justnick's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Funny You Should Ask Since I apparently respond well to positive reinforcement (hi, mom), here is the conversation I had about John Lennon, as best I can remember. See if you can guess which one is me! (hint: it will probably be the abrasive one) Interior of a crowded bar. "Imagine" by John Lennon comes on the Jukebox. "Oh Lord. This song." "What's wrong with this song?" "Other than being overrated and overplayed, nothing." "You can't be serious." "It shouldn't be called 'imagine,' it should be called 'generic,' or 'boring.'" "What are you talking about? It's a great message and a great song! What bands do you like, maybe I can shit all over them." "I'm not saying I don't like the Beatles. I do! It's just that everyone talks about this song like John Lennon invented the fucking peace movement. I got news for you: lots of people were doing it way before him with better songs." "Like who?" "Every folk singer on Earth!" "But Lennon did it in the mainstream, no one listens to folk." "Tell that to Bob Dylan." "There's room for both. This is a great song." "It's dull and unimaginative and you know it." "It's not about the tune, it's about the message." "That's an excuse! The Beatles perfectly capable of delivering the melody AND the message. Lennon may have been the poet, but when it comes to writing a solid hook, McCartney was the talented one. There, I said it." "Get away from my bar. Seriously. Don't even talk to me." "It's true, though! The Beatles were greater than the sum of their parts. McCartney wanted to write pop, Lennon wanted to experiment. John made Paul push himself, and Paul kept John grounded in the land of melody." "You aren't supposed to listen to John's solo stuff the same way." "What way? The fame, the drugs, and the Yokotitis all made John start believing his own hype and take himself way too seriously. He was a brilliant musician, of course, and I'm not trying to diminish his contributions to modern music, honestly. But the man was not a modern day prophet, and I hate the revisionist attitude his cult has. Like everything the man did was utter brilliance. He wasn't perfect, just ask his first wife and child who he abandoned for Yoko." "And Paul McCartney was?" "Hardly. Trust me, I wouldn't be saying anything nicer if there was a Wings album on." "Well have you ever thought that maybe John just didn't care what anybody thought about his music?" "The hell he didn't! He was on record complaining that more people covered Paul's music than his. He wanted to be loved for his music just as much as anyone. But by the end, Yoko had him taking himself so seriously as an 'artist' that he couldn't reduce himself to throwing a hook or two in to his solo stuff." "Oh, come on." "OK, I'm exaggerating for effect, but you know what I mean." "Well he didn't get a chance to come into his own as a solo artist. Who knows what he would have done if he hadn't gotten killed. Maybe the best was yet to come!" "That much, we can both agree on. And for the record, I really do like John Lennon. I'm just not drinking the kool-Aid, that's all." "Cult jokes. Nice." ...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand SCENE! Direct your hate mail to my attorneys. 1:41 a.m. - 2009-03-24 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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