fan of Stockhausen for about 35 years (I think it was about 1970), I must say that this piece has little to offer the avant-garde fan, although humor can be found in some of the source material. After hearing "What's the New Mary Jane" on the Beatles Anthology III, I wish THAT song had made the cut, not "Revolution 9".
 |
Posted By: Peter
Date Posted: July 11 2006 at 10:46
Sorry -- never heard them. But if they sound similar, I doubt if I'd care for them as something to play for pleasure (which is why I listen to music).
My response was from the heart. R#9 is a track to skip, for me. (I've heard it enough to know I don't like it -- but I don't really think I'm expected to like it, either.)
Still, as I said, it is a reflection of its time (Stockhausen influence, LSD influence, Vietnam/Cold War chaos, social unrest in the West, tensions within the Beatles -- whatever). ------------- "And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' He chortled in his joy. |
Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: July 11 2006 at 18:14
I'd say that humour is what it has to offer the avante-garde fan
------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |
Posted By: Cheesecakemouse
Date Posted: July 11 2006 at 23:37
I'm Cheese's sister, he's letting me use his name.
 Rev 9: A funny little tune that ought not be taken too seriously, don't get me wrong i luvvvv the Beatles but Yoko's influence was evedent and i like Beatle music not Yoko music. Theres a point when "art" becomes a bit to arty and out of touch and for me Yoko's like that. ------------- |
Posted By: A'swepe
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 11:52
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"Hold That Line. Hold That Line." ------------- David - Never doubt in the dark that which you believe to be true in the light. http://www.myspace.com/aardvarktxusa - Instrumental rock http://www.soundclick.com/aardvarktxusa |
Posted By: The Wizard
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 12:01
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I like the song, it's like a 9 minute long acid trip. -------------  
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Posted By: MustShaveBeard
Date Posted: July 12 2006 at 17:13
I like it only because I like to pretend I'm going insane when I listen to it (I guess I'll say a druggy trip) ------------- Your life or your lupins!!! |
Posted By: emersontarkus23
Date Posted: July 13 2006 at 01:05
I'm not saying this is even close to instrumentals of the time, such as Frank Zappa's The Gumbo Variations, or acid songs by Pink Floyd such as Astronomy Domine or Set The Controls For The Heart of the Sun-there were many better prog pioneers at the time The Beatles released the White Album, but for the Beatles, a heavily pop-oriented band(I mean, come on, they had to be if they were trashed by Frank Zappa), this was a big leap in the direction of prog rock, although Magical Mystery Tour was damn experimental in a lot of ways too(the song Flying is the only instrumental the Beatles ever did, and I don't count Revolution 9 as a song). All I know is that this number helped the Beatles break the pop barrier and become known as a band that was more interesting than just breaking pop hits, and all this would pave the way for Abbey Road, which is a work of genius and the perfect blend of pop and prog rock.
"Have you seen us....Uncle Remus?" -Apostrophe, Frank Zappa |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: July 17 2006 at 01:36
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Sorry, just a waste of space in the album.
Iván ------------- 
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Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: July 20 2006 at 09:33
Nah - that'll be "Rocky Racoon"  ------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. |
Posted By: Thyme Traveler
Date Posted: July 22 2006 at 21:52
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It's garbage. Forget about calling it music. I wouldn't even call it art. I've farted farts which had more value as music than that. ------------- Fire up the flux capacitor ! We're taking this Delorean through all four dimensions. What is the future of prog ? Genesis reunion ? I'm not telling!That could upset the thyme/space continuum. |
Posted By: Ivan_Melgar_M
Date Posted: July 22 2006 at 23:40
Yes, the Simpsons version where Barney burps after his new girlfriend "the Japanese conceptual artist" shouts "Number 8" during a "Be Sharps" session is more artistic.
Iván
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Posted By: moodyxadi
Date Posted: July 23 2006 at 11:34
Maxwell's Silver hammer is the worst Beatles Song, and it's a shame that this piece f cr*p is in the best beatles album IMO.
About Revolution: it's a experiment that makes sense in its context, but doesn't add anything new to the Beatles titanical catalogue of masterpieces. Neither a masterpiece nor a complete failure. Just a thing that today has only a historical value, but not a concrete value per se. ------------- Bach, Ma, Bros, Déia, Dante. |
Posted By: Zargus
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 07:45
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A druggy trip. And its preety cool, i like it. The album whuld not be the same without it. ------------- 
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Posted By: Syzygy
Date Posted: July 27 2006 at 07:58
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It took contemporary avant garde into several million homes that would otherwise never have been exposed to it, and became probably the most skipped track in the history of popular music. Had it been released by Faust or Holger Czukay nobody would have batted an eyelid.
I see it as an ambitious failure - preferable by far to Honey Pie or Rocky Racoon, and with some genuinely spine tingling moments, but it would have worked better either as a full blown, side long epic or edited down a little.
Incidentally, I heard once that John Cale based one of his songs on a sequence of notes from Revolution #9 - does anybody know if it's true, and if so, which song? ------------- 'Like so many of you I've got my doubts about how much to contribute to the already rich among us...' Robert Wyatt, Gloria Gloom |
Posted By: Sacred 22
Date Posted: August 03 2006 at 00:09
| crapola |
Posted By: Arsillus
Date Posted: August 03 2006 at 00:12
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A cool song- very different for its time. I like the choice "ambitous failure." It didn't quite work for them. What if it really was a popular song and the Beatles went from being the premier pop band to a trippy drug (albiet poppy) band to the first RIO/Avant-Garde band? |