How The Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’ Inspired a Madison Beer Song
While rock isn’t as popular as it used to be, classic rock still influences modern singers. Case in point, Madison Beer revealed one of her songs was inspired by The Beatles’ “Yesterday” during a discussion with Lana Del Rey. Beer also said the Fab Four are one of her main influences. While he was a fan of the song, John Lennon had some negative things to say about “Yesterday.”
Madison Beer’s ‘Spinnin’ was inspired by the lyrics of The Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’
In a 2023 article from Interview, Beer and Del Rey interviewed each other. In it, Beer discussed the origin of her song “Spinnin.” “I’ve always loved songs where you don’t know where they’re headed,” he said. “I like to approach songwriting with these weird chord progressions, whatever that means. But for that one, I was lyrically inspired by ‘Yesterday,’ by The Beatles.”
Del Rey felt Beer drew inspiration from the 1960s throughout her album, Silence Between Songs. “I heard a lot of Beatles influence throughout the whole thing, amongst about six other influences,” she said. “I’m so on that ’60s, ’50s tip. I thought it was the perfect record.”
Madison Beer didn’t care if fans noticed her taking influence from The Beatles
Beer was grateful that Del Rey liked her record. “Thank you so much,” she said. “You’re one of those six references, so I really appreciate that.
“I don’t want to copy anything or pull too much direct inspiration, but if people hear my music and say, ‘Obviously, you’re a huge Lana fan’ — Beatles, Tame Impala, The Zombies, whatever — I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that,” Beer added. “I don’t know if you’ve experienced this, but in my earlier years, it felt like I could never admit who I was inspired by.” It’s fitting that she named The Beatles, The Zombies, Del Rey, and Tame Impala as her predecessors, as the former two were 1960s artists and the latter two are deeply indebted to the 1960s.
John Lennon felt the lyrics of ‘Yesterday’ didn’t resolve
Beer likes it when songs are unpredictable. The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono includes a 1980 interview. In it, John said “Yesterday” was one of the great songs that Paul McCartney wrote.
He said that the lyrics of the song were good but they didn’t resolve into anything. John felt the lack of a resolution was reminiscent of his own earlier tracks. The “Nobody Told Me” singer seemed to think the unpredictability of “Yesterday” was a bad thing.
“Spinnin” also has an unorthodox melody, but the similarities don’t end there. The track is also about longing to return to normalcy. The tune also has a touch of acoustic guitar, showing that Beer does believe in yesterday. Thanks to the synthesizers and piercing Olivia Rodrigo-style vocals, Beer shows that she has respect for both the past and the present, making her one of the most exciting talents emerging today.
The Beatles’ “Yesterday” is a classic and Beer’s “Spinnin” would not be the same without it.
