Skidmore Admissions Essay - On the Beatles ...
I don’t think there has ever been a time in my life when I haven’t had a little itch in the recesses of my brain, begging to be scratched by my favorite song of the moment. However, my love of rock music goes beyond listening for pleasure.
Last fall, when asked to choose an elective, my first choice was weightlifting, which I had tried over the summer at a health club, with little success and a lot of aches and pains. When there was no room in the class, I reluctantly agreed to take a course called Music Production. Although I had taken three years of piano lessons, and therefore had some musical background, I was intimidated by the idea of creating my own music. The first couple of weeks of class were very difficult, as we learned the basics of a program called Garage Band for the Mac. For my first compositions, I strung together simple loops. My attempts at incorporating a trumpet solo into a techno song went horribly awry, leading my classmates to believe that I had purposely tried to replicate the sound of an elephant in heat. I gradually became more competent, and was eventually composing my own songs with intricate melodies. I was thrilled to receive a keyboard and a copy of Garage Band as a holiday gift. I have yet to create anything resembling a masterpiece, but music composition is nevertheless one of my favorite hobbies.
In addition to listening to and creating music, another of my frequent pastimes is reading about bands, movements and eras of rock music. My tastes range from classic rock, to 80s indie bands, to 90s alternative, to current offbeat artists. I believe that my study of music qualifies me to express an opinion: the Beatles do not deserve their massive critical acclaim. There are two reactions I usually get upon uttering this blasphemy. The first is a condescending pat on the shoulder, followed by something to the effect of, “You’ll learn to appreciate them when your tastes are more developed.” Or, more insulting still, they sometimes accuse me of expressing a negative opinion of the number one band of all time in order to stand out or be unique.
I have put a great deal of time into listening to and analyzing the Beatles’ music. I have tried my best to like them, but I can’t seem to get past my perception that they are critically and popularly adored for the wrong reasons. There is no question that the “fab four” wrote catchy hooks and choruses. But then again, so did a lot of other bands that didn’t have the benefit of multi-million dollar marketing campaigns and the good looks to attract young women around the world. I also fail to notice the ingenuity that is cited by critics as a reason for their greatness. Fancy arrangements and foreign instruments do not turn traditional pop songs into works of genius. While the Beatles bombarded the world with what rock critic Piero Scaruffi called “over-indulgent nursery rhymes,” lesser-known musicians such as the Velvet Underground, Frank Zappa and the Doors were experimenting with dissonance, suite format and long, free-form tracks.
All the studio trickery in the world is not enough to disguise the fact that the Beatles were four average musicians who almost exclusively composed three-minute pop ditties with innocuous lyrics. I believe they made rock music into an accessible, commercially viable commodity that conservative parents were not ashamed to buy for their children. When I express this opinion, my fellow rock fans look at me with a combination of disgust and amusement that one would associate with watching a pig rolling around in the mud, but I still feel better for having spoken up.
One of the options for this essay was to write about an event or person that has influenced you; what motivates and intrigues me is the process of critical analysis. I enjoy reading books, watching movies, and listening to CDs as much as anyone, but it is critiquing them that is my passion. The point of this essay is not to bash the Beatles or sell the reader on a 17-year-old’s philosophy; it is to highlight the way I hope to approach my college career, by thinking critically and challenging the conventional wisdom. My ambition is one day to become a music critic and, if I can offer just one unique perspective on anything, then I will consider my career a success. I hope that in addition to providing me with a liberal arts education, the college I attend will equip me with the necessary tools to achieve that goal.
Last fall, when asked to choose an elective, my first choice was weightlifting, which I had tried over the summer at a health club, with little success and a lot of aches and pains. When there was no room in the class, I reluctantly agreed to take a course called Music Production. Although I had taken three years of piano lessons, and therefore had some musical background, I was intimidated by the idea of creating my own music. The first couple of weeks of class were very difficult, as we learned the basics of a program called Garage Band for the Mac. For my first compositions, I strung together simple loops. My attempts at incorporating a trumpet solo into a techno song went horribly awry, leading my classmates to believe that I had purposely tried to replicate the sound of an elephant in heat. I gradually became more competent, and was eventually composing my own songs with intricate melodies. I was thrilled to receive a keyboard and a copy of Garage Band as a holiday gift. I have yet to create anything resembling a masterpiece, but music composition is nevertheless one of my favorite hobbies.
In addition to listening to and creating music, another of my frequent pastimes is reading about bands, movements and eras of rock music. My tastes range from classic rock, to 80s indie bands, to 90s alternative, to current offbeat artists. I believe that my study of music qualifies me to express an opinion: the Beatles do not deserve their massive critical acclaim. There are two reactions I usually get upon uttering this blasphemy. The first is a condescending pat on the shoulder, followed by something to the effect of, “You’ll learn to appreciate them when your tastes are more developed.” Or, more insulting still, they sometimes accuse me of expressing a negative opinion of the number one band of all time in order to stand out or be unique.
I have put a great deal of time into listening to and analyzing the Beatles’ music. I have tried my best to like them, but I can’t seem to get past my perception that they are critically and popularly adored for the wrong reasons. There is no question that the “fab four” wrote catchy hooks and choruses. But then again, so did a lot of other bands that didn’t have the benefit of multi-million dollar marketing campaigns and the good looks to attract young women around the world. I also fail to notice the ingenuity that is cited by critics as a reason for their greatness. Fancy arrangements and foreign instruments do not turn traditional pop songs into works of genius. While the Beatles bombarded the world with what rock critic Piero Scaruffi called “over-indulgent nursery rhymes,” lesser-known musicians such as the Velvet Underground, Frank Zappa and the Doors were experimenting with dissonance, suite format and long, free-form tracks.
All the studio trickery in the world is not enough to disguise the fact that the Beatles were four average musicians who almost exclusively composed three-minute pop ditties with innocuous lyrics. I believe they made rock music into an accessible, commercially viable commodity that conservative parents were not ashamed to buy for their children. When I express this opinion, my fellow rock fans look at me with a combination of disgust and amusement that one would associate with watching a pig rolling around in the mud, but I still feel better for having spoken up.
One of the options for this essay was to write about an event or person that has influenced you; what motivates and intrigues me is the process of critical analysis. I enjoy reading books, watching movies, and listening to CDs as much as anyone, but it is critiquing them that is my passion. The point of this essay is not to bash the Beatles or sell the reader on a 17-year-old’s philosophy; it is to highlight the way I hope to approach my college career, by thinking critically and challenging the conventional wisdom. My ambition is one day to become a music critic and, if I can offer just one unique perspective on anything, then I will consider my career a success. I hope that in addition to providing me with a liberal arts education, the college I attend will equip me with the necessary tools to achieve that goal.