I finally finished the Peter Jackson Beatles documentary, drawing the process out partly because  I didn't want it to end. The Beatles are one of those topics that's so vast and the ground so well-covered that whatever you say will feel banal or obvious. I wondered why I felt this emotional connection to the men and this music and thought back to a Christmas present I received when I was still in elementary school. It was the "Blue" Beatles compilation album covering the latter half of their career. There was also a red one covering the early years and both cover photos were featured of the foursome in roughly the same pose. In the old photo they are clean shaven and fresh faced wearing matching suits and looking giddy. A few years later they seem to have aged decades with a more world-weary look in their eyes.

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/comp/the-beatles/1962-1966-red-album-1967-1970-blue-album-1/

Watching them interact in the film you get a sense why. The were cultural explorers who went first so many places. The decade of their existence was probably the most exciting any one of us will ever know historically - whether indirectly or firsthand. Towards the end they play a version of Love Me Do, their first big hit from 1962, then return to the late songs. Like The Two of Us, which sounds somehow knowing and innocent that's particular to the band but also the time. So much had yet to be known. The optimism of this new world still hadn't worn out. But what a distance they had travelled - that the world had travelled - in that 8-year span is unrepeatable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql1cL_y0xes