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  6 0 John needed Paul as much as McCartney needed Lennon. McCartney's sweetness meshed perfectly with John's bitterness. John without Paul was insufferable, nasty and reactionary; Paul without John could drown in syrup. John never wrote some songs as dumb as "My Love", but Paul never wrote any songs as mean-spirited as "How Do You Sleep?" Paul took a lot of shots from John over the years, but he's starting to reclaim some of his cred. After all, it was JOHN, not Paul, who fucked off to the suburbs in 1964, while Paul was the one who stayed in London, absorbing the full ferment of the Swinging Sixties, going to see avant-garde theater and Stockhausen concerts and so on. It was Paul, not John, who fostered the modern art scene in London (and gave Yoko her first exposure there). Paul often tackled much more complex melodic ideas than John; John's songs almost all rotate around a few notes, while Paul is leaping around the octaves. John could never have come up with the leap on the words "of kindness" in "For No One". Alternately Paul could never have dragged the moan of the "ahhhhh"s out like the chorus of "A Day In The Life", or driven the knife home in "And Your Bird Can Sing". But note that the guitars that move that song into the stratosphere are played in tandem by George and Paul. Paul, in addition to being the most creative bassist in rock history ("Drive My Car"), was a sharp and fluid guitar player too. John's guitar playing was more limited. John had the better voice, though. More supple, more emotive, more expansive. John could make a completely inane lyric like "All You Need Is Love" sound profound -- while chewing gum, no less ("Imagine" is in this category as well). Paul could sing too, but was sometimes a little mannered, even when he tried to cut loose. Paul's biggest fault was always trying too hard. Lennon's was not trying hard enough. Naturally, the best solo Beatles music was made by neither of them, but by Ringo -- "It Don't Come Easy", "Photograph", and so on. But I'd take McCartney's Ram LP over any of John's, especially his dire stuff with Elephant's Memory. The best solo "Lennon" song is (ahem) "Let Me Roll It" by Paul, not John! Fnarf answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago | Report 2 comments by Marty Unger and Irena… 0 0 So beautiful Fnarf. Marty Unger commented over 2 years ago | Report 0 0 Thank you for that mention of Ringo -- I was just defending him the other night. Great, great songs. That said, George Harrison's "Dark Horse" is my favourite solo ex-Beatle song of all time. Irena commented over 2 years ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  3 0 McCartney by a country mile. Always seems to me that Lennon full on lost interest in music at some point. Eli Anderson answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago | Report 5 comments by Nicolas Heliotis, Eli Anderson, and Nicolas Heliotis… 0 0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4-_7MEyZjA Nicolas Heliotis commented over 2 years ago | Report 0 0 John would have become ten times more insufferable than Paul. He's totally the guy at the party who walks around talking about how drunk/high he is. Eli Anderson commented over 2 years ago | Report 0 0 Yeah, dying is definitely the best way to maintain your cool. That said, can you really imagine anything more insufferable than current day Paul McCartney? (ps - I love the Beatles and I love Paul) Nicolas Heliotis commented over 2 years ago | Report 0 0 Paul's a cool guy. I have no interest in listening to his new records, but he's OK. He does stuff like ride the bus around New York -- regular old city bus, seeing the sights and talking to the people. Fnarf commented over 2 years ago | Report 0 0 Yeah Paul seems pretty genuine. Even the new records always have two or three gems on them. You aren't going to catch me listening to "My Brave Face" or "Press" anytime soon though...well, maybe "Press"... Eli Anderson commented over 2 years ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  3 0 I prefer them together. Like Matt Sharp and Rivers Cuomo. Megan Seling answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago | Report 1 comment by NGC1275… 0 0 win NGC1275 commented over 2 years ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  2 0 Harrison. But seriously, Lennon. That being said, I've grown to appreciate McCartney's weirder inclinations in his solo career and there's no denying that Paul's bass parts in the Beatles were consistently phenomenal (e.g., see "Tomorrow Never Knows" for a very early foreshadowing of dubstep's subsonic wobble). But, ultimately, John dominated more Beatles songs that I love, and his solo LPs contain more interesting moments (musically and lyrically) than do Paul's. Dave Segal answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  2 0 Ideally, together. Lennon, if I have to pick one. McCartney is too sweet for my taste on his own. Lennon may have too much edge but too much is better than too little. CleverScreenName answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  1 0 Well, they are both brilliant, but Lennon all the way for me. His songs are darker, and more about the mood than the melody, which I like. I agree with Lennon that McCartney wrote songs for little old ladies to tap their toes to (or something to that effect). Not that there's anything wrong with that, just not as well-suited to my tastes. Mahtli69 answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 Lennon. Not the musical genius, but indeed the social revolutionary of the group. NGC1275 answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago | Report 1 comment by NGC1275… 0 0 Plus my favorite Beatles songs are the ones that sound like "I'm dunk and don't give a fuck" a-la Cat Power type of songs. I feel like most of those were his. NGC1275 commented over 2 years ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 Ha I'm with Dave. George Harrison. But Lennon by a long-shot. And if it were Beatles or Stones. I say Stones. mammac answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 A constant tug of war- no pun intended. I loved Paul when I was younger and got much more into John Lennon when I got older. I am a sucker for some Ringo Starr solo tracks though... Ben London answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 0 Lennon. Nicolas Heliotis answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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  0 3 Mark David Chapman. Eric Grandy answered in Music Panel over 2 years ago | Report 2 comments by Eric Grandy and CrazyCatLady… 0 0 In all seriousness, Lennon. Except for "Temporary Secretary"—that's the joint. Eric Grandy commented over 2 years ago | Report 0 0 I was trying to forget that name; I didn't think it deserved to be remembered. CrazyCatLady commented over 2 years ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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