Random John-Related Discussions

Originally Posted by Maia 66

Yeah, I did know that... well, didn't know it was banned by the Beeb, but I had heard it was on a list of songs that were not to be played on U.S. radio... probably by stations owned/run by the Clear Channel (who are conservative "Christians"). John's response would have been brilliantly cheeky, I'd bet. Although he was severely missed from 1980 through to the Millennium, it wasn't until the Bush Administration that I really felt like we needed John desperately as a powerful voice of dissent.

Preach it, sistah! How I wish...

Originally Posted by Maia 66

Gorgeous:


Scruffie, do you have any of the Lost Lennon Tapes? That's where most of us old schoolers got many our John demos and such. (Well, at least that's true for me...) Also, Solitude is on the At Home bootleg available here.

Hi Maia!
I can't PROVE it but...I don't think the song "Solitude" was necessarily indicative of Lennon's "depressed state". My reasoning is quite simple. Listen to "Isolation" written and produced in 1970, on the POB album. Same vibe, don't you agree?

And sorry I've been away so long! (*waves to all and sundry*) Finally moved into new home and loving it!

Originally Posted by Apple Scruff

I love John's voice. He could have read the Job Listings and made them sound interesting. He just had an enunciation and flavor to his voice that was full of life and energy. I love him in that interview because it was really a turning point in his life, and he was really quite positive and heartfelt there. I love his hard-core Wenner interview of course, but this one shows the side of John that came out more readily- the lovable, quick, charming, untouchable charisma that he possessed.

You have NO IDEA how much I'm digging the "fan-girling" rn...ngl.

Originally Posted by Maia 66

Yes, yes, you're right... he was horribly (and inexplicably!) insecure about a lot of things. But he also had that arrogance... what a mystery was our John!

Yes.....but he was so arrogantly (and majestically) insecure!
A true mystery wrapped in an enigma, indeed.
As for his one-word "lost" to describe George...isn't it possible that he was thinking of George's lifelong spiritual quest to find himself through "true enlightenment?"
If so, then I believe it quite possible that at one time or another...John could (and would) have just as easily used "lost" to describe himself and perhaps even most inhabitants of earth. N'est pais?

Originally Posted by JustAJealousGuy

I can't PROVE it but...I don't think the song "Solitude" was necessarily indicative of Lennon's "depressed state".

Where did I say it reflected his "depressed state"? I thought I just called it "gorgeous."

Originally Posted by JustAJealousGuy

Listen to "Isolation" written and produced in 1970, on the POB album. Same vibe, don't you agree?

No, I don't agree. "Just a boy and a little girl trying to change the whole wide world" ≠ "Here in some stranger's room, in the afternoon, wishing I was dead." At least not in my eyes.

I am not sure what would qualify!

Originally Posted by wildewoman

Well, if wishing one was dead is not indicative of a depressed state of mind....I am not sure what would qualify!

Um... yeah. You would think, eh?

Watch/observe and share your thoughts.

Originally Posted by wildewoman

Well, if wishing one was dead is not indicative of a depressed state of mind....
I am not sure what would qualify!

Well... It COULD indicate being terribly embarrassed or feeling sick! It's all in how it's said, context and all that. Solitude is a song about waking up in a haze after a trip and/or drunkeness, and I don't think it's so strange for somebody with a terrible hangover to say they wish they were dead. Hm? Time to post Solitude in the demo thread and have a real discussion about it!

Originally Posted by Apple Scruff

Watch/observe and share your thoughts.

Omg, Scruffie... I love that video! What can I say? It was the '70s, man... that kind of weird $^!t was everywhere. What I love is how John's charm just makes the whole event so much more playful. He starts off so serious... but his humor always comes through and his adorable playfulness.

One of the many things I love about John is how he took himself seriously as an artist... but he never took himself completely seriously. And that was genuine.

When is a door not a door? When it's ajar....
Yes, even Yoko starts giggling at one point when the guy asks her if heavy petting is acceptable on the first date. She glances over at John as she's giggling...I would have paid to see the expression on John's face when that question was asked!

Originally Posted by Apple Scruff

Watch/observe and share your thoughts.

