184: "Yesterday" and the Myth of Meritocracy

2019's Danny Boyle rom-cam featuring a Beatles subtext has inspired a lot of discussion among fans this year, given the pretext of a struggling English musician apparently being the only person on Earth who can remember existence of the group. Most of the chatter was about the film itself, but I thought there were even richer discussions to be had, using the film's core idea as a springboard. The idea for this show was prompted by an article by my guest, Noah Berlatsky (I would encourage listeners to check it out). He forwarded the notion that buying into the film's premise required universal agreement that 1) The Beatles were the greatest rock band ever and 2) that their music was so great that its inherent genius would be universally recognized no matter who was performing it, and when. We shall see....  

 

There has never been a musically more diverse episode of SATB than this one: in addition to The Fabs, you will be hearing from artists ranging from Chuck Berry and Moon Mullican to R.D. Burman and Rhianna; Dee Dee Sharp and Elvis to Mobley and Nick Drake. Yet it all fits together: what it means to be a successful artist and what are the factors that result in our bestowing the term "genius" upon them.