mrAGC
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Joined: 8/15/2005
Msg: 51 | |
| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 11/17/2006 11:14:28 AM | Hi
yes. Lennon was the ultimate, my hero for many years, and so much written about him...but im gonna jump on this bandwagon thread and pay tribute to George Harrison..many call the "quiet Beatle", but brought in Clapton on the white album sessions and Billy Preston on the Get Back seesions when The Beatles were at all time low to try and get the band playing together again, and dont forget that George got all his friends together, (Ringo,Leon Russell, Dylan, Billy Preston, Clapton) to do the Concert For Bangaldesh, which in my mind was the forerunner to Live Aid, helping victims of famine, also founded Handmade films, which gave Monty Python the money when all the big companies refused to have anything to do with "Life of Brian", and he did give us some classic tunes...while my guitar gently weeps, something, all things must pass...and many more......lets hope he's jamming with John up in the beyond!!!!! | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 11/17/2006 11:48:02 AM | George was a very underrated but great musician. Robert Cray dedicated a song to him on one of his records that was very influenced by George's guitar style. the Title is "No One Special"...
Listen to it...
http://www.robertcray.com/audio.php?id=13 | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 11/18/2006 4:13:31 PM | How do I miss that man! The Beatles were such a huge influence in my life - first heard of them at 9/10 and it was almost a life-changing thing. This was music that spoke to me - was beautiful, danceable, fun, and at times, so serious and thoughtful. I think the combination of the edginess of Lennon mixed with the poppiness of McCartney made such a wonderful combination. Lennon was so much more out there and experimental than McCartney and the combination helped create such wonderful musical moments in history.
I cannot hear Imagine these days without a tear - to think I lived so near the man that killed him - his high school was a neighboring school of mine in Decatur. I still grow melancholy on 10/9 each year and it's so hard to believe he's been gone that long.
I also miss George - he was my fave Beatle and was such a wonderful talent. It was a shame he was overshadowed by the Lennon-McCartney team. His music hit home so well and he was such a wonderful man.
I never got to see them together and though I've seen McCartney and Starr perform, I would have loved to have been able to say I saw the Beatles. Theirs is a musical legacy that will stand the test of time, as it already has! | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 11/20/2006 11:18:39 AM | Never was a fan of him.
I respect his music.
If he was alive today?
Hmm...perhaps he would have had a show with Ozzy or Parris Hilton... | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 11/20/2006 5:24:56 PM | | I think that if John were still alive today, I"d bet he'd have something to say about those boybands and girl singers. I"m guessing he would have hated them seeing as how they didn't play their own intruments or wrote their own songs. | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 11/20/2006 6:28:20 PM | belladrama said:
So This is Christmas
I love that song ..definitely one of my all time favorites
Actual title is "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)". | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 12/5/2006 5:42:36 PM | Already, it will be 26 years ago this Friday when John Lennon was murdered.
Does anyone remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news? | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 12/5/2006 11:35:39 PM | | yes...I was a young kid riding in the back seat of my Dad's 1972 Volkswagen SuperBeetle....when the news confirming that he was indeed 'dead' came on over the air on that old AM radio. I remember it being shocking in a sense at thetime...because, tho still relatively young...I remembered hearing Elvis dying a few years earlier. Did all of the famous musicans die young? was going through my mind. | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 12/6/2006 3:51:30 AM | Already, it will be 26 years ago this Friday when John Lennon was murdered.
wow 26 yrs.. already?.. unreal!.. only seems like yesterday when i found out..
Does anyone remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news?
i remember i was at home.. my older brother was down in the bsmt when i went down there.. thats when i got 'the low down' (think i was about 13 when i first learnt of john lennon & the beatles) on john lennon & the beatles.. my brother had all of lennon`s albums (yes albums!.. lol) scattered all over the bsmt along w/candles lit & drawings my older brother had drawn of john..
its just so hard 2 believe that its already 26 yrs tho!.. i often have wonder what he would be singing nowadays.. if his style would`ve changed.. or if it would`ve stayed the same..  | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 12/6/2006 4:31:25 AM | | 100 years from now, when college students in Music Appreciation Class open their textbooks to 20th century music, there on the opening page, will be a picture of the Beatles. | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 12/6/2006 10:02:22 AM | | The beatles are the most diversified group ever. I can not think of any other group that has had such different sounds. And to those who claim that Yoko was the death of the beatles.. please, grow up. They had to end eventually. It was time for them to part their own ways. | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 12/6/2006 9:21:12 PM | | When I was a kid Paul McCartney was my favorite. When I got older some time after John Lennon had been killed I listened to his music and fell in love with it's sarcastic edge (How do you sleep?) and it's honesty-definitely more depth than McCarteny's music overall. Then I learned more about him and his movement for peace and had wished I'd been more aware of him when he was alive. | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 12/7/2006 6:52:08 PM | I also remember John Lennon saying " We are more popular than Jesus Christ". (assuming this was John Lennon)
I think that was funny and possibly true at the time ;)
(sorry, didn't read all the posts in here) | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 12/7/2006 9:53:01 PM | 26 years ago i was a jr in high school.
