They like the music where the lyrics are whispered, and oh, so alienated.

But one thing I won't go for: that the "pure" rock sound was ruined by the Beatles, and returned by punk. Bull. Punk was an ideological reaction, quite unlistenable, to the sop of the '70s, just before the idiots and coke fiends took over with disco. There's nothing wrong with overdubbing.

Really good music is a fragile thing, and it doesn't do formulas. The definitive moment in pop music? Bob Dylan getting booed for going electric, because some idiots wanted him to stay in one place and be a predictable product.

We are talking about the Fab Four. I've never met a fan of the Beatles who wasn't a FANatic. One could argue (I won't) that they are the most influential band in pop culture history. I have friends who don't like the Beatles' music who still admit watching archival footage of them making women faint in concert- its kind'ave mind blowing. I grew up with the music in my house years after the music stopped because it was my parents. I take it for granted. However in my opinion, more so than religion or politics, if you wish to cause an emotional reaction in a human being- insult their music. Thanks for listening

All this effort just to trash Sgt. Pepper? Geez...

I got this album for my 13th birthday back in the late NINETIES. I had never heard anything like it. I must have listened to it 15 times over and over just that day. It literally changed my life, prompting me to learn more about the Beatles, then the 60's and radical politics to the point where I eventually broke free of the staunchly conservative ideals I was raised to hold. The course of my life could have been totally different if I hadn't heard Sgt. Pepper.

For people who aren't jaded music critics, Sgt. Pepper is still earth-shaking. It is a psychedelic album in the drug sense and in the sense of mental liberation through new sounds, images and ideas. Look at the the cover--the Beatles pose as military men in dayglo epaulets, leading a squadron of geniuses and freaks. You don't think that's iconic of the Summer of Love/Vietnam War era?

Do you remember in Annie Hall, or maybe it was Manhattan (Manhattan, I think-- anyway, Woody Aallen and Diane Keaton), the Woody Allen character is with some Very Sophisticated Types who have a game they call "Who is overrated?" And they get a big kick out of declaring Shakespeare etc overrated. Woody Allen stands there with this struck look on his face and exclaims, "Beethoven is overrated?"

It was a true moment, because we've all been there, with people who think they're too cool to be impressed by anyone that ever impressed anyone else, who think it's sophisticated to reject the notion of acclaimed genius. And they're never geniuses themselves--- their only claim to cool is that they can dismiss Beethoven as overrated, so they are so much cooler than Beethoven.

No one has to like Sgt. Pepper. But to decided it's overhyped because you personally don't like it-- or more likely, because you just don't like things that are hyped-- is pretty juvenile. It is not overhyped just because you think it is, especially when you say silly things like Kurt Cobain was lying when he called the Beatles a profound influence-- when the rest of us can sure hear the Beatles influence, and so presumably could he, since why would he lie? And when you say silly thing like it's not emotional. Emotion doesn't come from crying into the microphone, you know. (Of course, you're probably think that was lachrymose or something... how can anyone win, huh?) She's Leaving Home is rendingly emotional, in a quiet, understated way. If you can't hear the emotion in that, then I really wonder if you can listen.

Not that you have to hear it-- but if you don't like an album, it doesn't hurt to consider that you just don't like it. An album that so many have loved for so long, that children and teenagers still love, that musicians still admire, is not overhyped. You don't have to like it. But you're not earning cool points by pretending that your likes and dislikes trump history, music, and our opinions. That's just the same arrogance Woody Allen was skewering, and frankly, it leads to a parched and unjoyful life. Be wary.

Why the offended outrage? The writers expressed their opinion. The measure of offensive and hateful letters smell of fanaticism of the same kind that makes Apple users rise in arms any time Apple is criticized.

My opinion is that most of the letter writers wouldn't say s***t if Paul McCartney had defecated in their mouths.

You write: "The rest is cute or embarrassingly dated ("I've Got to Admit It's Getting Better" today is sickening)."

Only if viewed through a modern lens. The fact is that women have been abused by their husbands with impunity until relatively recently. I doubt it was autobiographical in any way. Rather, I have a metaphor for you.

When Huck Finn is asked if anyone was harmed in the explosion of the steamboat, he says, "Nope. Killed two niggers." It's not a direct quote, it's been many years since I read it, but I think it's close.

We're laughing at Huck, and his attitude towards slaves. We're laughing at the insane society that produced a boy who could say such a thing. Folks have called it racist, school boards have called for banning the book. In fact, it is the opposite of racist. It is a masterful treatise against racism, from start to finish; indeed, that is its purpose.

I think your interpretation of It's Getting Better All the Time is similarly incorrect. I suspect you are referring to the line: "I beat her and kept her apart from the things that she loved."

From my point of view, that's a profound statement. In one sentence, it captures the essence of an abusive relationship. The abuser doesn't want the abused to have outside interests, because he sees them as endangering his territory. He sees his spouse as a thing, and keeping her apart from the things that she loved is a symptom of that.

Then we get an immediate message of hope. "Man I was mean," etc. Okay, maybe it didn't heal the world. Maybe it wasn't a big anti-war protest song. But maybe some jerk heard it on the radio, and tears came to his eyes, and he turned over a new leaf. Maybe she never even knew why. Songs can affect people that profoundly.