Imagine

[Swift]

John Lennon would have turned 70 on October 9. He died 30 years ago this December. I still remember when I first heard he was killed.

We miss you John.

Imagine

[Gillianren]

It was Google's logo image today.

And perversely, I remember hearing that he was dead; it's the first thing I remember knowing about him at all.

[dwnielsen]

He died just after I was born. I grew up with a black velvet painting of him in my room (not a bad one, really, somehow). One day I looked behind it and found a bunch of articles my mother had saved from that time. Pretty cool experience.

[Graybeard6]

I was on the air at a 1000 watt radio station in Huntsville, AL. I was just coasting, waiting for midnight when I could shut the station down and go for a beer or two and ** with some interesting people. before I went home and got some sleep before I went to my day job at a local TV station. I was startled by five bells on the teleprinter, meaning really, really, important news. I had just ripped the copy off and saw something about John Lennon when the alarm from CBS went off in the control room/studio. It was counting down for a Flash story in 10 seconds, so I flipped my mike on, said something about him being shot, and punched up the network feed.
I was an admirer of the Beatles music, but never a fanatic. I didn't consider them a rock band "You can't have a rock band without a sax." (Me, 1963) but a great pop group.

[Gillianren]

I find it incredibly easy to have a rock band without a sax, but that's a different issue. Then again, it was three days past my fourth birthday when John Lennon died, so you and I have a very different perspective on popular music of the twentieth century.

[slang]

Apparently an immigration card with his fingerprints on it is worth 100,000 dollar or more.

[cosmocrazy]

My son (5 today) then shared his birthday with John Lennon!

[geonuc]

John Lennon would have turned 70 on October 9. He died 30 years ago this December. I still remember when I first heard he was killed.

We miss you John.

Ditto. That was a sad day.

[Buttercup]

I recall the shocking and sad news of John's death.

Difficult to believe he'd be 70 now. Of course, Ringo Starr already is.

[danscope]

So sad, and such a loss. But the art, the music lives on forever. Their ideas live on. That is the answer.

Best regards,
Dan

[KaiYeves]

You weren't the only one, Mr. Lennon, we're dreamers, too.

I hope someday, they'll all join us, and the world can live as one.

[Middenrat]

Imagine he'd survived, experienced nirvana, relinquished 'love', confronted Mammon...
I'd be listening.

[mike alexander]

When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars
and he will make the face of heaven so fine
that all the world will be in love with night
and pay no worship to the garish sun.

[SkepticJ]

Imagine he'd survived, experienced nirvana . . .

With the lights out, it's less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us

[Moose]

I somehow missed it (or didn't remember). I'd have been about six, and I wouldn't really have known who he was or what it would mean to people. My folks didn't point it out to me.

I know now, of course, who he was and what it meant, but, somewhat like the Kennedys and MLK, Lennon was never a part of my life.

[Donnie B.]

I remember a good description I once heard that contrasts the songwriting styles of Lennon and McCartney.

Paul writes little pieces of fiction - short stories, novels.

John wrote little autobiographies.

Lennon's art was very personal and intimate.

Incidentally, there was an interview yesterday on NPR with David Sheff, the writer who interviewed John and Yoko for Playboy shortly before John's death. He spent three weeks with them and taped many hours of conversations. The interview was published in the magazine, then later in expanded book form. John spent a lot of time recalling his entire career, and commented on virtually all his songs (and other Beatles' songs) in great detail -- both the content of the songs and the process of writing them. It's worth tracking down.

What was interesting about yesterday's NPR segment was that Sheff played some of the interview tapes. They were never released in audio form. It's rather spooky to hear John's voice, especially since he referred to his own death in a couple places. It reminded me of MLK Jr's speech shortly before he was killed: "I have been to the mountain, and I have seen the promised land. I may not get there with you..."

Link to the NPR segment: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...ryId=130429818

[CosmicUnderstanding]

Drop acid, not bombs! Sorry, couldn't resist that one. RIP Lennon. I was never a big fan but I admired the message behind the music and still do.

[mike alexander]

Ah, well...
The message was fine with me, but the music was the thing.

[mugaliens]

John Lennon would have turned 70 on October 9. He died 30 years ago this December. I still remember when I first heard he was killed.

