Lennon

As you undoubtedly know, today would have been the 70th birthday of John Lennon.

You also probably know that my beliefs and values, right now, are probably 178 or 179 degrees opposite of Lennon’s. He made mistakes, he did stupid things; we all do a lot of the time. I’d hate to have my life under as big a microscope. For instance, I think “Imagine” contains some of the most insipid, gag-inducing, and potentially evil lyrics ever recorded.

I will concede one thing: Other than a few missteps here and there, overall, John Lennon was a musical genius. I know, that’s not exactly a bold, insightful, trailblazing thing to say. But it’s absolutely, one hundred percent true, and I’m writing today to acknowledge that.

Now, I never was a Beatles fan, in the sense that I never spent a dime on them. Never had an album or CD. Never watched any of their movies or concert footage. But I’m well aware of their catalogue of songs – over 300, and I’ve heard them all. If you grew up in the 80s and were disenchanted with 80s music, one alternative was the classic rock stations popping up all over. Classic rock stations played a Beatles song once every 42 minutes. I also had a friend (“Tank” from a previous post) who was into the Beatles, bought every one of their albums, and played for me all the odder, more unusual stuff you didn’t hear on the radio.

It’s also the hip thing to say that your favorite Beatle is Lennon. Me, being a guitarist, probably would say George Harrison, citing “Here Comes the Sun” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” I wish he had more input on the group’s output. However …

Lennon and McCartney were both incredible songwriters. I’m reminded of a scene from Amadeus, where Mozart, on his deathbed, is dictating to his nemesis Salieri. His old foe gleefully anticipates a chord – F! – that would be the natural, perfect resolution to the melody Wolfgang is envisioning, but Mozart says – No! F-sharp minor seventh! And it would be perfect! So perfect us normal mortals would not even anticipate it were we the authors of the piece. John and Paul’s songwriting was like that.

Since the compositions of both grew more and more complex over the six or seven years of Beatles productions, it all comes down to vocals. Not always so, but usually the main composer of a piece was the lead singer of it. McCartney had the soulful, melodious voice, while Lennon had that frenetic, frantic, edgier one. Paul would sound like he was gently singing in your ear, while John, with all the studio effects thrown on his pipes, would sound like that stressed-out dude from that Edvard Munch painting.

As a music aficionado who counts Geddy Lee of Rush and Bon Scott of old AC/DC among his favorite singers, can you guess which vocalist I find more appealing?

There’s a list on wikipedia of every Beatles song. I scanned through it and discovered I like – really like – 29 of them. For your reference, to get a sense of my musical tastes and compare them to your own, here they are. The ones in boldface were written primarily by Lennon:


A Day in the Life
Back in the U.S.S.R.
Carry that Weight
Day Tripper
Dear Prudence
Dig a Pony
Fixing a Hole
Golden Slumbers
Good Day Sunshine
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Helter Skelter
Here Comes the Sun
Hey Jude
I am the Walrus
I Me Mine
I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
Let It Be
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Magical Mystery Tour
Mean Mr. Mustard
Norwegian Wood
Paperback Writer
Polythene Pam
Rain
Strawberry Fields Forever
The End
Two of Us
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
You Never Give Me Your Money


My all-time favorite Beatles song is “You Never Give Me Your Money,” plus that whole “Golden Slumbers” / “Carry that Weight” / “The End” thing. My favorite Lennon-composed Beatles song is probably “Walrus,” but I do enjoy the “Mr. Mustard”-“Pam” medley.

“Imagine” aside, there are a couple of really, really fantastic solo works. These I am not as expert on, since they all come only from what I’ve heard on the radio. I’ve never listened to a solo album or CD by John Lennon. Yoko’s influence may have helped keep me away. But there are a half-dozen that I dig:


Jealous Guy
Mind Games
#9 Dream
Cold Turkey
Watching the Wheels
Nobody Told Me


Absolutely my favorite is “#9 Dream.” Every now and then I listen to it on youtube. It never fails to raise goosebumps on the arms.

Well, Happy Birthday John. You got a raw deal thirty years ago, but you, your creative genius, and your music will still be talked about and listened to for hundreds of years in the future.