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Remembering John


FlaSoxxJim

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It's been 25 years.

 

John Lennon was shot dead outside the Dakota 25 years ago tomorrow. I was in 8th grade, and I remember it as vividly as if it was last week. I was just getting o bed late when the news came on the TV that he had been shot. My parents let me stay up and listen to the reports for a while but I fell asleep despite myself some time later to wake up a couple hours later to the news that John was dead.

 

Growing up Catholic the date of December 8th had always been a holy day (Feast of the Immaculate Conception), but it forever took on a different, darker meaning mor me in 1980.

 

A week or so afterward, Yoko had asked all of John's fans and admirers to observe 10 minutes of silence on a Saturday afternoon. I remember being at a movie with a friend (the very crappy Get Smart "Nude Bomb" movie), and leaving the theater to walk outside and participate in teh observance. There were two or three others who were doing the same thing and it was really an emotional moment.

 

There is a newly released Rolling Stone interview from 1970 with John, reviewed here and available as a podcast at the bottom of the page. The whole interview was supposedly 7 hours long, and though the podcast says 'complete inerview' I don't yet know if it's teh whol seven hours. I'll download it and listen to it over the nxt few days.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Entertainment/story?id=1372831

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QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Dec 7, 2005 -> 09:02 AM)
You beat me to it Jim, going a day early on me and all.  I had it all planned out.  The thread title was going to imagine, and the post was going to be blank...  I figured the rest would be easy.

 

Sorry. And you are much more poetic than I am. I found the interview on ABC News today and wanted to share it but felt the need to preface it.

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I was just thinking the anniversary was coming up, I can't remember the exact day. It was all a bit numbing as I recall. I was in college, working late at a mall, when the news came on. Later, I remember picking up Double Fantasy and listening extra close and wishing I could skip over the Yoko content. Years later I came to appreciate her contribution to the album. Yes, it was on vinyl.

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QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Dec 7, 2005 -> 09:05 AM)
Sorry.  And you are much more poetic than I am.  I found the interview on ABC News today and wanted to share it but felt the need to preface it.

I agree that the Yoko material grew on me and came to mean as much to me on the album as John's songs. Rex (Kickass) has noted here before the influence of those Yoko songs to other new wave artists.

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QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Dec 7, 2005 -> 08:02 AM)
You beat me to it Jim, going a day early on me and all.  I had it all planned out.  The thread title was going to imagine, and the post was going to be blank...  I figured the rest would be easy.

 

Musically I like Imagine, the message? Meh. I like Kevin Mathew's version of the lyrics more.

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QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Dec 7, 2005 -> 09:05 AM)
Sorry.  And you are much more poetic than I am.  I found the interview on ABC News today and wanted to share it but felt the need to preface it.

 

Not a problem. I was only 6, 4 days away from 7, but remember it as vividly as you do. That's the only time I ever remember seeing my dad cry. Once they explained to me who it was and in kids terms what had happened, I remember feelng a void, even at that age. My favorite thing to do at that age was for dad to throw on Beatles albums and for me to Sit N Spin myself to exhaustion. It blew my 6 year old mind to think that he was gone for good. I couldn't imagine at 6 why anyone would want to do that to him. Now at 5 days short of 32, I still can't imagine why.

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QUOTE(Texsox @ Dec 7, 2005 -> 09:08 AM)
Musically I like Imagine, the message? Meh. I like Kevin Mathew's version of the lyrics more.

I think the message is a great one. Politics and war, religion, and material greed are at the root of so many of humanity's problems, John says think where we'd all be if we could get past all that.

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Whenever I hear the talk about John Lennon on the date of his passing, I can't help but think of the song by The Meatmen called "1 Down 3 To Go" and just chuckle at it's over the top rudeness. I miss the sensitivity of early 80's Punk.

 

As for John, great songwriter. Obviously his death is still a massive loss in music. I remember when I heard the news, I was sitting in my Dad's chair next to the radio dial, and I was listening to The Loop. I wasn't a Beatles fan at that point, so it really didn't hit me that hard. I started life as an Elvis/Beatles fan, but wandered away from them. I then became a fan in my teens, then stopped being a fan in my teens and haven't returned.

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QUOTE(tonyho7476 @ Dec 7, 2005 -> 08:25 AM)
John, it would be amazing to see what things you would be up to today.  Your music transcends generations and your messages are inspiring.

 

Its just too bad you had to meet Yoko.  :puke

 

if john were alive today I think he would be scratching at the top of his casket... tryin to get out... :P

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QUOTE(SoCalSouthSider59 @ Dec 7, 2005 -> 10:34 AM)
I remember.......... :crying

 

 

How many of you remember watching the Monday Night Football game on Dec. 8th, 1980, when Howard Cosell made the announcement that John had been shot and killed?

 

 

I didn't find out until the following morning. I had driven my wife to school and flipped on the car radio on the way home. "Imagine" was playing and when it was over they said John Lennon was dead. I was in shock and went home and cried.

We were really poor at the time but my wife bought me the Double Fantasy album for Christmas and that got me :crying all over again.

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I was only 4 years old when this tragedy happened. So I don't remember what happened the day it happened. I do know the impact it has had on music. I didn't discover the Beatles until later in life, so it makes me wonder what other great music he may have put out if he were alive today.

 

RIP, John.

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As much as I love John Lennon and his music, I can not help but be curious what he would be like in 2005. What would be his opinion about the war in Iraq? Negative I suspect. ... One good aspect of him dieing when he did is he is not making music that most people do not care about like the Paul McCartney and Rolling Stones. It is so sad to see some of the old time rockers that do not know when to hang it up. It was never a problem for John. I would sooner have one more Lennon album that another Paul McCartney cd. Unfortuntely, that opportunity was stolen from this world.

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QUOTE(Greg The Bull Luzinski @ Dec 7, 2005 -> 07:19 PM)
As much as I love John Lennon and his music, I can not help but be curious what he would be like in 2005.  What would be his opinion  about the war in Iraq?  Negative I suspect. ... One good aspect of him dieing when he did is he is not making music that most people do not care about like the Paul McCartney and Rolling Stones.  It is so sad to see some of the old time rockers that do not know when to hang it up.  It was never a problem for John.  I would sooner have one more Lennon album that another Paul McCartney cd.  Unfortuntely, that opportunity was stolen from this world.

I think your general dislike for late-era McCartney stuff is warranted, in comparison to his best work certainly. But please try to get a chance to listen to the new release with an open mind (Chaos and Creation in the Backyard). 2/3 of the tracks are really strong, and even though a couple are forgetable none of them suck.

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