On Monday, Apple teased the world with a blurb on their web page. “Tomorrow is just another day. That you’ll never forget.” No press conference was announced, no keynote address, nothing. Just an announcement with those hyperbolic words. Tech sites, bloggers, fanboys and even the mainstream press freaked out, coming up with outlandish rumors about the mind-blowing announcement.

Really? Do you think Steve Jobs would let them quietly announce a streaming cloud-based iTunes storage solution? No, as much as I love Apple’s products, Steve Jobs held a keynote to announce a speaker as if it were the second coming. iTunes music raining down from the cloud would have been a game changer, not the kind of thing they announce on the web page without a big press party.

If you want to know why Apple made fanboy-squee noises and acted like the news was the biggest thing since Paul McCartney finally killed Wings, you don’t need to look any further than the name of the company. Apple Corp. (nee Apple Computer) was named after the Beatles’ record label because Jobs is a Beatles fanboy. Tuesday, November 16th, is the final nail in the coffin of a long and complicated legal battle between the two Apples. It’s done. This was Armistice Day, the reconciliation of Steve Jobs’ love for the Fab Four and his need to protect the company he built.

It doesn’t matter that “most” Beatles fans already have their music (I do, so I’m not exactly the target audience to buy it on iTunes), it doesn’t matter that the marketing team perhaps oversold the announcement (though to be fair, the message was a reference to a line from a Paul McCartney song, “Another Day,” and a reference to a line from a Beatles song, “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” and the clocks were set up like the cover to “Help!”)… It’s that important to Apple, and it’s the first time the Beatles have been available legally on a digital service. Sure, you could buy the apple-shaped USB drive last year, but you couldn’t pick up a few songs here and there, legally. It’s not for everyone, but its not a bad thing. Just because you or I have their albums (or don’t care to have the albums), why begrudge someone else the choice of buying it from iTunes?

Too often, “it doesn’t matter to me,” becomes “it doesn’t matter.”

Now, as Chuck Wendig pointed out over on Terribleminds in his latest Painting With Shotguns, the other part of the nerdrage and disappointment is the assertion that “teh Beatles suck!”

As he said, “I don’t like it,” is not necessarily the same thing as “it sucks.” Are the Beatles as complicated or as (over)produced as modern music? Nope. Are they as deep lyrically as some modern musicians? Not always, though I’d argue that even “I Want to Hold Your Hand” is deeper than some of the popular music on the radio these days. Do they need to be? No.

Here’s the thing. The musicians you love today wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the Beatles, at least not in the same configuration. John Lennon “invented” distortion. They directly influenced the fundamental creation of rock ‘n roll. The Beatles ignited a fever across the world. Musicians like the Who, Rush and Jimi Hendrix were born from that febrile inspiration. They, in turn inspired bands who inspired bands who… Listen to the Beatles rawer stuff, and you can hear the nascent strains of punk acts like the Ramones, the shrill and jangly birth of bands like Aerosmith. Listen to the lyrics and you can hear the echo of the light and yet somehow terribly dark poetry of the Smiths (“She’s Dressed In Black,” or “Eleanor Rigby” are dark, dark songs).

Trust me. Your favorite band was influenced by the Beatles. They’re one of the most important building blocks of modern music. You don’t have to like them, but you should respect them.