June 4, 2009
“If there had been no Beatles, no one would have had the imagination to invent such a story." - Derrick Taylor, from his book, "Fifty Years Adrift".
No one could invent The Beatles, true enough, but someone could reinvent them. And they have.
Baby boomers and Beatle-lovers take note. The Beatles are back!
This time, however, they will be mesmerizing our grandkids through the marvels of video game technology, psychedelic imagery and amazing graphics, according to online reporter Matt Greenop who saw a media preview of the game recently in Los Angeles.
Might be a good time for grandparents to learn about joysticks if we want to play the game with the kiddos. Here is why.
In September, a new Xbox 360 video game will be released under the Microsoft title of "Beatles: Rock Band." Personally, I cannot wait even though I have no clue how to turn on the player or operate it once the game starts. Since it is about The Beatles, I will learn.
Excitement and frenzy are sure to follow once the game is officially released.
In no time at all, a new generation of kids will come to adore John, Paul, George, and Ringo and fall under their spell just like we boomers did in the 60s.
There is one problem, however. I am guessing that Generation Z (modern children born from somewhere in the second half of the 1990s to the present) do not know much about The Beatles.
Therefore, I called my nine-year-old grandson Halen to test my theory.
"So, Halen," I began, "Have you ever heard of The Beatles?"
"I think so, now and then," he answered in a cautious and suspecting tone.
I continued, "What are they?"
"A band," he answered tentatively wondering what Grandma was up to now.
More questions from me ensued, "What kind of music do they play and do you know any of their songs?"
For example, how about these, I offered, "I wanna hold your hand. Will you still need me, will you still feed me when I'm sixty-four? We all live in a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine."
After that rendition, which I sang rather than spoke, I heard nothing on his end of the phone but silence.
At last, Halen replied, "Yunno Grandma, I think we have a bad connection on this phone. Why don't I call you back later? Mom!!!"
Click.
Do you wanna know a secret?
Soon, The Beatles will take America by storm once again just like they did 45 years ago when the Fab Four performed live on the Ed Sullivan Show and captured 30 % of the country's viewers, 73 million people!
You know what I mean, back when we were just seventeen?
