Disappointment

The Beatles were never disappointing. That’s why they are still with us and always will be. Each record was at least as good as the last and sometimes markedly superior. They couldn’t fail. John, Paul, George, and Ringo: they never disappointed. They dis-disappointed. They didn’t know the meaning of the word. But what about the rest of the world—did it (the rest of the world) disappoint? Oh yeah, it sure did (yeah yeah yeah). It’s been on a disappointment roll (over Beethoven). It’s been a disappointing day’s night. Help! The Sixties disappointed in the end. England did too. So did America. Imagine! In My Life. Politically, culturally, spiritually. One huge effing disappointment. The Stones disappointed, though it pains me to say so (not so England). The Who petered out into the What. Maybe the Beatles would have, but they broke up just in time (they had helpful friends). What would have happened to the Beatles if they kept on rolling (like the Stones)? Would they have devolved into hack mediocrity? It doesn’t bear thinking about. It seems inconceivable. In any case, they didn’t; they are still with us fifty-six years later–indelibly, permanently. We live in a post-Beatles world—no, in a Beatles world, no “post” about it. What would the world be like if they had never existed? Not the same, not as good.

How did they influence me (now we’re talking)? Not much, you might say, what with becoming an academic philosopher and everything. I left music behind and pop culture generally; I didn’t even listen to the Beatles much. But the influence was more insidious, acting at the cellular level. Articles were my singles, books my LPs. They were my new releases. I wanted each one to be better than the last; I dreaded decline. I can map my early publications onto Beatles songs. The journals and university presses were my record labels. The Character of Mind = Please Please Me. My editors were my George Martin. I released some thirty albums, some compilations of greatest hits, and many singles, some forgotten now. That’s how I thought of them (I now realize), because the Beatles were in my blood. I never wanted to repeat myself. People call me a mysterian after an obscure pop group (Question Mark and the Mysterians) and that is not far from the mark, but the Beatles were my model and inspiration. “Can We Solve the Mind-Body Problem?” was my “Strawberry Fields” (“Let me take you down…”). I went solo in 2013 and put out a lot of late-period stuff.

Has anything not been a disappointment? Certainly, America has been enormously disappointing to me—politically, professionally, intellectually, morally. People have been painfully disappointing, sometimes surprisingly so. Popular music is a desert of disappointment. Philosophy itself has proved disappointing compared to earlier decades. Humor is not what it was either. Films disappoint regularly. The ordinary voter is a walking disappointment. Politics is a complete shit-show of disappointment.  Are we headed towards Total Disappointment–nuclear disappointment, fascist disappointment? But there is one area in which I have felt no disappointment—tennis. The game itself never disappoints (playing it), but professional tennis has proved itself almost Beatles-level un-disappointing. First, we had the Big Three and then the Brilliant Two (Alcaraz and Sinner): the tennis world is alive with Beatlemania for this pair. No decline, no disillusionment. Pure luck, of course—tennis could easily have slid into disappointment territory after the demise of Rafa, Roger, and Novak. Not so! True, the fear lurks—injury, lack of focus. So far, though, the signs are good. No one can ever match the Beatles, but these two come close. If only they could sing! I always look forward to seeing them play and experience the bliss of tennis perfection. You see, I am not a cynic or pessimist after all.