I remember this day 30 years ago, and it still is hard to believe what happened to John Lennon. The following night I went to my hangout bar (drinking age was…er…13 in AZ at the time), and it was packed. I started talking about it with some people I knew - you really need to talk with people at times like that - and some asshole I’d never seen before (nor since) viciously spouted that Lennon was a hypocrite, as though he deserved to be gunned down. That shut me up right away, which isn’t easy to do…it was such a cruel, thoughtless and unexpected thing to hear. It pisses me off that that still accompanies and invades my thoughts of that time. For you younger folks this is probably somewhat meaningless, but it was a horrible, sickening, heartbreaking, terrifying event for most everyone…except maybe for that asshole and for Mark David Chapman.
No one affected the world like the Beatles did, and Lennon stood apart even from that illustrious group. He and Yoko were loud, shameless, relentless voices for peace, despite onslaught after onslaught of criticism - and Nixon’s attempts to deport Lennon , while no one believed him when he said the FBI were following him. They were. Activism was a part of their fiber, not something they did “on the side” like it is with so many wealthy celebrities. And of course, there is the magnificence of that unique and timeless music….Showing posts tagged Lennon
Thirty years ago today—on December 8, 1980—John Lennon was shot to death by a deranged fan outside of the Dakota, an apartment building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Three days before his death, Lennon spent nine hours talking with Rolling Stone for a planned cover story. Now, 30 years later, this extraordinary interview is being presented for the first time in the new issue of the magazine, on newsstands Friday.
Check out our web-exclusive companion coverage to the piece, including audio clips from the interview, a gallery of Lennon’s years in New York with Yoko Ono, other stories from our archives and more at RollingStone.com.
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I always was a rebel…but on the other hand, I wanted to be loved and accepted…and not just be a loudmouth, lunatic, poet, musician. But I cannot be what I am not.
Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
Yoko Ono was on Fallon tonight, with Plastic Ono Band. Sean Lennon on guitar in the band. Yoko getting her freak on, worked up over the D train. Video should be available by tomorrow…I’ll edit to include link - I was just too excited to wait to post.
Yoko’s music isn’t often my cup of tea, but she’s always been fearless, and her music was way ahead of it’s time, and that’s something to respect. And the 1970 Plastic Ono Band album is one of my all-time favorites. And come on - for Beatles freaks like me, this is pretty frigging cool! Sean has a lot of his father’s tics and idiosyncrasies.
*giddy*
