Sometime in New York City
Twenty-five years ago today, John Lennon was murdered in front of his home.
When I heard the news, in a telephone call from my brother, I seem to remember reacting more or less the way Paul McCartney did; I said something like "That's a bummer." Hardly seems sufficient.
Mind you, at that time, Lennon wasn't such a big deal anymore. His last album, "Double Fantasy", was about three weeks old, and most of the people I knew at the time thought it was average at best, especially considering that half of it consisted of Yoko Ono songs. And despite what her husband said about her, and despite her abilities in other artistic and business endeavors, she can't sing.
Nevertheless, when he died, an enormous number of people seemed to remember what he once meant to them, and his reputation has skyrocketed since.
People now remember not only his music, including the excellences of "Double Fantasy," but his willingness to share himself and his life with those who loved him and his absolute refusal to say anything but what was true, as near as he could manage it. He had talent and guts, he worked ceaselessly at digging himself out of the pit his anger had thrown him into, and he wanted us all to live in peace.
In other new, today Congress extended tax cuts for the rich and extraordinary powers for the FBI to spy on Americans, the President still thinks we can win the Iraq war, the world continues to pay attention to lunatics when it comes to Middle East policy, and America's top diplomat tap-dances so fast around questions about torturing terror suspects that she digs herself and the whole country into a very deep hole.
Benshlomo says, Lennon, thou shouldst be living at this hour.
When I heard the news, in a telephone call from my brother, I seem to remember reacting more or less the way Paul McCartney did; I said something like "That's a bummer." Hardly seems sufficient.
Mind you, at that time, Lennon wasn't such a big deal anymore. His last album, "Double Fantasy", was about three weeks old, and most of the people I knew at the time thought it was average at best, especially considering that half of it consisted of Yoko Ono songs. And despite what her husband said about her, and despite her abilities in other artistic and business endeavors, she can't sing.
Nevertheless, when he died, an enormous number of people seemed to remember what he once meant to them, and his reputation has skyrocketed since.
People now remember not only his music, including the excellences of "Double Fantasy," but his willingness to share himself and his life with those who loved him and his absolute refusal to say anything but what was true, as near as he could manage it. He had talent and guts, he worked ceaselessly at digging himself out of the pit his anger had thrown him into, and he wanted us all to live in peace.
In other new, today Congress extended tax cuts for the rich and extraordinary powers for the FBI to spy on Americans, the President still thinks we can win the Iraq war, the world continues to pay attention to lunatics when it comes to Middle East policy, and America's top diplomat tap-dances so fast around questions about torturing terror suspects that she digs herself and the whole country into a very deep hole.
Benshlomo says, Lennon, thou shouldst be living at this hour.
posted by benshlomo at 2:29 PM
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