I’m about as big a Beatles fan as they come. I mean, I don’t do crazy stuff like dress up like them or think that John and George are speaking to me from beyond the grave. But I do go a little cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs when people express their ambivalence towards them. When I hear someone who is a fan of rock music say that they don’t like the Beatles, or worse, that the Fab Four were overrated, I am puzzled, to put it mildly.
I don’t think everyone has to love them, but if you don’t get that they ushered in guitar-driven melodic music as we know it today, well, then you aren’t paying attention.
Complaints aside, there is no group that has crafted so many timeless classics than these four lads from Liverpool. And even if you are more of a Rolling Stones person (that’s a question often posed), it was the Beatles who started the ball rolling.
Now, off my soap box…
This week, the suits and bean counters in charge of the Beatles catalog finally came to terms with Apple to have their music available in digital format on iTunes. For me, it’s not Earth-shattering news, since I already bought the mono Beatles box set, but for those who prefer their music in digital download format, this is big news.
Why did I buy the mono box set, you ask? Well, mainly because most of the albums were initially mixed that way, the way the band intended.
“We made ’em in mono so I’m always happy to listen to ’em in mono,” Paul McCartney told Goldmine magazine.
It’s a purest’s thing, I guess. There are other sonic reasons as well, but this is about working out to music, not talking about audiophile geek stuff.
So, in honor of the big news, we thought it would be a great idea to put together a Beatles workout mix! Wow, this will be difficult for me to whittle down to a workout’s-worth of music, but I’ll do my best. Be prepared for a little longer workout though.
Gym Music Playlist of the Week: Beatles Workout Mix
Click to download!
3. Help!
4. Drive My Car
6. Taxman
8. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
11. Birthday
12. Helter Skelter (As if their legacy wasn’t big enough, they invented heavy metal with this song.)
13. Get Back
14. Because (Here’s your cool-down song)