It's a weird video to watch, though interesting stuff to discuss, thank's for sharing Scruffie

I always had the strong feeling that John's sense of humour wasn't the same anymore when he met Yoko, especially in the early 70's. In this video he still have his typical "I'm-looking-serious-but-I-don't-take-myself-seriously"-attitude, but the answers he gives to the questions... hmmm, it's not the same funny humour and the typical wit to me tha John had when he was with the Beatles.

I will give my thoughts about John, not about Yoko as I never understood her sense of humour and I'm uncertain anyway, if she got one anyway . So I will stick to John, o.k. Oh, and her giggling get on my nerves....

The very first question "how you feel about primal therapy" is a good one and I guess the answer would have been very interesting to hear for many people. John's answer "how do you feel about Chuck Berry" hmmm.... sorry, but this didn't make me laugh. It seems that John copy the attitude of Yoko, that means he answers every question by a question, oh well.... This funny once, twice, but then it's not funny anymore, is it ? Hey, Johnny, where is your legendary wit here ???????? You can do better, much better than that !!!!!

Further, It seems that when John doesn't know what to answer he just says "What ?", which I found a bit embarrassing for a talkative and witty artist like him. Another example when John's says "why is a rose a rose a rose etc.". Oh please... I might have been upset, if I were sitting in the audience.

Another example: Someone asks "what is peace" and John replies "what is war", this makes no sense... Was John so afraid then to speak aloud what he thought about war ? I guess he was careful because he was still waiting for the green-card, still...

To sum up, I'd say that the questions of the audience were much more sensible than John's answers (and Yoko's of course) I see the t.v. show as a missed opportunity for John to show is REAL face; the witty, the smart, the funny one and not just some kind of "clone" of Yoko's weird behaviour. That's my opinion !

Snoopy

Oh, Snoopy... "turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream." Just go with the flow and enjoy the happening... the audience caught on to what was going on and they enjoyed themselves. Don't take it so seriously.

Giiirrrrlll, no you didn't start about John losing his sense of humor! Snoopy, some of the funniest, most quotable, and incredibly iconic moments of John's life happened post-Beatles. The whole Bed-In was a performance 'peace' that truly takes my breath away with the ease and humor John put into it. Look at how he handled people like Al Capp! Look at how he owned on the Jack Douglas show! Look at all the music videos he and Yoko made! His writings to fans, to Melody Maker, to the world! Maia posted the most amazing videos in some thread, of John hosting a radio program LIKE A BOSS.

John was truly the funniest rock star of all of them- hands down. Ringo was/is a funny guy, but he didn't have John's comic timing, his natural ease, his wit. John could handle broad topics, simple ones, he was a people person. This particular interview just warms my heart. He's being ironic and completely original.

I guess I understand his humor. Could we delve in deeper to say that there are stages of John's humor? Like, he was more of the dry wit/sarcastic funny guy in the Beatles- delivering one-liners like it was second-nature. But, as he grew older and matured, he seemed to take his humor, his ideals, and his art seriously but never too seriously, as Maia put it. Therefore, he could talk them up, but always throw in some irreverence and comedy. I love that about him.

I completely believe Harry Nilsson, who said John was one of 3 people in his life who could make him laugh at the drop of a dime- harder than anyone. And of course Yoko said John was simply the funniest person she ever knew.

Look at home videos, Snoopy! In the Watching The Wheels video, when John, Yoko, and Sean are simply sitting at the table eating [Macrobiotic] rice and seaweed flakes, John starts acting like he's being attacked by mosquitoes while Sean is staring in awe at his father, and starts cracking up. John did NOT lose his sense of humor. It was always intact and there his entire life.


"Daddy, don't make me laugh"

^ I love when Sean tells him not to be a joke!

Here are the animator's notes for John's character in the Beatles cartoons. I think they really got him:

^ "Pulls funny faces especially after giving orders, which he immediately wipes off."

Yup... that about nails it!

Originally Posted by Apple Scruff

Giiirrrrlll, no you didn't start about John losing his sense of humor! Snoopy, some of the funniest, most quotable, and incredibly iconic moments of John's life happened post-Beatles. The whole Bed-In was a performance 'peace' that truly takes my breath away with the ease and humor John put into it. Look at how he handled people like Al Capp! Look at how he owned on the Jack Douglas show! Look at all the music videos he and Yoko made! His writings to fans, to Melody Maker, to the world! Maia posted the most amazing videos in some thread, of John hosting a radio program LIKE A BOSS.

