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Oct 06, 2007, 01:43 AM
October 5, 2007
Graham Haworth: The influence of Lennon can be still be felt
John Lennon would've turned 67 years old on Oct. 9 if some crazed coward hadn't gunned him down in New York City in 1980. Something tells me he'd still be making headlines with both his music, his social activism and his literary skills, more so than any other pop star today. While Britney Spears runs around with no underwear, Lennon would be pulling the pants down on the Bush administration and the war in Iraq, amassing his already weighty FBI files in the process.
Lennon was really the last of his kind, an innovative artist who helped shape the sound of rock 'n' roll while transforming it into a viable art form. He used his soapbox to comment on the greatest issues of the day: Vietnam, religion, shady governments, drugs, meditation, peace. And all the while, he made music that touches each and every generation that comes along.
Where are these kinds of pop stars today? The only two I can think of are Bono and Eddie Vedder, and while their contributions to issues outside of music can't be understated, they don't live up to the legacy of Lennon. They owe their careers, in part, to Lennon's influence on songwriting, an influence that's still easily heard in bands today, including U2 and Pearl Jam. The Dixie Chicks get recognition for standing up to and speaking out against the government. In that process, they achieved at least one thing Lennon did — their actions prompted a good old-fashioned album-burning in many Southern states, much like what happened when Lennon said and was quoted out of context, incidentally "the Beatles are more popular than Jesus"
Musically, Lennon wasn't afraid, nor did he care about breaking the "rules" of music theory. For example, it's not technically right to switch from a major chord to its own minor chord — i.e. G major to G minor — but he did it all the time, because it sounds beautiful in the right context.
Lyrically, he went from "I Want To Hold Your Hand" to "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" in just three years. Out of his simple love songs grew epics like "A Day in the Life" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" He employed dream-like imagery in his lyrics, and unlike Paul McCartney — who often created characters in his songs — Lennon preferred to look inward and write about himself.
Socially, he wasn't afraid to keep his thoughts to himself. He grew tired of his pretty boy pop image quickly and began speaking out against the war, against the hypocrisy of religion, for peace and justice and a bloodless social revolution. Remember, this was only a few short years after America's previous favorite rock star Elvis Presley had joined the Army.
Maybe that's one of the reasons Lennon endures as an icon in rock music and pop culture. People are waiting for someone to come along and shake things up like Lennon did. Someone to rewrite the rules; hell, to throw the rule book out altogether. Someone to inspire us not only musically, but spiritually and emotionally. An entertainer, a musician, a guru, or at the very least, a pop star who interests us not because of which Los Angeles clubs they haunt or how many days they spent in jail or the variety of drugs they've been busted for. Give us someone half as literate, half as witty, half as much of an enigma as John Lennon was, and we'd be happy.
I'm happy to spin my Beatles vinyl records and hear Lennon's artistry pour from the speakers, still supremely inspiring and fresh even decades later.
Contact Graham Haworth at graham@haworths.org.
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2007/October/05/style/stories/09style.htm
Graham Haworth: The influence of Lennon can be still be felt
John Lennon would've turned 67 years old on Oct. 9 if some crazed coward hadn't gunned him down in New York City in 1980. Something tells me he'd still be making headlines with both his music, his social activism and his literary skills, more so than any other pop star today. While Britney Spears runs around with no underwear, Lennon would be pulling the pants down on the Bush administration and the war in Iraq, amassing his already weighty FBI files in the process.
Lennon was really the last of his kind, an innovative artist who helped shape the sound of rock 'n' roll while transforming it into a viable art form. He used his soapbox to comment on the greatest issues of the day: Vietnam, religion, shady governments, drugs, meditation, peace. And all the while, he made music that touches each and every generation that comes along.
Where are these kinds of pop stars today? The only two I can think of are Bono and Eddie Vedder, and while their contributions to issues outside of music can't be understated, they don't live up to the legacy of Lennon. They owe their careers, in part, to Lennon's influence on songwriting, an influence that's still easily heard in bands today, including U2 and Pearl Jam. The Dixie Chicks get recognition for standing up to and speaking out against the government. In that process, they achieved at least one thing Lennon did — their actions prompted a good old-fashioned album-burning in many Southern states, much like what happened when Lennon said and was quoted out of context, incidentally "the Beatles are more popular than Jesus"
Musically, Lennon wasn't afraid, nor did he care about breaking the "rules" of music theory. For example, it's not technically right to switch from a major chord to its own minor chord — i.e. G major to G minor — but he did it all the time, because it sounds beautiful in the right context.
Lyrically, he went from "I Want To Hold Your Hand" to "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" in just three years. Out of his simple love songs grew epics like "A Day in the Life" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" He employed dream-like imagery in his lyrics, and unlike Paul McCartney — who often created characters in his songs — Lennon preferred to look inward and write about himself.
Socially, he wasn't afraid to keep his thoughts to himself. He grew tired of his pretty boy pop image quickly and began speaking out against the war, against the hypocrisy of religion, for peace and justice and a bloodless social revolution. Remember, this was only a few short years after America's previous favorite rock star Elvis Presley had joined the Army.
Maybe that's one of the reasons Lennon endures as an icon in rock music and pop culture. People are waiting for someone to come along and shake things up like Lennon did. Someone to rewrite the rules; hell, to throw the rule book out altogether. Someone to inspire us not only musically, but spiritually and emotionally. An entertainer, a musician, a guru, or at the very least, a pop star who interests us not because of which Los Angeles clubs they haunt or how many days they spent in jail or the variety of drugs they've been busted for. Give us someone half as literate, half as witty, half as much of an enigma as John Lennon was, and we'd be happy.
I'm happy to spin my Beatles vinyl records and hear Lennon's artistry pour from the speakers, still supremely inspiring and fresh even decades later.
Contact Graham Haworth at graham@haworths.org.
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2007/October/05/style/stories/09style.htm