Comments about ‘Why the Beatles are remembered, and Justin Bieber won't be’

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Sean Jackson
Salt Lake City, UT

When people say "real music doesn't exist anymore" or reference musicians who will "be remembered" as if it were some sort of power play against modern artists... I cannot help but observe with feelings of irony and disappointment.

Those that rocked on and share their nostalgia for "real music" seem to forget how up their own family tree were parents who saw their music decline all the same. With all due respect, the Beatles were once viewed the same way. Even several classical composers were at one point.

If Anne Frank were alive and a young girl today, she may very well have liked what children call music. Personally, I believe most people aren't deaf, but simply uneducated and less dedicated to developing and excelling in music anymore unless it's easy and fast.

So what do we do to help young people appreciate whatever it is we're trying to help them understand? Well, I'm not sure highlighting the mockings of a pop star is the best way to convince anyone but adults.

Maybe instead, we ought to focus on how to encourage patience, perseverance, and higher knowledge of the art.


Music is very personal as it should be. We all make choices that please us and that should be enough.

Thirty years after graduating from High School I still like to listen to the radio because I like the thrill of hearing a new song I like. A couple weeks ago it was Royals by Lorde but that doesn't mean I can't still enjoy America, Three Dog Night and Foreigner as well as classical music and even country (I grew up a cowboy working on a farm).

Bieber makes me laugh, just yesterday I saw the pic of his bodyguards carrying him on the great wall while he was tweeting! But that doesn't mean he isn't meaningful to some people whose emotions are touched by his music and will long remember him.

Will his music be remembered as long as the Beatles? I don't know and doubt it really matters as music tastes go in multiple cycles. As long as we find music that moves us it is enough to feel like we have touched a power that makes us greater than we thought possible.


Who's this Justin Bieber?

South Jordan, UT

This article gave me a big laugh! Justin Bieber is a 19 year old kid. Who knows how he will endure, but your comments remind me of the kind of trash old folks were talking about the Beatles back in the early 60's. It was a real deja vu moment for me. You could have been my great uncle, born in the 1800's whining about those untalented kids that needed a haircut.
Bieber is famous because he is good looking and talented. Hopefully someone can help him steer through the minefield of fame so he can live until his fans can whine about their grandkid's pop stars.
And as for Anne Frank, I think Bieber is right on. She was a typical teenage girl, with the same desires hopes and behaviors as most teenage girls. Her normalness squished into that Nazi-made terror is why her story is so endearing and tragic.

Music Mama
Littleton, CO

I always think it's interesting when older generations think their music is the real thing and the "new stuff" just won't last. Who are we to judge the staying power of music produced by a younger generation whose tastes aren't our own? I clearly remember my parents hating The Beatles, while they listened to Frank Sinatra or Perry Como. Yet, The Beatles live on. They are on my iPod, but I have to admit I don't listen to them often.
I am a senior citizen who loves current music and sees the value in Justin Bieber and his contemporaries. They have a voice and are creative and inspired in the music they put out into the world. We really show our age when we flippantly declare their music won't be remembered in 50 years. I doubt you've listened to Justin Bieber's music at all, but have relied on rumors and poor journalism to form your opinions. Yes, I have The Beatles on a playlist, but there's a whole world of new and popular music to explore that I find fun and energetic. It makes me smile.


NO NO NO! It is not relative. Maybe, if you were talking about the Mamma and the Papas or the Four Freshman or Perry Como you could talk about how its subjective and compare Beiber's modern vocal stylings versus with theirs. Or, if you want to discuss Bieber's fashion sense vs the Bealtes fine . But, the Beatles were most notable as song writers and on that there is no comparison. I don't think any musician in the prior or post 1960s period slagged them. Sinatra called "Something" the best song of the past 50 years. Leonard Bernstein compared them to Gershwin. Arthur Fiedler said "Eleanor Rigby" would still be played, in 200 years time. When Bieber comes up with a "Sgt Pepper" and redefines popular music not just mirrors it you can make a comparison. Until, then he is just the most recent incarnation of a pop idol and can join the ranks of Andy Gibb, Donny Osmond, Lief Garrett, Frankie Avalon and Miley Cyrus.

