Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Loving the lesser-knowns


I'm currently reading a fascinating book called "This is Your Brain on Music" by Daniel J. Levitin (more on that later) and I ran across a brilliant explanation of the music theory behind something we all intrinsically understand - the genius of the Beatles:

"The Beatles 'For No One' resolves on the V chord (the fifth degree of the scale we’re in) and we wait for a resolution that never comes - at least not in that song. But the very next song on the album Revolver starts with the very chord we were waiting to hear."

This led me to think about some of the Beatles' B-sides (like "For No One") which are often forgotten when people discuss the genius of the Beatles. My top 10 favorite lesser-known or underappreciated Beatles songs, in no particular order:

1. If I Fell
2. For No One
3. You Never Give Me Your Money
4. I'll Be Back
5. For You, Blue ("Because you're a sweet a lovely thing, I love you.")
6. I Will
7. Yes It Is ("If you wear red tonight...")
8. Sun King
9. I've Got a Feeling
10. Two of Us

You'd never guess looking at this list that my favorite Beatles album is actually The White Album, would you?

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