John was truly the funniest rock star of all of them- hands down. Ringo was/is a funny guy, but he didn't have John's comic timing, his natural ease, his wit. John could handle broad topics, simple ones, he was a people person. This particular interview just warms my heart. He's being ironic and completely original.

I guess I understand his humor. Could we delve in deeper to say that there are stages of John's humor? Like, he was more of the dry wit/sarcastic funny guy in the Beatles- delivering one-liners like it was second-nature. But, as he grew older and matured, he seemed to take his humor, his ideals, and his art seriously but never too seriously, as Maia put it. Therefore, he could talk them up, but always throw in some irreverence and comedy. I love that about him.

I completely believe Harry Nilsson, who said John was one of 3 people in his life who could make him laugh at the drop of a dime- harder than anyone. And of course Yoko said John was simply the funniest person she ever knew.

Look at home videos, Snoopy! In the Watching The Wheels video, when John, Yoko, and Sean are simply sitting at the table eating [Macrobiotic] rice and seaweed flakes, John starts acting like he's being attacked by mosquitoes while Sean is staring in awe at his father, and starts cracking up. John did NOT lose his sense of humor. It was always intact and there his entire life.
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Oh Scruffie, I never pretented that John didn't have any sense of humour, did I ? I ONLY judged the video that you've posted and no other interview of John. I just gave my thoughts about it. Your reply sounds as if I made a general judgement of John's humour, but this wasn't my intention

Thus, I stick to my opinion that I found John more funny when he was with the Beatles, than when he was with Yoko. Of course, this is only subjective, but it seems like a crime wrting this in the forum

To me, you can't compare John's performance in the Dick Cavett Show, (which I find GREAT) to that TV-appearance. If you had asked my thoughts about that video, then my opinion would have been completely different.

The example of Harry Nilsson is not a good one, as I presume that John behaved completey different when he was with him during the lost weekend (and probably often drunk), than when he was with Yoko. So that's not a valuable comparison to me. But if the purpose was to tell me that most of the people who know John found him funny, I immediately believe you. Otherwise, I wouldn't be a John-fan.

Coming back to your video: I still don't think that answering every questions with a question is very original - for a genious like John ! O.k. maybe it was just a game, but it didn't make me laugh. He made faaar more better interviews, like the Jack Douglas Show or in radio programs. Those interviews proves to me that John was indeed the funniest rock-star of all, but not the one you posted; it's not bad, but certainly not his best performance

Oh, no wonder that Yoko found John the most funny person, considering her sense of humour, hmmm...

Snoopy

Originally Posted by Apple Scruff

Look at home videos, Snoopy! In the Watching The Wheels video, when John, Yoko, and Sean are simply sitting at the table eating [Macrobiotic] rice and seaweed flakes, John starts acting like he's being attacked by mosquitoes while Sean is staring in awe at his father, and starts cracking up. John did NOT lose his sense of humor. It was always intact and there his entire life.


"Daddy, don't make me laugh"

Yeah, this video is cute and funny altogether, but - as you say - it's a home-video, alone with his son. I think this is quite different from a t.v. performance, in which you have to answer questions from people you don't know in a country you're still not sure if you can stay in.

But I fully agree that John still had a good sense of humour in the late 70's.

Thank's for sharing, Scruffie

Snoopy

I stumbled upon this fan story written about the evening George played Raunchy on that infamous double decker bus. (Then I realized it was the beginning of some J/G slash .) Most of what I read was not very interesting to me... I find that stuff kind of dull, I admit... but somehow my eyes fell on this paragraph, which I thought was very insightful:

John merely raised an eyebrow to show that he had heard him but he didn’t move, didn’t smile, didn’t give the boy any incentive or indication about what he might want to do now. Letting people doubt, John had found out a while ago already, was the best way to see what they were made of, much more efficient than giving them orders, which just showed if they had enough bite in them to resist or not.

Maia, I tend to be in the minority...but sometimes I feel honored that the little fangirls always make John the hard man. There's always something lurking beneath that coarse exterior and, eventually, I hope most of them figure out that- as Ringo says- John was really the softest and sweetest of the four of them.