with everything going on in the world right now, i wouldn't put it passed john turning over in his grave. i remember listening to the beatles and led zepplin living on a small side street in philly. up until 4 yrs ago i had every beatles album out. about 10 yrs ago, i was offered $500.00 for the red/blue album and i turned it down. i never knew that it was going to be destroyed in a friend's basement along with everything else i owned.
i personally think that the government should start listening to john lennons words and memorizing them instead of remembering how to start shit with other countries. | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 12/8/2006 2:48:28 PM | | 26 years ago, I was a college student studying for exams...i had the radio on and heard john lennon had been shot...i stopped what i was doing and started to cry...i turned on the tv and just could not believe it...cut down in the prime of his life, his wife and child never to grow old with him...to look at his eternally youthful face of 40 now makes me feels very strange....i often wonder this time of year what would have happened if john had not been murdered..what songs would he have created?...what direction would his anti war antivism have gone?...As I listen to the working class hero collection, Im haunted by the fact that his songs are even more relevant today than they were 26 yrs ago...listen to the words of imagine..i think lennon would have been deeply saddened and angered by the killing thats going on in Iraq as well as the greed and materialism that especially runs rampant in the USA...He would have been a courageous, outspoken critic, encouraging others to speak from their hearts as well as their minds...He would have channeled his frustration and anger into perhaps another great wave of songwriting genuis...I sure do miss him...We need his wisdom now more than ever...the challenge is to keep his vision alive forever..Bless you and thank you, John.. | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 12/8/2006 3:14:40 PM | George was always my favourite, but ironically, it's John Lennon who always finds a place on my walls...at home or at the office.
The man was the best proponent for peace in my time. He believed in settling differences with respect and love. How can anyone not be respectful of that?
Musically, I've been listening to the Beatles a lot lately.. "Baby you're a rich man", too freakin' cool. Sgt. Pepper, Magical Mystery Tour rocks, as well as Revolver.
In the day when Pat Boone and such ruled the air waves, the Beatles were an entire shift in music. Thank God.
Great thread...hi Toon, Justin.
Cheers, Raven | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 12/8/2006 3:28:36 PM | John was a spent force -- musically speaking -- by the time he and Yoko released Double Fantasy. Lennon fans and Beatles fans, myself included, really wanted that to be a great release, but if we are honest with ourselves we know there was a reason it was not released by a major label. It was a turkey, and sales were dismal until Lennon was killed. Maybe he did have some more great music left in him, but we'll never know will we.
As for what Lennon would think about the war in Iraq, who knows? And who cares? Many of Lennon's lyrics deal with living in the "now" and he himself is not in the "now."
As for George Harrison, he was a lousy singer with a weak, flat voice and his guitar playing, especially on many of the early recordings, is simply embarassing. The "Let it Be" movie and outtakes show just how bad he really was. But the thing is, we WANT him to be great in our memories because he was the underdog and everyone cheers for the underdog. Don't get me wrong, he contributed some classic songs to The Beatle's Repetoire, and he went on to have a reasonably successful solo career. But if The Beatles had one weakness, it was George’s guitar playing. | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 12/8/2006 4:00:12 PM |
Lennon fans and Beatles fans, myself included, really wanted that to be a great release, but if we are honest with ourselves we know there was a reason it was not released by a major label. It was a turkey, and sales were dismal until Lennon was killed. Maybe he did have some more great music left in him, but we'll never know will we.
Really ?
I thought that Lennon's work on Double Fantasy was a tour de force. Let's see his contributions on that original album.
"(Just Like) Starting Over"
"Cleanup Time"
"I'm Losing You"
"Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)"
"Watching the Wheels"
"Woman"
"Dear Yoko"
Not too shabby, and certainly most of those have stood the test of time far better than his contemporaries. They certainly stand up to the rest of his work.Lyrically and musically, they are in no way inferior products.
