Four Fab Friends

By: Alex

Art by Alex

While Britney and Christina dominated the music scene of wide eyed, drooling youth at the close of the 20^th century, I relaxed with a spinning record player next to me. The voices of metallic, crop topped pop stars remained fuzzy to me, no matter how I tuned the radio. Instead, in a clear field of vision I saw four men with shaggy haircuts looking down at me, wearing green jackets with wavy, musky writing off to the left of their heads. Ah, Rubber Soul. Yeah, I’m a Beatles fan.

That signature whiny voice of John Lennon, harmonizing with the attitude-inous voice of Paul McCartney (and ah, that precious congested voice of the darling George Harrison, and of course let’s not forget Ringo!) was the first music I fell in love with and the music I am still in love with today. For my eighth birthday all I wanted was the Beatles Revolver album. Instead I got a Britney Spears Barbie doll from one of my second grade classmates. Luckily, my grandma visited the next day, on my actually birthday, and brought me Revolver, a real birthday gift. I power played that thing.

Thus, second grade spawned the year of the beginning of me being truly misunderstood, in that awkward stage where people knew me as the girl who liked that band that wasn’t the Backstreet Boys. As time progressed, kids turned into teenagers, and suddenly it was cool to like (pretend to like) old bands that no one knew (that I knew very well) so you would seem so cool and unique (meanwhile, my life for the past 8 years). Mainstream stores started selling graphic tee shirts with John Lennon’s face on it, and I would see three girls in the same day at school wearing it.

Well, this sudden ‘interest’ in The Beatles was not gonna fly in my world. The Beatles were my thing. They weren’t for posers who wanted to buy the next ‘vintage style’ t shirt from Delia’s and pretend they were the trendsetters who suddenly made the Beatles cool again. NEWS FLASH: THE BEATLES WERE ALWAYS COOL. IN MY WORLD.

So, in middle school, I struggled with trying to keep my strong love for the Beatles prevalent without buying into the mass media and sporting merchandise that just anyone could wear. Because ironically, even though I was the Beatles fan before any of these tweens, it would look like I was the copycat because I didn’t have the social stats to back myself. It was a trap. I just wanted to be myself.

It wasn’t until my sophomore year of high school when people got it straight. I had an English class where one of our huge assignments was to partner up and argue in a formal and intimidating debate, with the topic of our choice. I ended up getting into a conversation with my partner, arguing over who’s better, John Lennon or Paul McCartney. “That should be our topic,” I told her, sort of joking but also sort of hoping I could pull off a major English assignment using information I already knew. She actually went for it and so did our teacher. Slowly word got out about the ‘Honors English Beatles Debate’; it was the hottest ticket in town.

Midterms came, and my presentation day arrived. I dressed in traditional hippie garb (as if I didn’t already everyday of my life) for the occasion, and we debated on the accomplishments and attributes of two of the greatest men in history. The classroom was packed. Those girls who wore the graphic tees with John Lennon a few years before sat in the audience. They had grown up a little, but they still had no idea who the Beatles were. But they knew one thing. I was the boss. I knew everything about the Beatles, and I ruled that debate like a champ, and by the end, people knew that there was no bigger Beatles fan. I was so proud.

And so from then on, my name was literally associated with the Beatles. I became known as Alex, the girl who likes the Beatles. Which was a pretty good title to have in high school. But, what this experience helped me realize is that I would still be ‘me’ without the validation of others. The Beatles were (are) a huge part of my life, and I personally ached when I heard someone say they loved the Beatles when I knew there was no way they even understood my passion. Yes, this debate showed everyone that I was a force to be reckoned with when it came to Beatles knowledge. But I still would have been just as big of a fan and the Beatles still would have had just as much significance on my life if people didn’t realize that. And most importantly, I still would have been ‘me’ regardless of what happened. No one can take that away, not even the worst enemy you can have in high school: posers.

Granted, there are still a lot of people who say they know the Beatles when really, the extent of their knowledge comes from hearing ‘Hello Goodbye’ on a Target commercial. And that will always frustrate me. But, my job is not to defend the Beatles from the people who don’t know anything. It’s more my privilege to use the Beatles (among many other things) to help make me who I am. They’re just so good. And the fact that they have been with me for so much of my life says a lot about who I am. There will always be a special place in my heart for the ‘Fab Four’, and their music will never get old. But, one thing I disagree with the Beatles on is the fact that ‘money can’t be me love.’ Because money can buy me love, as long it’s buying me a Beatles album.