Posted by ghostmann at 63.162.217.23 on November 30, 2001 at 12:52:51:
i got to work today and saw that george harrison died last night....fuck there goes my friday. only two beatles left. what a sad day.
the beatles for me encapsulate everything i love about music. the melodies, the harmonies, the cords. harrison was part of that. he helped change music forever and in the process influenced millions of people to play music. his contribution is immeasurable and will always be felt. the music he made with the beatles will continue to cause people to pick up a guitar or bass, or get behind the drums or sing. over 15 years ago it happened to me.
i had always loved music. one of my early memories about music from my childhood is driving to the dentist with my mom, on the radio john lennon was singing watching the wheels. i remember absolutely loving the part where he sang real high, "no longer riding on the marry-go-round". there was something happening then to me. the seeds were planted that day.
years later i got into music like the cure, siouxsie & the banshees, echo and the bunny men, and others. siouxsie & the banshees had a song called dear prudence on one of their albums that i really liked. i had know idea it wasnt written by them.
my family is a musical family. my dad is a big music fan and still had his old record collection from when he was younger. one day i was bored and decided to check them out. i flipped through them, glancing at the covers, reading the liner notes. towards the back of the pile i came apon solid white album. well not completely solid white....on the cover i saw the words "the beatles". i pulled it out and opened it up and looked inside, john, paul, george and ringo looked right back at me....they knew they had me. i read the song titles and saw "dear prudence". wait a sec.....they wrote that? i had to hear it. i took out the first disc and put it on the record player and listened. i've been listening ever since. the white album found the seed inside of me that was planted all those years ago and made it grow.
the beatles music has ment so much to me over the years. i learned to play music with them. i learned to love with them. i sang about peace with them. i took drugs with them. i got thru hard times with them. i found myself with them. i grew up with them, and they guided me all the way. if i told you every impact the beatles made on my life i would be here all day. john, paul, george, and ringo are part of my family. part of me.
so tonight im gonna drink one for george. ill miss him.
-erik