Ben Folds once said that every band in the world formed by taking some piece of what The Beatles did and turning it into their own thing. According to his theory, The Beatles are the superset from which all popular music is derived.
It’s a good theory and one that’s easy to support when you listen to just about any modern pop or rock band. I’ve read a lot of praise of Radiohead recently, about how their output in the 00’s revolutionized popular music… but is there really anything on Kid A that doesn’t sound a little bit like ‘Tomorrow Never Knows,’ ‘A Day in the Life’ or ‘Revolution 9?’ Give me a break.
As for today’s SOTD… perhaps ‘Helter Skelter’ exists solely to allow for Ben Folds’ theory to encompass bands like Metallica. This was the first and last time the band really thrashed like this, for better or worse (I lean slightly toward worse).
I find Paul’s performance here an amusing contrast to yesterday’s track, ‘Mother Nature’s Son.’ Now that’s range.
Where I stop and I turn and then I go for a ride
‘Til I get to the bottom and I see you again, yeh, yeh yeh
Do you, don’t you want me to love you
I’m coming down fast, but I’m miles above you
Tell me, tell me tell me, c’mon tell me the answer
Well you may be a lover but you ain’t no dancer.
Now Helter Skelter, Helter Skelter, Helter Skelter, yeah …
a-Will you, won’t you want me to make you
I’m coming down fast, but don’t let me break you
Tell me, tell me, tell me the answer
You may be a lover but you ain’t no dancer.
Look out!
Helter Skelter, Helter Skelter, Helter Skelter, oooh…
Look out, ’cause here she come …
When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide
And I stop and I turn and then I go for a ride
And I get to the bottom and I see you again, yeh, yeh yeh
Well do you, don’t you want me to make you
I’m coming down fast, but don’t let me break you
Tell me, tell me, tell me your answer
You may be a lover but you ain’t no dancer
Look out!
helter skelter, helter skelter, helter skelter
Look out! Helter Skelter … she coming down fast
yes she is
yes she is
coming down fast
oh now helter skelter … woo hooo
(yelled)
I got blisters on my fingers!
Meet Me In Montauk 
I like the theory quite a bit – a sort of derivation on how there are only a handful of stories to be told and every novelist or screenwriter simply tells different versions of them. I often marvel that there are still new songs to be sung. How is that possible? A kindness to all of us might be to have each new band put a label on each album identifying which strain of Beatles will be found within. That way I could be sure to avoid any musicians who are “Helter Skelter” aficionados and go straight to the “In My LIfe”/”Here Comes the Sun”/”Lady Madonna” bands 🙂
It is hard to know whether the heavy metal sound would have proliferated without “Helter Skelter.” It was certainly bubbling out there with the Who and Hendrix. Still, even though Paul didn’t create the first metal song, I suspect any style upon which the Beatles put their imprint was destined to have a ripple effect simply because of the sheer number of teenagers who picked up their guitars and formed garage bands with the goal of one day being like the Fab Four.
I’m not a fan of this song or of metal, but you do have to appreciate the diversity and evolution of a band that started out singing “Love Me Do.”