New York was a bust. My friend is sick, so it looks like I'll be in Boston this weekend. I hadn't realized until yesterday though that I would have been in NYC on the 30th Anniversary of John Lennon's death. He has always been a favorite of mine, as both a solo artist and as a member of the Beatles. But, this isn’t meant to be a pissing contest about which Beatle is the best. I love George, tolerate Macca because of “Maybe I’m Amazed” and well, I don’t mind Ringo. I mean, who doesn’t?
If you weren’t alive during Beatlemania everything you know about the fab four is being fed to you through some kind of filter: friends, parents, the media, etc. In my case it’s through my mother. John Lennon is her favorite. I grew up with a picture of him resting on the bookcase, a fuzzy close-up of his face taken off the tv, a part of an art project of a friend (hey, it was the 80s). You knew who it was—the nose, the glasses, the (then) long hair. Now, looking back, I realize we didn’t have many framed photos around or art on the walls. Maybe it was because after my parent’s divorced every apartment we lived in was simply temporary until my mother finally bought a house for us when I was 11. Still, no matter where we lived, that photo always came with us.
I was pretty anti-Beatles when I was too young to know better. I didn't like the name and didn't even bother listening to the music. It wasn't until my mother rented a VHS tape of the best of the Ed Sullivan Show one evening that I actually saw and heard them for the first time. This was, of course, their famous first U.S. television performance. I was 8 or 9 and just didn't understand the crying girls, the high pitched screams. I did, however, get the music. After that, I was hooked. It was Beatles, Beatles, Beatles on the stereo when I came home from school. But the soundtrack to Imagine, the biopic on Lennon, became a favorite. I loved the mix of both Beatles hits and Lennon solo tracks.
When I was young, the 60s and 70s seemed like a scary and turbulent time to live through. But today’s no different, really. It’s just that no one seems to notice or care. Yoko’s right. We do need John Lennon now more than ever. We need someone who both inspires and challenges us. Nowadays, with people like Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift ruling the charts, it's easy to forget that music can mean something, that it can extend beyond our own teenage longings or failed romances. Say what you will about him, but the only person I can think of that comes even close to igniting that kind of debate is Kanye. Sure, he has an enormous ego, but also the talent to back it up. Likewise, he’s not afraid to speak his mind and take risks, both in his public life and his music. The man has so much power that his remark, "George Bush doesn't care about black people", was ranked as the worst moment of Bush’s presidency. Whether you agree with him or not, we need that kind of honesty. It’s easy to say “Well, he’s just a rapper. Who cares?” But, we live and have been living in a celebrity-driven culture for decades now. So yes, he does matter. They all do. And the more attention, however mindless it may be, we give to people like Kim Kardashian the less time we spend on those who are really trying to say something.
The importance of John Lennon is that we still talk about him—that we remember what he stood for--perhaps even more so than his music. But, it's his music that gives us a reason to listen.
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