What's a Yoko?

I am putting this article in the news forum because I think more people would be interested in it than those who just visit Menlove Ave...it's an article someone sent me that appeared in the Arizona Republic newspaper yesterday, and to people like us, it boggles the mind!

http://www.azcentral.com/ent/pop/art...224ono-ON.html

Gen Y: What's a Yoko?


Dolores Tropiano
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 24, 2005 04:10 PM

A style of music? A culture? Dancing and festivities?

In a kind of upside-down generation gap, these were the tentative answers young people in Scottsdale had this week when asked who or what is Yoko Ono.

A musical, cultural, political icon of the 60s and 70s, Ono is easily recognized by members of the Baby Boom generation as the enigmatic wife of assassinated Beatle John Lennon.

But it may be a very gray crowd that shows up this weekend at the Borgata shopping plaza where the artistic works of Lennon are on display.

Young adult students at Scottsdale Community College weren't even born by Dec. 8, 1980, when Lennon was gunned down by a deranged fan right in front of Ono outside their New York apartment.

So it's understandable, albeit mind boggling, to hear their responses to questions about Ono.


• Gina Giles, 18, a track student from Tempe, was asked, "What do you think of Yoko Ono?"

"What? What's that?" Giles said. "A kind of music?"


• Her friend, Dejurnae Washington, 18, of west Phoenix, was a bit more confident in her answer: 'It's culture. It's dancing and festivities."

When asked about John Lennon, she was not as certain.

"I don't know who that is. I never heard of that in my life," Washington replied.


• Ricky Avila, 20, a pot and pan salesman from Los Angeles, also was clueless.

"Um. What is that about? I never heard about that." Avila said. "Sounds Chinese."

Close, but no walrus



A few students erroneously identified Yoko Ono as the wife of Beatle Paul McCartney, who recently played at halftime of the Super Bowl.


• Joanna Kerchner, 19, a recent transplant from Massachusetts, didn't have much of her own to say about Ono, but remembered something her mother shared.

"My mom doesn't like her because she got in the way of The Beatles," Kerchner said.

A table of film students, who also appeared to be the culturally cool kids on campus, sat near a swath of lush green grass.


• "What do you think of Yoko Ono?" Lora Keleher, 23, of Tempe, was asked.

"I think she's very beautiful and I think she's very artistic," Keleher said. "I think she's gotten a lot of heat over the rights to some of the music, but I think the heat falls on her because a lot of people idolized The Beatles, so they villainize her."


• Justin Greenberg, 18, of Scottsdale, actually knew Ono was Lennon's wife. His mom had turned him on to The Beatles before she died.

"I don't think she's very talented," Greenberg said of Ono. "I think she brought John Lennon down. I'm a big Beatles fan. I love the Beatles. But when John Lennon married Yoko, his career went down from there. His solo album was very influential to society, but I think he could have done better without her."

Thank you, Justin.



Reach the reporter at dolores.tropiano@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-6876.

.........Geeze............thats like my highschool....... most of the "Claude Watson" students (an art school that has a programme in my highschool) know about the Beatles, some Collegite (or as the teachers prefer to call us "un-gifted, un-important, idiots" (in not so many words)) students like me know about them, bost most of the kids don't.

Quite personally I do't know what life without the Beatles would be like.... and quite frankly the idea scares me.......

Wow... I thought more people would at least be able to identify her correctly than that. Although I would give the person who said that Yoko Ono was a style of music credit for her answer: Yoko Ono's music could certainly be in its own category, couldn't it ;) Only joking...

~Mags

Everytime I hear a story like this, it makes me sad. Look at all the great music they are missing out on. I just hope that someone around them might someday introduce them to the Beatles.

wow,until 3 minutes ago i thought almost everybody in the world known who is Yoko Ono, or at least i thought they would know that she married John Lennon :O

"I think she's very beautiful and I think she's very artistic," Keleher said. "I think she's gotten a lot of heat over the rights to some of the music, but I think the heat falls on her because a lot of people idolized The Beatles, so they villainize her."





Reach the reporter at dolores.tropiano@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-6876.
[/quote]

She seemed to know what she was saying.

Wow, I have to say that's a little sad. People don't really bother to care much about history, even 30 years ago, do they?.

I'm sorry but some of those responces from people were kinda funny. This one for example..."What? What's that?" Giles said. "A kind of music?" I couldn't believe someone would give such a relpy in regards to asking about Yoko Ono.

So why dont they have a Grammy category for that? "Best Yoko album" lol!

I think a lot of people who are casual Beatle music fans have no reason to know who Yoko is if they are of a certain age.I don't think it really matters.Let the music take care of everything.

How sad! Yoko is one stellar lady, and those students, and other contemporaries of mine, are missing out by not recognizing who and what Yoko Ono stand for. At least the "cuturally cool" film students had an idea of who she is.

It's a little odd.I mean how many Yoko's do you know?If she had a name like Mary it might be a little different.

I remember people that, when I asked them if the knew Yoko Ono, said "is that a man or a woman?". I can add that to the list...

Reading this was sad! What a shame that they don't know who Yoko is (and the one person didn't really know who John was). Come on! Yep, our society has really gone down hill now. Look at Britney Spears, (or was it Christina Aguiliera?--well, one of those), they didn't know who Yoko was either. These people don't know history that was only a little over 30 years ago. That is very scary!
-Kristi

I think it's particularly sad, that music fans of any type of current popular music have no idea how much influence the Beatles had in many changes, the biggest being the change in music & styles(of music) that are so accepted now, don't these kids have to take any type of music appreciation/music history classes in school(culture classes)? Never mind the Beatles many other influences

Originally Posted by beatlelover45223

I think it's particularly sad, that music fans of any type of current popular music have no idea how much influence the Beatles had in many changes, the biggest being the change in music & styles(of music) that are so accepted now, don't these kids have to take any type of music appreciation/music history classes in school(culture classes)? Never mind the Beatles many other influences

I agree with that one.

I guess I don't find this particularly surprising at all. I don't know much about things I don't care about either. I probably couldn't recognize the names of half of the people in the top 40 right now. Or famous football players. Or race car drivers. Or whatever. I think sometimes, since we all "live the Beatles lifestyle" (LOL), we forget that "regular people" don't know all the details of their lives, their music and yes, their wives. I have a Beatles calendar up in my cube at work and most people, even those in their 40's and 50's who I work with, can't tell you which one of them is which or remember all of their names. Most of them get Ringo, but I bet not more than 20% know who George is. So really, I'm not surprised that young people don't know who Yoko is.

Originally Posted by ImaginePeace78

Reading this was sad! What a shame that they don't know who Yoko is (and the one person didn't really know who John was). Come on! Yep, our society has really gone down hill now. Look at Britney Spears, (or was it Christina Aguiliera?--well, one of those), they didn't know who Yoko was either. These people don't know history that was only a little over 30 years ago. That is very scary!
-Kristi

Christina..... Britney.... no difference.... they both suck!

Originally Posted by Loony_leo

Christina..... Britney.... no difference.... they both suck!

I can't stand those two either. All they are, are girls dressed like sluts on stage trying to sing.

Originally Posted by pepperland67

Everytime I hear a story like this, it makes me sad. Look at all the great music they are missing out on. I just hope that someone around them might someday introduce them to the Beatles.

I agree. This is not encouraging at all.