New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com
Imagining legacy of enigmatic Beatle star
Thursday, December 8th, 2005
John Lennon tried on all sorts of personalities during the 40 years of his life, so it's no surprise we're still sorting them out 25 years after his death.
It was 25 years ago tonight - an unusually mild December New York evening during which the biggest event was expected to be the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree - that Lennon was shot to death as he entered the Dakota.
He was a fascinating figure then. He remains so. But are we any closer to figuring out what to make of him, or his music?
With the passage of time and the wash of sorrow over his murder, "Some people see Lennon today as St. John," says WFUV and Sirius Satellite Radio deejay Vin Scelsa. "I'm not sure he'd be pleased by that."
On the other hand, the years immediately before and after his death often saw him portrayed at the opposite extreme: as a vain, self-absorbed and yet depressed man who had lost his musical muse and made up a fairy tale about being a househusband to his and Yoko Ono's son, Sean.
"Most of the scandals have disappeared," says Ken Michaels, who hosts the Beatles show "Every Little Thing" on XM Satellite Radio.
"John was as close as any celebrity could come to being an open book. There's almost nothing you can say about him that he didn't say about himself. When [his first wife] Cynthia writes a book saying he could be violent, we already knew that."
Before the opening of the musical "Lennon" on Broadway earlier this year, Ono said the goal of the show was to use his solo music to explore his life.
"He wasn't an angel," she said. "He had demons, and he tried to fight them."
"Lennon" folded quickly, through no fault of the music. Most reviewers suggested the premise was just too ambitious.
What may have changed from the early 1980s, when the late Albert Goldman was writing his sneering biography of Lennon, is that most discussions of Lennon today turn back to his music - what he made and what he never had the chance to make.
"There would have been more," says Meg Griffin, a longtime New York deejay now on Sirius. "And that we never got to hear it is a tragedy, because we needed John Lennon's truth through the Reagan years."
In some ways, the music world has not yet come to a consensus on Lennon's solo career.
"A lot of the solo sides are great," says Michaels. "But almost no one plays them, so most listeners only know the two or three, like 'Imagine,' that are in rotation at classic-rock stations. It's frustrating."
Joe Raiola, who, along with the Actors Theatre Workshop, is presenting the 25th annual Lennon Tribute tomorrow and Saturday nights at Lincoln Center's Clark Studio Theater, says he finds fans appreciate the whole range, as long as it's presented in Lennon's spirit.
"They don't want a kiss-a-- evening," he says. "John was a complex man."
This fall, Dolly Parton filmed a video in Central Park for a new version of "Imagine," whose "Imagine ... no religion" lyric would seem to make it an unlikely Red State anthem.
Parton isn't simply ignoring that line, a technique some singers use when they treat "This Land Is Your Land" as an uncritical ode to America.
She says she thinks Lennon's real meaning is a greater truth: "If we could just stop pointing fingers as to who's not going to heaven, who's definitely going to hell, whose religion is better than whose ... we could at least know a little heaven on Earth. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could love each other, share the world and live in peace?"
The larger, unanswerable question about John Lennon, of course, is whether the man himself, who would have turned 65 two months ago, would have shed a few more of his younger selves as time went on.
Bill King, editor of the respected magazine Beatlefan, for one, believes that, however Lennon evolved, he would have held to certain basic values.
"I think he'd be pretty appalled by the Patriot Act mentality today," says King. "And I'm sure he would be opposing the current war.
"I figure if he were alive today, he'd be just as controversial."
~ one of the things i loved most about John was that he was flawed (aren't we all?) & he was the first to admit it. i think he did a lot of good in this world though, & he deserved better than what he got.![tmbgtalk/-ohwell.gif](http://1.<a href="http://www.forumer.com">forumer</a>.com/html/emoticons/tmbgtalk/-ohwell.gif)
i feel like the whole world was robbed. it's not fair. he himself would have told you that life isn't far. that doesn't help much though. i will miss him till the day i die. ![tmbgtalk/+sad2.gif](http://1.<a href="http://www.forumer.com">forumer</a>.com/html/emoticons/tmbgtalk/+sad2.gif)
ps... if you dislike him (or Yoko) please keep it to yourself on here. i honestly don't think i could handle it. i feel sad enough as it is.
RIP John.![tmbgtalk/engel5.gif](http://1.<a href="http://www.forumer.com">forumer</a>.com/html/emoticons/tmbgtalk/engel5.gif)
Imagine
Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
In My Life
There are places I'll remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends, I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I've loved them all
But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I'll love you more
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I'll love you more
Imagining legacy of enigmatic Beatle star
Thursday, December 8th, 2005
John Lennon tried on all sorts of personalities during the 40 years of his life, so it's no surprise we're still sorting them out 25 years after his death.
It was 25 years ago tonight - an unusually mild December New York evening during which the biggest event was expected to be the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree - that Lennon was shot to death as he entered the Dakota.
He was a fascinating figure then. He remains so. But are we any closer to figuring out what to make of him, or his music?
With the passage of time and the wash of sorrow over his murder, "Some people see Lennon today as St. John," says WFUV and Sirius Satellite Radio deejay Vin Scelsa. "I'm not sure he'd be pleased by that."
