Paul McCartney, the legendary member of The Beatles, recently compared pop music to “classical music,” saying it is the modern-day equivalent of the genre.
McCartney, who once felt intimidated by classical music, shared how his perception changed over time. He recalled being hesitant to listen to composers like Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, thinking their music was too complex. He explained a conversation with a taxi driver who referred to a Mozart piece as “high-class” music, saying, “You won’t like it, it’s high brow.” McCartney, once critical, now believes pop music mirrors classical music. “Pop music is the classical music of now,” he said.
Fans have since praised McCartney’s views on pop music. One fan commented, “If you listen to Mozart, it’s easy to hear why he was so popular, just like The Beatles. Catchy tunes.” Another fan echoed the sentiment, saying, “Melody is melody. Hooks are hooks. Bach is amazing for hooks.” A third fan pointed out McCartney’s musical talent, noting that his lack of formal training didn’t stop him from achieving what few could.
McCartney also expanded on his thoughts about pop music in a 1968 BBC interview. He discussed how people often misinterpret his songs, referencing the line “She was just seventeen” from “I Saw Her Standing There.” “People read everything into it, like ‘She was a seventeen-year-old nymphomaniac,'” he said, but added that they simply meant the character was just seventeen. McCartney reflected on how, as songwriters, they never fully understood the impact of their music. “We’re always just thinking of ourselves as just happy little songwriters,” he explained. “But it gets more important than that, after you’ve been over to America… and you’ve sort of… got knighted.”
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