Favorite Beatle

According to writer Robert Sullivan, one of the major decisions any person will make in his life is choosing his favorite Beatle; indeed, "the Beatle you pick can say as much about you as your DNA." The occasion for Sullivan's observation--published in the "Shouts & Murmurs" section of the January 29, 1996 New Yorker (only the abstract is currently available online, unfortunately)--was his four-and-a-half year old son's announcement that he liked George the most, a somewhat independent and darkhorse choice that apparently charmed his father. "To me, my son's choice is perfect: in the very act of choosing George, he has proved his Georgeness." Sullivan himself was a John wannabe who admired John's daring and rebellious qualities, but who was, he had to admit, deep down an eager-to-please Paul man, with an "inner soundtrack tend[ing] toward cloying love songs."

Not only do I agree with Sullivan's general premise that Beatle-picking is as indicative as a Myers-Briggs assessment, I would also guess that Sullivan's situation--wanting to be the kind of person who likes John the most, while identifying primarily with Paul--is true for many (including me).

Also true is that, while I wish I could say I like Scary most, deep down I see myself more as Baby Spice. Maybe it's because I usually find myself singing all of Baby's parts whenever a Spice Girls song comes on the radio (and by "radio" I mean "my iPod," and by "my iPod" I mean "my Top 25 Most Played playlist while walking around the lake and sobbing softly").