Revenge of the Thirty-Day Song Challenge - Day 9

Day 9 – A 60’s Song

The times, they are a-becoming different, here at Diversion 2.0. Today, we’re checking out a song from the sixties, a decade of extreme edginess that sounds way tamer now than it was then.

The Beatles – “Can’t Buy Me Love”



I wanted to avoid putting a song from The Beatles here. I really did. Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot of love lost between me and sixties Motown doo-wop groups, at least to the extent where I have anything significant to say about them. Then again, I don’t have a heck of a lot to say about The Beatles either, other than I enjoy their earlier, pop-oriented acts more than their experimental flights of musical fancy. At least I’m more familiar with The Beatles than, say, The Isley Brothers.

I first heard “Can’t Buy Me Love” when I was twelve, off of the 1 compilation released during the same year. 1 was my first exposure to The Beatles, partly because my mom listened primarily to country music over all else, but mostly because I was a clueless bugger who liked to play Super Nintendo. I’m not head-over-heels in love with The Beatles like most of the English-speaking world, but I can appreciate a good hook, and The Beatles were nothing if not full of good hooks.

“Can’t Buy Me Love” is one of The Beatles’ earlier pop recordings, and is one of my favorites. I dig the quick-ish tempo, which gives it more energy than something like “From Me to You,” and I like the melody just a smidge better than other songs at the time. The guitar solo is good fun too, and, in my opinion, pushes it over the top from other songs in The Beatles’ early catalogue. And, of course, it’s fun to play on Rock Band.

New life drinking game rule—while reading Diversion 2.0, drink every time the term “Rock Band” is mentioned.

Anyway, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention The Beatles Rock Band, Harmonix’s tribute to The Beatles and their career, which commercially undersold and doubtlessly failed to pay back the astronomically expensive cost to license fourty-seven Beatles songs, as well as three full albums for DLC. Shame, though, for it was a goodie. I split this game with a few friends in college, and we had several good nights of ordering wings from Pizza Hut and jamming to the likes of “Helter Skelter” and “Day Tripper.” Then the disc got misplaced. Bugger all.

To wrap up, I’m not a huge fan of The Beatles, but I respect how influential they’ve been to the modern music scene, and admire the incredible staying power their songs have had. You know who’s better, though? The Be Sharps.