Are the Beatles still relevant today?

Bah, you are a party pooper!! :P

They're influence is getting smaller and smaller. Maybe in part because bands seem to be getting worse and worse, I doubt maybe of the bands that make up the top twenty could name all four beatles. Paticularly in England where I think the beatles are not really listened to by a younger audience. The question is not does the music of today compete with them, but is the music of today in the same league as the music they (and other bands at that time) were recording.

Dylan and the Beatles link? Rubbish. Dylan comes from a folk, American background. You can hear country influences in the music. Whereas the Beatles are from a blues based English background. It's two different arpoaches to music, with different sounds and different rythems. Saying that one is more influencial than the other, or one had a direct baring on the other is silly. Similarly Dylan was around, the impact of Dylan may have influenced the Beatles, but certainly his music didn't have a real bearing on who they became.

There may be bands come along who better what the Beatles were doing musically, write songs as well recieved as Dylan... I think the only thing that cna be certain, is that no musician will ever come close to doing what Frank Zappa was doing.