Today is the anniversary of the birth of John Lennon,
arguably one of the most complex men who ever lived, although he himself would
no doubt have denied that. He was a bully, an egotistical jerk, easily led,
politically naive and prone to poor choices all around. But he was also a work
in progress every step of the way. As a youth, he was able to take out some of
his aggressions over being deserted by his mother in art and music--the music
of youthful rebellion, rock 'n' roll. Little did he realize that in time he
personally would make rock 'n' roll so much more than that.
But he did. John's Quarrymen ended up as The Beatles and
through a series of now meticulously documented events, The Beatles ended up as
THE biggest pop culture phenomenon of the 1960's, a decade that wasn't exactly
short on pop culture phenomena.
He hurt a lot of people over the years, himself included, as
he struggled, sometimes very publicly, to come to terms with his own pain and inner
demons. His safest outlet was always his music and he learned to wield that like the
master he was.
By the time of his killing in 1980, he had literally changed the world
and he had changed himself along the way. If you read or listen to the
interviews he gave leading up to his last moments, the first thing that jumps
out at you is growth. John Lennon had come a long, long way in just two decades and
was clearly poised to make even more progress. It was a good time for him. Or
it should have been.
It seems like any time a musician dies young, they're hailed
as a genius. More often than not, they weren't even close. Listen again to the
best of John's music with and beyond The Beatles. It's filled with anguish,
hope, sadness, love, beauty, filth joy and dreams. It's all there. His life. Our lives. And
somehow, no matter how bad things got, he made it all sound so wonderful.
Him and Paul McCartney wrote a few good songs, but if it hadn't been for producer George Martin, a lot of them would have had a less commercially attractive sound. It's strange that, in death, Lennon has achieved a kind of immortality. I wonder if he'd be as 'big' now if he were still alive?
ReplyDeleteThanks for this tribute.
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