Same. I was in a high school musical troupe at the time. This song, as did others, carried us throughout the days following his senseless demise.

[cosmocrazy]

I somehow missed it (or didn't remember). I'd have been about six, and I wouldn't really have known who he was or what it would mean to people. My folks didn't point it out to me.

I know now, of course, who he was and what it meant, but, somewhat like the Kennedys and MLK, Lennon was never a part of my life.

Pretty much the same for me.

No dis-respect but I don't get it,
Yes it was a sad loss (mainly to his close friends and family) not unlike a death in any family. But i don't really understand why its dwelled on so much? People die every minute of every day, I've lost friends and family and they are in my thoughts and I carry some sadness for the loss. But I don't dwell on such, its happened its gone and cannot be changed, things move on more people are born and so the cycle continues.
The guy was a talented musician, made some classic songs that people can continue to enjoy and maybe a great guy, but he was just a man, no better than anyone of the other 3 billion men in the world today.

[Paul Beardsley]

Pretty much the same for me.

No dis-respect but I don't get it,
Yes it was a sad loss (mainly to his close friends and family) not unlike a death in any family. But i don't really understand why its dwelled on so much? People die every minute of every day, I've lost friends and family and they are in my thoughts and I carry some sadness for the loss. But I don't dwell on such, its happened its gone and cannot be changed, things move on more people are born and so the cycle continues.
The guy was a talented musician, made some classic songs that people can continue to enjoy and maybe a great guy, but he was just a man, no better than anyone of the other 3 billion men in the world today.

What you say is true, and I was never really touched by The Beatles.

However, I can understand why others are affected.

Everybody lives and dies, that's true. But only a very few people's lives are stories, stories that even affect people who never knew them personally.

A creative person's life is much more likely to be such a story. This is because creative people are, frankly, godlike, because they turn blank sheets of paper into amazing songs, novels and so on which otherwise wouldn't exist.

John Lennon didn't do it for me. If I hear something by him on the radio, I'll leave the radio on, maybe even sing along, but I don't own any of his records. However, other creative people have done it for me - among others, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, and Ian Curtis out of Joy Division - so I can see where the people on this thread are coming from.

[cosmocrazy]

What you say is true, and I was never really touched by The Beatles.

However, I can understand why others are affected.

Everybody lives and dies, that's true. But only a very few people's lives are stories, stories that even affect people who never knew them personally.

A creative person's life is much more likely to be such a story. This is because creative people are, frankly, godlike, because they turn blank sheets of paper into amazing songs, novels and so on which otherwise wouldn't exist.

John Lennon didn't do it for me. If I hear something by him on the radio, I'll leave the radio on, maybe even sing along, but I don't own any of his records. However, other creative people have done it for me - among others, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, and Ian Curtis out of Joy Division - so I can see where the people on this thread are coming from.

Yeah I understand your point, I just don't get it personally. I see many extremely talented people working what seems like magic everyday so many people do and produce so many wonderful things. I admire their natural talents and respect them for their contributions to society. But I don't understand how people can get upset over someone they have no connection with other than what they watch,read about or listen to from the media, books and tv. If they never come to know them personally then how can they get so emotional over them? I'm not being dis-respectful, I just don't get it? I think perhaps these people are put on pedestals and its soon forgot by some that they are only human beings just like anyone else.

[Gillianren]

If you really care about the work, it can be like a loss in the family. Worse, even. If several of my relatives died, I wouldn't much care, and I don't just mean my great aunt who I thought had died years ago. With her, it was lost contact, and I never really knew her that well in the first place. With a couple of my other relatives, it would mean they were out of my mom's hair, which would kind of be a good thing.

My favourite author is dying. He doesn't like us to think of it that way, but he is. There is no cure, and there probably won't be in the years he has left. Yes, I met him once, and he was a sweet, funny guy. But I've met a lot of people once who were sweet, funny guys. What's different about this one is that he's a part of my life. I use his characters as shorthand for personality traits. I quote his works. The calendar on my wall right now is a collection of paintings various people have done from his works. I start checking for release dates on his books in about May, and the release date is usually late September. Yes, he's human. Yes, he's just one person out of billions. And, yes, it's a sheer fluke that I've met him at all. However, over the last fifteen years, he's been a part of my life. And he's so much nicer than Uncle Paul.

