The Beatles are still loved by most people today; including those that weren’t even close to being born yet during the Fab Four’s heyday. It’s not exactly surprising. The Beatles were great, and their music has endured well into the 21st century. However, with new generations come new tastes. What is it about The Beatles that Gen Z (and other generations outside of those around in the 1960s) find fresh interest in? Let’s take a look at a few reasons why Gen Z likely loves The Beatles in the 2020s, decades after the band called it quits.
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1. The OG Music Videos
Music videos weren’t really a thing in the 1960s. They existed, sure, but they weren’t quite so popular yet. The Beatles made some of the first music videos of mainstream interest. The videos for “Help!”, “Hello, Goodbye”, and “Strawberry Fields Forever” are just a couple of examples.
Things were simpler back then. Productions were less flashy and more focused on comedic effect over anything else. It’s what the people wanted. Younger generations likely find those old-school MVs refreshing.
2. They Wrote All Of Their Material
Nowadays, singer/songwriters aren’t as abundant as they used to be. Part of The Beatles’ appeal was that they weren’t performing hits written by other songwriters. They wrote all of their own material with the occasional co-writing credit outside of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. In the 1960s, plenty of rock outfits settled for cover songs of overdone classics or sought the songwriting talents of others.
Without this authenticity, who knows if The Beatles would have been anywhere close to as good as they were?
3. Blending Genres
The Beatles are loved by Gen Z and generations beyond for their sound above all else. And part of what made The Beatles’ sound so revolutionary was the ease of which they hopped from genre to genre.
Songs like “What Goes On” have a surprising country feel. Paul McCartney wrote a number of classical-sounding ballads, and John Lennon didn’t shy away from experimental rock. Plus, there was the band’s psychedelic and Indian Classical periods. If the band stuck to one singular sound, they likely would have faded into obscurity pretty quickly.
4. The Use Of Innovative (Then) New Instruments
The Beatles weren’t interested in following the basic rock music formula of vocals, guitar, and drums forever. They often incorporated an oddball instrument into their music here and there. At the very least, they often used traditional rock instruments in innovative, experimental ways as well.
You’ll often hear a piano or organ in The Beatles’ music, as well as a pre-synth Mellotron. George Harrison incorporated a sitar into the mix for a while. Things got real weird when they introduced a synth to the mix on Abbey Road, and one can’t help but think they inspired countless musicians throughout the 1980s to do the same thing.
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