Happy Birthday John Lennon

[Topaz]

Can you believe john Lennon would be 70 on Oct9th? Where did the time go. I can remember their first hit and appearing on the Ed Sullivan show and the screaming, you could hardly hear them sing. http://abcnews.go.com/WN/beatles-fans-celebrate-john-lennons-70th-birthday/story?id=11836351

[August1991]

Can you believe john Lennon would be 70 on Oct9th? Where did the time go. I can remember their first hit and appearing on the Ed Sullivan show and the screaming, you could hardly hear them sing. http://abcnews.go.com/WN/beatles-fans-celebrate-john-lennons-70th-birthday/story?id=11836351

John Lennon famous? He was a flash in the pan.

Now then, how about:

Or then, comme d'habitude, certains assument une dominance.

Imagine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wXcvx4EYG4

Comme d'habitude, on fait semblant....

Edited October 10, 2010 by August1991

[BubberMiley]

Quebeckers have absolutely the worst taste in music in the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...Robert Charlebois.

[DogOnPorch]

[ToadBrother]

John Lennon famous? He was a flash in the pan.

Which is why, of course, you feel the need to say so thirty years after he died.

The world seems divided these days into two parties; those who see Lennon's influence on popular music, and those who try to deny it.

[Michael Hardner]

Forget about his influence on popular culture - how about culture and politics ? The anti-war movement of the 1960s global consciousness, and the placement of peace as a prime goal of society was one of the major changes of the 20th century.

[eyeball]

Forget about his influence on popular culture - how about culture and politics ? The anti-war movement of the 1960s global consciousness, and the placement of peace as a prime goal of society was one of the major changes of the 20th century.

He was bigger than Jesus Christ himself there for awhile.

I think the idea of peace was probably just as applicable in the 1st century as it is now, too bad it still seems every bit as unlikely.

[Jack Weber]

[Oleg Bach]

John Lennon famous? He was a flash in the pan.

Now then, how about:

Or then, comme d'habitude, certains assument une dominance.

Imagine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wXcvx4EYG4

Comme d'habitude, on fait semblant....

"Imagine" - was such a socialist anthem that it hurts to think about it...Lennon was no angel and it seemed that all of his relationships were about "finding mum" and sleeping with her..and I did hear another alledged rumor years ago...that he quietly supplied money for the arming of the IRA...

Have a good listen to most old Beatle material..George Martin's production was seductive and totally dishonest...nearly all the tunes presented themselves as having deep social and spiritual meaning- MEAN WHILE IF YOU LOOK AT THE BULK OF THE MATERIAL - IT WAS MOSTLY GIBBERISH.

Lennon and the Beatles along with the highly manipulative George Martin...displace hundreds of great artists with something real to contribute to society...artists that never came to light because the Beatle phenomena destroyed any real music movement of real substance..."oh blah dee oh blah dah..yellow submarine ...I want my mummy in the shape of a cranked out Japanesse heiress - who wanted fame through the dick of Lennon.

[ToadBrother]

"Imagine" - was such a socialist anthem that it hurts to think about it...Lennon was no angel and it seemed that all of his relationships were about "finding mum" and sleeping with her..and I did hear another alledged rumor years ago...that he quietly supplied money for the arming of the IRA...

Lennon said that Imagine was just the Communist Manifesto sweetened up. And as to the IRA thing, I've heard the rumor but never heard it substantiated, and he'd hardly be the first guy in New York City to be giving them money.

Have a good listen to most old Beatle material..George Martin's production was seductive and totally dishonest...nearly all the tunes presented themselves as having deep social and spiritual meaning- MEAN WHILE IF YOU LOOK AT THE BULK OF THE MATERIAL - IT WAS MOSTLY GIBBERISH.

I know a good many Beatles lyrics. Some are gibberish or just glib three chord pop songs, but some, well, are something else entirely. Take Revolution. You may not agree with the ethos behind it, but if there was ever a more plain-spoken song describing the writer's political feelings, I can't think of it. In fact, a lot of Lennon's later stuff, beginning with Strawberry Fields Forever, was deeply personal. Yes, he loved wordplay, he was a great lover of Lewis Carol's poetry and stuff like I Am The Walrus reflects that (actually, he wrote that one in large part as a tongue-in-cheek response to hearing some English professor trying to find the deeper meaning in his lyrics).

Lennon and the Beatles along with the highly manipulative George Martin...displace hundreds of great artists with something real to contribute to society...artists that never came to light because the Beatle phenomena destroyed any real music movement of real substance..."oh blah dee oh blah dah..yellow submarine ...I want my mummy in the shape of a cranked out Japanesse heiress - who wanted fame through the dick of Lennon.

Oh who the hell did they displace? The rock and roll and skiffle movements in England had produced a handful of artists with any kind of success; mainly Cliff Richard and Lonnie Donegan. In the US, rock and roll had been turned into bland balladry while Elvis had gone into the army, Chuck Berry was serving time and Jerry Lee Lewis had been wiped out by the scandal over marrying his thirteen year old cousin. This was the era of mindless tripe like Pat Boone. If anything the Beatles saved rock and roll, while on the other side of the Atlantic the Beach Boys were rescuing pop from the dull insignificance that had overwhelmed it.

The Beatles opened the door for the British invasion, or more properly kicked it open. Guys like Nick Mason of Pink Floyd give full credit for their accomplishments to the Beatles crossing the Atlantic (and beyond, three brothers with the last name Gibb credit the Beatles' Australian tour with giving them the direction they needed). And it spread from there, there are all kinds of American and Canadian acts who credit the Beatles with inspiring them. A Hard Days Night probably inspired more kids to pick up guitars than any other film in history. Do you think the explosion of bands from 1964-65 onward was an accident?

