In the past year, the legendary Sir Paul McCartney of The Beatles has made great headlines. He collaborated with PlayStation and Xbox to contribute to the score of the game, "Destiny;" there is nothing like saving the world from life sucking aliens while McCartney serenades your journey in the background. He teamed up with Kanye West and Rihanna to create the song “FourFiveSeconds,” which is sweeping the nation off their feet. Most recently, he rocked it out on stage with Taylor Swift at the “SNL 40” celebration.
HARRISON KRT PHOTOGRAPH VIA TMS (KRT129-December 30) The legendary Beatles (from left) Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon
in a file photo. Harrison, 56, was stabbed in the chest by a 33-year-old man who
broke into his home early Thursday, December 30, 1999. Doctors said Harrison's
injury was superficial and he was resting comfortably in the hospital. (TMS)
PL,KD 1999 (Vert B&W) (Photo courtesy of TNS)
There are so many questions that I have about his new musical associations. First of all, the irony that McCartney is in the spotlight with best friends Kanye West and Taylor Swift is too great. Kanye and Swift have the type of friendship where Kanye lets her finish speaking, but first he discredits her accomplishments in front of millions of people. Maybe one day, their friendship will graduate high school, but for now, it is all about subtweets and fake smiles.
Kanye and McCartney are not exactly two musical peas in a pod. Kanye is the self-proclaimed “Michael Jordan of music” who drops massively inappropriate statements that are hilarious because they are delivered at the worst possible times. The Kanye-Swift fiasco is a prime example. McCartney and his band of “All You Need is Love” preachers would probably not approve of Kanye’s methods of attack, except maybe Lennon (just kidding).
Then there was the time Kanye took his biggest political stance during a live televised Hurricane Katrina appeal for funds and said, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” Although the facial expression it left on Mike Meyer’s face was priceless, his statement wasn’t timely or productive.
On the other hand, it was The Beatles’s social and political beliefs against the Vietnam War, along with their psychedelic experiences, that revolutionized the music industry at the time and made them lifelong legends. McCartney’s impact is already an everlasting Gobstopper. He doesn’t need Kanye to boost his career.
It seems that some questions must always remain unanswered. Why are “fun-sized” candy bars described as fun, when there is nothing fun about eating less candy? Do Siamese twins pay for one ticket or two tickets when they go to concerts? And why did McCartney collaborate with Kanye West? Is good music really that great if it is simply for commercial purposes?
Paul McCartney, Rihanna and Kanye West perform at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS)Maybe one of the biggest questions is where does all of his motivation come from? After all, we are talking about the same man who gained worldwide fame for being a leader during the British Invasion as a member of the Beatles. He could be permanently glued on a beach somewhere tropical, sipping an exuberantly fruity drink, overly decorated with umbrellas (he is Paul McCartney, try and stop him).
When he was approached about doing a song for Xbox he could have said, “Thanks for the offer guys, but don’t you think I have done enough for the music industry?” PlayStation would just have to nod their heads and admit the man had a point.
Instead, the 72-year-old rock star is tweeting, playing video games and still rocking a great show. This obviously isn’t some insecurity about the strength of his legacy. It comes down to expanding horizons, which is something McCartney has done ever since he was a Beatle.
Reach the reporter at randrew3@asu.edu or follow @rachelandrewss on Twitter.
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