uncadonego on 9/10/2010 at 10:37
still bugs me when I think about it. All the songs we didn't get to hear. What a waste.
Dia on 9/10/2010 at 10:44
That was the one time I actually cried upon hearing of a celeb's death. All that talent and creativity gone forever. So very sad.
Yandros on 9/10/2010 at 14:05
I remember the day John died. I also remember the day Keith Moon died - I was in elementary school and our music teacher came in a cried the whole class period.
Gingerbread Man on 9/10/2010 at 14:41
The other week I was thinking about what sort of acrimonious bullshit would have gone on if Lennon hadn't been killed. I was also thinking that it might have resulted in a really great "Goodbye to George" tour -- but it also might have been one of the usual stupid comeback tours by a band from the 60s. Good or bad, I dunno. Maybe would have liked to have found out, though.
Still amazes me how four kids make 12 albums in 10 years. Doesn't sound like too much until you remember what most of those albums were like. And they were KIDS.
I kinda liked some post-Beatles McCartney, especially Wings, but for the most part I was a Lennon boy. Walls & Bridges, Shaved Fish, and that Live In Toronto album with the Plastic Ono Band... those were my go-to records.
fett on 9/10/2010 at 14:43
They don't make 'em like John anymore. He said what he thought and didn't much stop to calculate how it was going to affect his PR or image. I credit half of what the Beatles did to George Martin's studio genius, but it was the band that pushed him, John most of all. Sorely missed, truly a legend in his own time. Happy Birthday, John. Wish you were here. :(
Gingerbread Man on 9/10/2010 at 14:53
Also as a younger kid I actually found it very encouraging that his drawings were popular. I knew they weren't really great, that they were just mostly loose doodles and the like made by a creative fellow with no special talent for drawing... other than making little loose sketches that people liked.
Demonstrated to me two things:
First that art didn't have to be complex, colourful, expert, and Impressive in order to be liked / popular in the greater world of grown-ups,
and second that John Lennon, awesome dude and sociopolitical icon extraordinaire who had written and sung one of my favourite tunes EVER (changed depending on what album I was listening to, but usually involved Magical Mystery Tour - in hindsight, I'm not sure you should let kids under the age of six listen to Magical Mystery Tour as much as I did) was a pretty crap artist JUST LIKE ME!
BRIGHT FUTURE!
Mr.Duck on 9/10/2010 at 15:34
Though I always liked George Harrison more as a person, and miss him a lot also, I have to say I also miss ol'John a lot too.
And a lot of other greats that tragically died young (natural or otherwise).
Fading glory or continuing success if he had lived?, God alone knows...I don't mind the first if it meant he was alive and kickin' it still today.
Yellow Submarine cartoon. That's how I met the Beatles when I was a wee lad. Many of those songs are still some of my Fab Four faves. 'Lucy in the sky with diamonds' and 'All you need is love', to name just a few of those gems.
*Puts on a Beatles' album and just listens*
Aerothorn on 9/10/2010 at 15:46
By total coincidence, I spent an hour with a friend last night where (for laughs) we went over the lyrics of Imagine line-by-line and analyzed what complete shit they were.
Rug Burn Junky on 9/10/2010 at 16:15
Quote Posted by Gingerbread Man
I kinda liked some post-Beatles McCartney, especially Wings, but for the most part I was a Lennon boy. Walls & Bridges, Shaved Fish, and that Live In Toronto album with the Plastic Ono Band... those were my go-to records.
In case you were unaware, There's a Double Fantasy re-release out this week. Been listening to it all morning. Watching the Wheels may be one of my top 10 songs ever (currently heightened, no doubt, by my career sojourn of the past few years). The new re-mixes are... interesting. The vocals sound a little more organic, but I can't quite get used to the piano, which sounds a bit too "bright" in the mix. Still a good listen.
Quote Posted by Gingerbread Man
First that art didn't have to be complex, colourful, expert, and Impressive in order to be liked / popular in the greater world of grown-ups, !
Semi related note: Over the past 2 years, I've gained a completely newfound admiration for Yoko. As an artist, she's legit in ways I never realized before. It's a shame that the very public break-up of the Beatles ruined her image, and I think that John's early death took away the ability for her to re-hab that image publicly (not that she cares in the slightest, most likely.)
Quote Posted by Aerothorn
By total coincidence, I spent an hour with a friend last night where (for laughs) we went over the lyrics of Imagine line-by-line and analyzed what complete shit they were.
"Simple" isn't the same as "shit." Sometimes the simple things that "we" (or a subset of "we") all take for granted just needs to be said.
There's a certain level of naive optimism in it, but it's delivered with a fair amount of elegance that makes up for it. Not even close to my favorite Lennon song, but it's only too easy to bag on because it's become a cliche.