[Donnie B.]

What Gillianren said.

Also, there's no doubt at all that it's a generational thing. For folks my age -- I was ten when the Beatles phenomenon began -- Lennon and the Fab Four were a major influence on our lives. For Gen Xers and later, they were just some old band. Of course, many of those younger folks love the music, but honestly... you had to be there. There has been nothing like it since. Lennon and company changed the world.

[cosmocrazy]

If you really care about the work, it can be like a loss in the family. Worse, even. If several of my relatives died, I wouldn't much care, and I don't just mean my great aunt who I thought had died years ago. With her, it was lost contact, and I never really knew her that well in the first place. With a couple of my other relatives, it would mean they were out of my mom's hair, which would kind of be a good thing.

My favourite author is dying. He doesn't like us to think of it that way, but he is. There is no cure, and there probably won't be in the years he has left. Yes, I met him once, and he was a sweet, funny guy. But I've met a lot of people once who were sweet, funny guys. What's different about this one is that he's a part of my life. I use his characters as shorthand for personality traits. I quote his works. The calendar on my wall right now is a collection of paintings various people have done from his works. I start checking for release dates on his books in about May, and the release date is usually late September. Yes, he's human. Yes, he's just one person out of billions. And, yes, it's a sheer fluke that I've met him at all. However, over the last fifteen years, he's been a part of my life. And he's so much nicer than Uncle Paul.

Yes I understand your point and no dis-respect but I don't get it. I don't understand why people dwell on a persons death of whom they have no personal relationship with thats all. Yes its a sad loss that we can no longer enjoy their contributions to society, but life goes on regardless. If the person was a close relative or friend then yeah I can see why people would dwell so much. Maybe I'm just not emotional enough to understand it.

[Swift]

I don't understand why people dwell on a persons death of whom they have no personal relationship with thats all.

I don't know why people dwell on such things. I'm don't know why people dwell on the deaths of those they have personal relationships with (I'm talking years or decades of dwelling).

I can only speak for myself, but I don't dwell on the death of John Lennon. I loved his music, I miss that no new music has been made by him in 30 years, and upon the occasion of this anniversary, I thought about it once again. That's it.

[cosmocrazy]

I can only speak for myself, but I don't dwell on the death of John Lennon. I loved his music, I miss that no new music has been made by him in 30 years, and upon the occasion of this anniversary, I thought about it once again. That's it.

Yes I agree, rather than say we are sad for the loss of the person, in truth we should say we are sad for the loss of his talent and any future contribution to society.

[Swift]

Yes I agree, rather than say we are sad for the loss of the person, in truth we should say we are sad for the loss of his talent and any future contribution to society.

I am also a little sad for the loss of the person. But I don't dwell on it. I don't wake everyday thinking about it. I wouldn't even say I'm now sad, it is more a melancholy remembrance, triggered by the anniversary, and pretty much faded with a day or so.

Now back to my normal state of apathy, already in progress.

[Gillianren]

But it is sad when we hear that a person has died. Just because I never met the man, it doesn't mean I don't feel sad about his death, when I think about it. Depending on your definition, I don't even dwell on my own father's death, and it's shaped my life more than almost any other event. However, I don't spend all my time thinking about it, which is my personal definition of dwelling on something.

What's more, I do have a personal connection with people I've never met, and that's not even taking many of you into consideration. Isn't truly loving something of someone a personal connection with them? Paul Conrad, the political cartoonist, died not long ago, and it made me sad because it triggered many deeply personal memories. My grandmother had a book of his cartoons; I have since bought the same book myself. It was, when I was young, the only thing I read in the "grown-up parts" of the newspaper. When William Safire died, it reminded me of a teacher I had loved in high school. My teacher had given me one of his On Writing books, and this was the same teacher who failed me for not doing any of the schoolwork. No, I never met either of them, but each death saddened me because of their connection to my past.

[Buttercup]

The one exception for me (becoming very emotional over the death of a famous person I had no real-life contact with) was Princess Diana. When she died I was strung out for about 3 days straight. I'd been a fan of hers "since forever." Never truly had an idol before or since, but she was my idol. I was glued to the TV around the clock, watched every minute of her funeral (same as I'd seen her wedding as a kid).