She loves you meh, meh, meh
Keith Smith
MD, The Advertist new biz expert, Director SuperTalent Creative, podcast host | Linktree - keithjsmith
I remember DJ Danny Baker once recreated a hypothetical appearance of The Beatles reformed for the global Live Aid concert, explaining that it would have been the headline act of all time.
I have grown to love The Beatles; they weren’t my first choice, but as I’ve grown older, I’ve begun to realise how special their collaboration was.
How amazingly creative those four guys were.
So when Sir Paul McCartney finally – finally, announces the launch of ‘Now and Then’ - The Beatles’ first single in 45 years, which utilizes the best of AI and music technology to recreate the voice of John Lennon and the guitar work of George Harrison, everyone reacts with an overwhelming “meh”.
I mean, come on; this is incredible!
It’s the complete story – creativity, technology, nostalgia, entertainment.
It’s been downloaded on YouTube nearly 5 million times in 24 hours, Spotify and the other streamers will likely release their numbers soon and they’re sure to be awesome.
But the reaction to this has been underwhelming on a Titanic scale.
Maybe the response to this I expected has been diluted across so many social media platforms and streaming outlets, all competing for a slice of our attention.
And maybe the ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are overshadowing this incredible event.
But shouldn’t we, just for a moment, stop and fully appreciate what has been achieved here?
If I were Sir Paul McCartney, I’d be disappointed at the ambivalence that has greeted the launch of ‘Now and Then’.
Sure it was listened to, just so people could say ‘Yeah, I listened to it”.
Box checked.
But I guess I was expecting even the hardest of hearts to be moved by this feat of creativity and technology.
Maybe it was.
For a fleeting moment.
And then something else came along and distracted us.
Because we’re distracted on a full-time basis.
And that’s the difference between now and then.
Cricket Leaders
1 年I have to say I wasn't really moved by it. Like you they have definitely grown on me as I've aged and watching the superb Peter Jackson documentary, their brilliance, creativity and exceptional musicianship confirmed much of what had attracted me to their music I had an initial rush of excitement on hearing about the single but I was then beset with doubts about its intrinsic value, would John Lennon have released it in the form in which it Paul and Ringo had engineered it and how good would it be? Would I experience the thrill of listening to it that I could remember from my mid teenage years even though by then I was into other types of rock but still recognised their consumate musicality. Well I wasn't overwhelmed by it and did experience a 'meh' moment. I didn't dislike it but the thrill wasn't there at all. Such a shame. Then I thought why this obsession with the past, is it healthy, do we need it, does this really add anything to the Beatle legacy?