The Beatles are arguably one of the most influential rock bands of all time, with many of their songs still inspiring artists more than 40 years later. Lately, up and coming UK boy band One Direction has been garnering attention from critics and fans alike as the next Beatles. Now for those of you who haven’t heard about this yet, I’ll give you a moment to reflect on this ridiculous statement. All sunk in? Read on.

Upon appearing stateside, the X Factor-generated boy band debuted on the Billboard 200 at number one back in March with the release of its album “Up All Night.” As a result they have been constantly compared to the Beatles.

An interview with former Beatles member Paul McCartney in April refers to this amusingly enough as “the kiss of death” for the band. McCartney warned the boys that they would constantly have to live up to the Beatles achievements from here on out, which many before them have failed to do.

With all due respect to One Direction, getting number one on the Billboard 200 is no easy task, but McCartney is definitely right. This comparison needs to be put to rest for good.

I’ll flat out say it: Comparing the two is just plain stupid. One of the biggest differences between them is their ability to generate content.

Outside composers and producers have written or assisted with a majority of the bands hit singles. When I say majority, I mean almost all of them.

It’s a huge difference considering One Direction’s members have written only three of the 14 songs they have released.

Carl Falk, a Swedish composer and producer contributed to the writing of “What Makes You Beautiful,” “One Thing” and “I Wish.” Other individuals to add to this lengthy list are Kelly Clarkson, Ed Sheeran and Swedish songwriter Rami Yacoub.

With more than 300 songs in The Beatles’ repertoire, 224 were written by at least one of the band members.

It is much too early to be comparing their music to a band that was in the music industry for decades.

Unlike The Beatles, One Direction’s music isn’t revolutionary. All of their songs draw inspiration from various artists in the music industry from both the past and present, but never brings anything new to the table.

Though The Beatles did draw inspiration from other artists, their lyrics and music became something of their own. They had depth and meaning.

Recently One direction’s originality has been brought into question with their release of “Live While We’re Young,” sharing a similar riff to The Clash’s single, “Should I Stay or Should I go,” which the band admitted to MTV News was intentional.

Billboard also compared the band’s sound to the NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys.

They are doing nothing more than following in the footsteps of artists who have come before them, and that’s putting it nicely.

So with that being said, One Direction doesn’t deserve the title of the next Beatles, at least not yet. They have years of work to be done to even come close to The Beatles, assuming they last that long. Even then, their success wouldn’t be on their own merits.

 

Chris can be reached at: [email protected]