The setup: I used to spend a bit of time on one of those alumni websites, calmly explaining to certain people why their firmly held and greatly loved beliefs were absolute hog-wallow. One such fellow was going on about John Lennon, a musician who needs no introduction, but who certainly needed to develop a conscience. That man was quite possibly the primary reason that the Beatles were the second-most overrated rock band of all time (not quite as bad as Led Zeppelin, but not quite as good as the Rolling Stones). I explained why Lennon was not all he was cracked up to be, and why his passing was not to be mourned. I wouldn't have trotted this out and posted it, but I was reminded sharply of it by the recent passing of another overrated British pop star, and my reaction to his mediocre oeuvre and self-congratulatory 'cleverness' with nonsensical lyrics meant to make his horrendous work seem more important. And yes, that last part down there was sort of my tag line on that site. Probably still true....
This news just in: John Lennon still dead! We'll have film at eleven.
Let's be honest: McCartney carried him. Six months after the Beatles' break-up, Paul was recording "Maybe I'm Amazed". Can somebody please remind me when Lennon released his first post-Beatles album?
A true musician hears music you don't -- they move to a beat you can't hear, thrilling to a sound inside their heads. The best of them can get that sound out and share it with others. They exude music, as a rose does perfume. They don't sit on their hands for twelve years, telling anybody who would listen how clever they were to write lyrics with no meaning so others would read in non-existent meanings of their own, and releasing albums only when the bank accounts ran low.
When George died, I reflected how sad it was we would hear no more from him. I felt no such thing about Lennon. I merely felt relief we would never again be subjected to anything as trite and formulaic as "Imagine" (okay, I kinda liked "Instant Karma," but trite is still trite). He laughed all the way to the bank, but to this day, there are still people who firmly believe there was hidden meaning in his "moon/June" rhymes. If you're one, allow me to introduce you to the Walls Theory of Relative Merit (so named because a relative of mine came up with it), which states that "Anything sufficiently vague will eventually become profound." Clearly, this theory is not sufficiently vague, and will therefore never be considered profound. There's a message there somewhere, if you're in need of one.
Lennon made no profound statements, revealed no profound truths, and made millions hoodwinking the gullible. His life (or death) did not change the world in any appreciable or measurable way. He wasn't Gandhi, he wasn't Mother Theresa, he wasn't even the Notorious B.I.G. Muse on that profound truth the next time you hear some Lennon wannabe (can you say Green Day?) mouth the same tired platitudes. Or, if you want to muse on his true artistic worth, consider that "Imagine" is not one bit less obnoxious as Muzak as it was originally. That is his legacy -- follow it if you feel you must, but don't presume others will do the same.
(The preceding was not only tasteless, it was downright rude!)
This news just in: John Lennon still dead! We'll have film at eleven.
Let's be honest: McCartney carried him. Six months after the Beatles' break-up, Paul was recording "Maybe I'm Amazed". Can somebody please remind me when Lennon released his first post-Beatles album?
A true musician hears music you don't -- they move to a beat you can't hear, thrilling to a sound inside their heads. The best of them can get that sound out and share it with others. They exude music, as a rose does perfume. They don't sit on their hands for twelve years, telling anybody who would listen how clever they were to write lyrics with no meaning so others would read in non-existent meanings of their own, and releasing albums only when the bank accounts ran low.
When George died, I reflected how sad it was we would hear no more from him. I felt no such thing about Lennon. I merely felt relief we would never again be subjected to anything as trite and formulaic as "Imagine" (okay, I kinda liked "Instant Karma," but trite is still trite). He laughed all the way to the bank, but to this day, there are still people who firmly believe there was hidden meaning in his "moon/June" rhymes. If you're one, allow me to introduce you to the Walls Theory of Relative Merit (so named because a relative of mine came up with it), which states that "Anything sufficiently vague will eventually become profound." Clearly, this theory is not sufficiently vague, and will therefore never be considered profound. There's a message there somewhere, if you're in need of one.
Lennon made no profound statements, revealed no profound truths, and made millions hoodwinking the gullible. His life (or death) did not change the world in any appreciable or measurable way. He wasn't Gandhi, he wasn't Mother Theresa, he wasn't even the Notorious B.I.G. Muse on that profound truth the next time you hear some Lennon wannabe (can you say Green Day?) mouth the same tired platitudes. Or, if you want to muse on his true artistic worth, consider that "Imagine" is not one bit less obnoxious as Muzak as it was originally. That is his legacy -- follow it if you feel you must, but don't presume others will do the same.
(The preceding was not only tasteless, it was downright rude!)