I also disagree with your perception of Harrison as a guitar player, as many others would. His unique abilities, especially on slide (few guitarists have that distinctive a slide sound) proved a strong addition to the Beatles work. That early playing, with it's rockabilly Chet Atkins roots ("All My Loving", etc) helped make the Beatles songs the hits they were. He was never a flashy guitar player, but he never wanted to be one either. His riffs supported the songs, and any good lead guitarist should be actively pursuing that goal.
In a group that already had two strong personalities, there wasn't enough room for another. As a song writer, he was capable of some strong work. "Something" is still one of those great rock moments, as is "Here Comes the Sun".
What made the Beatles what they were was the combination of all those factors, their unique personalities, the times, and George Martin's studio talents. | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 12/8/2006 4:14:32 PM | Montreal Guy, Excellent post! I totally agree!
I remember the night of December 8, 1980. I was listening to music through my headphones when "Just Like Starting Over" came on. I hadn't given it much of a listen until then, but when I did, thought it was pretty darned good. I had heard a rumor that John was planning a concert tour and thought it would be great to get tickets to take the woman I was dating at the time. After I turned my stereo off, I turned the TV on to Monday Night Football. That's when Howard Cosell exclaimed that John Lennon had just been shot and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. I will never forget hearing his voice say those words.
George Harrison was an excellent guitar player!!! He was someone who understood what actually "playing" the instrument was. Granted, he was never a flashy player like some of the later 60's icons were, but his riffs fit right into the Beatles songs. Like with his song writing, he never got the respect as a guitar player that he should. And his slide playing has his signature all over it. When you hear George's slide work, you know it's his!
The first concert I ever saw was George Harrison. | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 12/8/2006 6:52:22 PM | | Montreal guy, I agree...Double Fantasy was brilliant and has stood the test of time...The lyrics are poignant, heartful and witty....Not too many other albums made in 1980 that you can say that about, or that people even remember....Most "artists" today dont even write their own lyrics, they are not songwriters...John, when he wanted to be, was a master at writing painful, dark, personal lyrics...balanced by McCartney's lighter, more optimistic writing style, the combo was dynamic..and for that poster who said Lennon wasnt "now", I think you couldnt be more wrong...Lennon's song writing is just as comtemporary and meaningful now as in the 60/70s..his writing will always be timeless | |
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| John Lennon: Give peace a chance.
Posted: 12/12/2006 1:00:00 AM | (Coming out of forum retirement for my favorite thread....then hiberating again)
Double Fantasy is a remarkable achievement. I have many bootlegs of songs that Lennon tried to write from 1975-80 and truth be known, they were pretty bad.
Double Fantasy, however, was from the heart and he wrote what he knew about. His life, marriage and raising a beautiful boy.
Besides, in 1980, there wasn't much else to write about. Carter?.... the hostages?.... the hangover from Watergate, the War and lost dreams of utopian peace?
Nope, best to write about love, baking bread, and record the wife's big O in "Kiss, Kiss, Kiss"
Paul McCartney said that "Beautiful Boy" was his favorite.
"Starting Over" was heading up the charts. John was doing interviews again and there was a great interview in Playboy where he made a comment about every song he had written.
I was a teenager at the time. 17, I think. I was just getting into The Beatles. In fact, I was listening intently to The White Album (the vinyl was actually white) and I had hung the four posters included with the record on my locker door.
The day Lennon was shot, I was listening to his solo album that had Love, Working Class Hero, and a song that really hit home for me.... Mother.
I cried when I would listen to that song. I related to the pain in the lyrics....
"Mother, you had me, but I never had you....."
My own mother ran off when I was 8 and here was a guy singing my pain.
My younger brother burst into my room with a serious look on his face. "Your guy just got shot" I looked at him in bewilderment. "No, really, it's on the news!"
I didn't believe him.
But I got up and tuned in the radio... nothing, then a newscaster said that he had been shot. I held out hope that he would not die. After all, he was just shot. It didn't say he was dead.... until a few minutes later.
I didn't exactly cry. at 17, it wasn't like I had grown up listening to The Beatles. I had only just gotten my feet wet musically just a few short months earlier.
But I was certainly confused. Death and mortality waved it's bony finger from around the corner at me. Here was a guy I was listening to and learning from.... and he was gone.
To me, there is a richness to Double Fantasy. You can go back and give it many listens. You can't do that with many of his other solo albums. (But I love the first one)
As far as George Harrison, he must have had talent, his style was such an influence to so many people. Watch "Concert for George" and you will see that he was deeply appreciated for being George.
I like to think that both John and George are "Watching the Wheels" from high up above.
... but I would have liked more music. The 80's and 90's could have used it.
Merry Christmas.... War is over if you wants it.
Toon
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