Beatles for sale

All this Beatles buzz surrounding the new “Rock Band” video game and the release of their remastered albums finally got to me last night ..

I pulled out my Beatles collection on the iPod and blared it in the kitchen as we cleaned up from our dinner and started getting Phoebe ready for bed …

As we sang and danced to almost every song, I couldn’t help but smile when I realized I was wildly singing “Eight Days A Week” note for note the same way I probably sang it when I was 8 years old and mimicking a rock ‘n’ roll star on my keyboard.

It also struck me – for the umpteenth time – that not only are the songs so uber singable, but after 40-some years, they stand up amazingly well. Some of those guitar riffs could easily be pulled off today, and I'd be willing to bet their sound would still be at or near the top of the charts if it were brand new today … But the Beatles came up with that music way ahead of their time. And that is what makes them so enduring.

EW has a good ranking of the Beatles’ albums that, for the most part, is right on in its descriptions and highlights. Although I'd rank the frontrunners a little differently ...

I'd start, hands down, with "Abbey Road" at No. 1. Then I'd have to go with "Magical Mystery Tour" at No. 2, and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" at No. 3, before putting "Revolver" at No. 4 and on down the line with the way EW ranks them ...

Paste also produced worthy reviews of every Beatles album. And Chuck Klosterman has a good read about the reissues.

EW also has a ranking of the 50 best Beatles songs, complete with YouTube videos.

Adding to the unending rankings and lists, Ann Powers has been pondering what might go on a Beatles mix tape.

Without going into too much explanation, I think mine would have to go something like this -- if it were put on a 90-minute cassette tape, 45 minutes to each side ... Because a 60-minute tape would have been far too short ... Maybe I should have gone with one of those newer 120-minute tapes. Then, I'd be able to include "In My Life," and "A Day in the Life," and "Day Tripper," and ... Hmm ...

SIDE A
1. I Feel Fine
2. Here Comes the Sun
3. Magical Mystery Tour
4. She Loves You
5. Eight Days A Week
6. A Hard Day's Night
7. Ticket To Ride
8. Help!
9. Yesterday
10. Penny Lane
11. We Can Work It Out
12. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
13. Lucy In the Sky With the Diamonds
14. Hey Jude

SIDE B
1. Strawberry Fields Forever
2. Baby You're A Rich Man
3. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
4. Lady Madonna
5. Lovely Rita
6. I Will
7. Hello, Goodbye
8. Octopus's Garden
9. Something

(... and I'd end it with the brilliant B-side medley from "Abbey Road" -- minus "Sun King" -- to stay within the time constraints, of course ... )

10. Because
11. You Never Give Me Your Money
12. Mean Mr. Mustard
13. Polythene Pam
14. She Came In Through the Bathroom Window
15. Golden Slumbers
16. Carry That Weight
17. The End

I'm so far removed from video gaming at this point that I have no idea what gaming platform "Rock Band" is played on -- and I don't own a video game system. I also have no intentions of racing out to buy the new, remastered versions of the albums -- because I'm in the camp that thinks all the recordings I have now are perfect already, thank you very much.

But it sure is fun to "Meet The Beatles" again and again.