Even in those bands like the Kinks and the Who, who were largely their peers and who could be somewhat dismissive of the Fab Four, it's hard to argue that their status in the world of rock and roll would have been considerably less without the Beatles paving the way.

And mouthing off about George Martin is ludicrous. Before him, only Buddy Holly had really began experimenting with dubbing and double-tracking. Martin had the monumental task of translating what the Beatles wanted songs to sound like into actual recordings, and in the process invented whole new studio processes. You wouldn't have bands like Led Zeppelin and Queen, both masters of 1970s studio technology, without George Martin and the EMI engineers paving the way.

The only people who I can think of whose careers were probably stunted by the Beatles were the Pat Boone types, nice safe guys who, if they sang any with a blues progression, did it with so much white bleach you had to be a musicologist to figure out what they were saying. When Lennon song the scorching vocals to Twist and Shout, that was where the clock was reset and rock and roll got it's second chance.

Edited October 12, 2010 by ToadBrother

[M.Dancer]

Lennon had the good fortune of being dead before his legend ever did. Had he lived today he would be seen as just as opportunistic and superficial as his buddy, Paul.

Now that he is dead, we can cheerfully overlook his drunken drug addled wife abusing past and focus instead on his beatification...

[BubberMiley]

Now that he is dead, we can cheerfully overlook his drunken drug addled wife abusing past and focus instead on his beatification...

Actually, I think it's just that some people are willing to accept that people are people, and other people are self-righteous twats.

[M.Dancer]

Actually, I think it's just that some people are willing to accept that people are people, and other people are self-righteous twats.

If that was the case, as with most people, his birthday and memory would not be a circus more that looks more like a saints day than the birthday of a celebrity. It's just that, like Kennedy, Monroe, and a host of others, death cleanses the past the way a baptism never could, and they become somewhat deified in the eyes of the gullible twits who pour adulation on their idols sanctified and sanitized lives.

[BubberMiley]

It's just that, like Kennedy, Monroe, and a host of others, death cleanses the past the way a baptism never could, and they become somewhat deified in the eyes of the gullible twits who pour adulation on their idols sanctified and sanitized lives.

Kennedy's and Monroe's lives have been sanitized since they died?

All I know about them is the sex and the sex.

[M.Dancer]

Kennedy's and Monroe's lives have been sanitized since they died?

All I know about them is the sex and the sex.

Yet Kennedy still ranks in public opinion as one of the greatest presidents...

[BubberMiley]

Yet Kennedy still ranks in public opinion as one of the greatest presidents...

As opposed to the rest of the...uh...dead ones?

[M.Dancer]

As opposed to the rest of the...uh...dead ones?

no...Clinton is still kicking...

[BubberMiley]

I don't think JFK is the best example of someone whose life has been sanctified since their death. I'll help you out: try Reagan. No one talks about the contras, or how he arranged to have the Iranian hostages kept prisoner until after the election, or his alliance with bin Laden at all anymore. It's all just morning in America, all the time.

[M.Dancer]

I don't think JFK is the best example of someone whose life has been sanctified since their death. I'll help you out: try Reagan. No one talks about the contras, or how he arranged to have the Iranian hostages kept prisoner until after the election, or his alliance with bin Laden at all anymore. It's all just morning in America, all the time.

There's good reason why few talk about Reagans alliance with Bin Laden. Most aren't idiotic kooks.

As far as the Contras...fight fire with fire....is there a marxist dictatorship in Nicarauga anymore? Are the Mesquito indians being slaughtered in the name of revolution?

But give a dead President credit, I mean, if a man not yet elected can arrange a deal with a nation he is about to smack down and turn smacking dowm Iran into state policy, well, he's the man.

[DogOnPorch]

Even with a bullet in him, Ronnie told the best jokes for a President.

Edited October 13, 2010 by DogOnPorch

[bloodyminded]

There's good reason why few talk about Reagans alliance with Bin Laden. Most aren't idiotic kooks.

As far as the Contras...fight fire with fire....is there a marxist dictatorship in Nicarauga anymore? Are the Mesquito indians being slaughtered in the name of revolution?

The contras slaughtered a lot more innocent people than the Sandanistas did.

Of course--as you well know--the contras were a terrorist militia.

And of course, as you say, you support this.

And of course--as we now all can see--you are not opposed to terrorism, in principle.

We also can see that your derision of hagiography and worship of public figures ends rather abruptly with Reagan.

But give a dead President credit, I mean, if a man not yet elected can arrange a deal with a nation he is about to smack down and turn smacking dowm Iran into state policy, well, he's the man.

Dewy-eyed servility. Cringe-worthy.

[BubberMiley]

There's good reason why few talk about Reagans alliance with Bin Laden. Most aren't idiotic kooks.

So when people deify someone you don't like, they're "gullible twits who pour adulation on their idols' sanctified and sanitized lives." But when you deify someone, it's okay, and those who don't are "idiotic kooks". I get it.

[M.Dancer]

So when people deify someone you don't like, they're "gullible twits who pour adulation on their idols' sanctified and sanitized lives." But when you deify someone, it's okay, and those who don't are "idiotic kooks". I get it.

Care to show where I have deifed anyone? No, you can't...back to the tinfoil mine wit ya...

[bloodyminded]

Care to show where I have deifed anyone? No, you can't...back to the tinfoil mine wit ya...

"He's the man," you said...the terrorist-supporter, that is.

[Oleg Bach]

It was a chain of circumstances and unresolved emotional issues that lead Lennon to his death..If he was not such a mother f**ker..following his surrogate mummy from Japan around New York he would never have been in the wrong place at the wrong time..It was his utter insecurity and fixation on a mummy figure that got him killed - If he behaved like a MAN - he would be alive today.