[Painting by JON LANGFORD]
CNN: On Wednesday — 9/9/09 — remastered versions of the Beatles catalogue will be released, giving listeners what the remaining members of “The Fab Four” say is the closest reproduction ever of how their music sounded in the studio. Research shows that more than 40 years after their last public performance, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr’s music remains as interesting to young people now as it ever was. A Pew Research survey released last month showed that 81 percent of respondents between ages 16-29 said they liked The Beatles. Eleven percent said they dislike the band and only 4 percent said they have never heard of them. By comparison, current rockers Coldplay received 39 percent positive responses, with 45 percent saying they’d never heard of them. Forty-two percent said they like hip-hop star Kanye West. “To put this in perspective: Try imagining young adults back in the 1960s putting the big jazz bands of the roaring ’20s at the top of their list of favorites,” the survey reads. “Not very likely.” MORE