Dvora Haim
New York, NY

Yes, absolutely the Beatles are remembered as they should be. But I can assure this writer, Bieber will be remembered too.

The disproportionate spotlight on his 'mistakes' - which are in fact, pretty typical to any teenager - is itself shabbily motivated and people such as myself who see a tabloid media agenda for what it is are not phased by the current Bieber narrative.

If anything, it makes me sympathize with this kid more. He is living his life under a ridiculous spotlight and those who rush to write off his life and possible legacy should be ashamed of themselves.

No-one can see the future, but while this writer focuses only on the gossip and Bieber's missteps, this young singer is out there breaking records, living his dream and doing a tremendous amount of outreach work for children and others into the bargain.

At least 200 people will always remember Justin Bieber. Who are they?

200 Make A Wish children who Bieber brought joy to when he spent time with them and showed them they were valued and important.

If that's not worth remembering, I'm not sure what is.

Danny Chipman
Lehi, UT

The more I, a millennial, hear of my current generation's music, the more I find myself turning to Beethoven, Sinatra, and yes, the Beatles.


I'd heard of, but never heard, J.Bieber, until I read this article. Then I researched, heard him sing, and tried to learn of his character. I concluded that he's an excellent performer, singer and vocal stylist, is pro-life and somewhat moral.

He has this Beatles haircut, but it's hard to compare the two phenomena:

His hits, the ones I heard, are excellently "done" but lack melody. Many of the Fab Four's slow songs have melody, some very memorable. Justin can strum a guitar; the Beatles play fairly well instrumentally. Lennon and McCartney are major songwriters; I don't know that JB writes much. He's a soloist like many major music sensations. He came to fame much younger than the Beatles and was good at what he did from the start. The Beatles developed over time, became interesting musically.

The Beatles were morally "OF their time". They had a kind of camaraderie at first. My Dad admired them somewhat before I did. He said: a million people can't be wrong; I disagreed. Their early stuff was a bit raw and derivative; they developed much originality; L & McC wrote some great songs.

george of the jungle
goshen, UT

How does that song go; Kids, what's the matter with kids today. Why can't they be like we wear perfect in every way, whats the matter with kids to day. Back in the day we had the transistor radio. in our shirt pocket with earphones. and we wear in tune. Today we have the ipod in the shirt pocket and we are out of tune. Ya had to of been there to of had the experience.

Ed Sullivan
Syracuse, NY

Let's get real here: The Beatles defined a generation, and the generations that followed in their wake could not have existed without the Beatles re-defining and developing pop culture, and the modern world in general. Those that were born later cannot fathom a world in which there was no youth culture and before 1964, that was largely the case. Perhaps the biggest problem nowadays is that there are too many outlets, as the author said, but instead of increased competition creating higher quality artists and content - weeding out the less talented, it has actually diluted the product, allowing anybody with a cell phone to be famous, and reducing everything to the lowest common denominator.

So now, music is less important than looks or actions, and simply exists today as a series of rhythms without melody... the video will have more creativity. Oddly enough, the Beatles originally were formed as strictly a rhythm ensemble, before they were recording stars.


Ed Sullivan
Syracuse, NY


The BEAT is what they were promoting but soon realized (with the help of their producer) that musical content was more valuable for repeated listening (records), creating original lyrics and melodies that not only were interesting and relevant but stuck in your head like glue.

Bieber is just a pimple, like Miley, Gaga, and all the other talentless blemishes on the music page of history. I'd like to think that Anne Frank would have been smart enough to know the difference, if she had that choice in her time. And those 200 Make-a-Wish kids won't remember him either in 50 years because their lives will be enriched throughout the decades with more valuable and longer lasting blessings.

Dvora Haim
New York, NY

@Ed Sullivan

To be frank, those 200 children will probably be dead long before 50 years pass. That's WHY they're in the Make A Wish program. What matters is that they had their moment with Bieber, and vice versa.

If you're going to love great music Sullivan, love what makes it great too. The ability to give "voice" to the best of us, that which goes beyond the mundane. I like to call it grace.

And grace means writing off people - teenagers - that you don't know as "pimples" is a disgrace.

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