On the other hand, the years immediately before and after his death often saw him portrayed at the opposite extreme: as a vain, self-absorbed and yet depressed man who had lost his musical muse and made up a fairy tale about being a househusband to his and Yoko Ono's son, Sean.
"Most of the scandals have disappeared," says Ken Michaels, who hosts the Beatles show "Every Little Thing" on XM Satellite Radio.
"John was as close as any celebrity could come to being an open book. There's almost nothing you can say about him that he didn't say about himself. When [his first wife] Cynthia writes a book saying he could be violent, we already knew that."
Before the opening of the musical "Lennon" on Broadway earlier this year, Ono said the goal of the show was to use his solo music to explore his life.
"He wasn't an angel," she said. "He had demons, and he tried to fight them."
"Lennon" folded quickly, through no fault of the music. Most reviewers suggested the premise was just too ambitious.
What may have changed from the early 1980s, when the late Albert Goldman was writing his sneering biography of Lennon, is that most discussions of Lennon today turn back to his music - what he made and what he never had the chance to make.
"There would have been more," says Meg Griffin, a longtime New York deejay now on Sirius. "And that we never got to hear it is a tragedy, because we needed John Lennon's truth through the Reagan years."
In some ways, the music world has not yet come to a consensus on Lennon's solo career.
"A lot of the solo sides are great," says Michaels. "But almost no one plays them, so most listeners only know the two or three, like 'Imagine,' that are in rotation at classic-rock stations. It's frustrating."
Joe Raiola, who, along with the Actors Theatre Workshop, is presenting the 25th annual Lennon Tribute tomorrow and Saturday nights at Lincoln Center's Clark Studio Theater, says he finds fans appreciate the whole range, as long as it's presented in Lennon's spirit.
"They don't want a kiss-a-- evening," he says. "John was a complex man."
This fall, Dolly Parton filmed a video in Central Park for a new version of "Imagine," whose "Imagine ... no religion" lyric would seem to make it an unlikely Red State anthem.
Parton isn't simply ignoring that line, a technique some singers use when they treat "This Land Is Your Land" as an uncritical ode to America.
She says she thinks Lennon's real meaning is a greater truth: "If we could just stop pointing fingers as to who's not going to heaven, who's definitely going to hell, whose religion is better than whose ... we could at least know a little heaven on Earth. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could love each other, share the world and live in peace?"
The larger, unanswerable question about John Lennon, of course, is whether the man himself, who would have turned 65 two months ago, would have shed a few more of his younger selves as time went on.
Bill King, editor of the respected magazine Beatlefan, for one, believes that, however Lennon evolved, he would have held to certain basic values.
"I think he'd be pretty appalled by the Patriot Act mentality today," says King. "And I'm sure he would be opposing the current war.
"I figure if he were alive today, he'd be just as controversial."
~ one of the things i loved most about John was that he was flawed (aren't we all?) & he was the first to admit it. i think he did a lot of good in this world though, & he deserved better than what he got.
i feel like the whole world was robbed. it's not fair. he himself would have told you that life isn't far. that doesn't help much though. i will miss him till the day i die. ps... if you dislike him (or Yoko) please keep it to yourself on here. i honestly don't think i could handle it. i feel sad enough as it is.
RIP John.
Imagine
Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
In My Life
There are places I'll remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends, I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I've loved them all
But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I'll love you more
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I'll love you more
![tmbgtalk/-orangehat.gif](http://1.<a href="http://www.forumer.com">forumer</a>.com/html/emoticons/tmbgtalk/-orangehat.gif)
![tmbgtalk/+daz.gif](http://1.<a href="http://www.forumer.com">forumer</a>.com/html/emoticons/tmbgtalk/+daz.gif)
![tmbgtalk/Angel4.gif](http://1.<a href="http://www.forumer.com">forumer</a>.com/html/emoticons/tmbgtalk/Angel4.gif)
![tmbgtalk/yes.gif](http://1.<a href="http://www.forumer.com">forumer</a>.com/html/emoticons/tmbgtalk/yes.gif)
![tmbgtalk/icon2.gif](http://1.<a href="http://www.forumer.com">forumer</a>.com/html/emoticons/tmbgtalk/icon2.gif)
I'm curious as to how he would've felt about "Do They Know It's Christmas", "We Are The World", the Live Aid concerts, and other charity projects that were big in the '80s... As for the '90s, I remember them being kind of an apolitical time for music, but I'm sure John still would've found some good causes to fight for and sing about. ![tmbgtalk/-th-u.gif](http://1.<a href="http://www.forumer.com">forumer</a>.com/html/emoticons/tmbgtalk/-th-u.gif)
![wub.gif](http://1.<a href="http://www.forumer.com">forumer</a>.com/html/emoticons/wub.gif)
![tmbgtalk/-brick.gif](http://1.<a href="http://www.forumer.com">forumer</a>.com/html/emoticons/tmbgtalk/-brick.gif)
![tmbgtalk/-laugh.gif](http://1.<a href="http://www.forumer.com">forumer</a>.com/html/emoticons/tmbgtalk/-laugh.gif)
(no offense intended, it's just my opinion)![tmbgtalk/dunno.gif](http://1.<a href="http://www.forumer.com">forumer</a>.com/html/emoticons/tmbgtalk/dunno.gif)