I'm listening to "Mind Games," so let's talk about John Lennon for a minute.
Tuesday morning, December 9, 1980.
I was in 7th grade, and the weather had been cold cold cold. At the time I was wild for The Beatles, and still am. I was a sheltered kid and The Beatles were a new-found link to the adult world--their music was an avenue of exploration to new and nuanced emotions and thoughts that my parents let me pursue. My mom especially liked The Beatles and I'm pretty sure she got a kick out of the fact that I was enjoying them so much. In fact, I bought her a Beatles album for her birthday. I don't remember her ever listening to it, but I sure did; over and over and over I listened to it. My groovy new friends in Junior High loved The Beatles, and our familiarity with their music was a point of distinction (and superiority) for us when we compared ourselves to our unenlightened classmates. I liked all three of The Beatles (and Ringo), and I loved virtually all their songs. And still do. To this day, their songs are the only ones in the universe that I can remember the lyrics to. They tapped into my brain deeply and profoundly. Of them all, John Lennon was my favorite song-writer. McCartney could craft a gorgeous melody, and I loved him, yes, but Lennon provided the energy and brains to the group. He made them more than a rock group; he made them art.
My mom came into my bedroom on that December morning, the bright hall light making me squint. I was snug in my bed, and I wondered why she came in a little before my radio alarm went off. My first thought was--yes!--it must have snowed over night and we were going to have a snow day.
Mom sat down on my bed and said, "Mikey honey, I have some sad news." Pause. "John Lennon was shot yesterday and died."
A link to the adult world indeed.
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3 comments:
Great pic (and a sad story).
beautifully tragic. i wish i had read this earlier.
i just took a brief 'paper-writing break', as it were, and found this delectable little vignette. thanks.
Mike B, so I being one of the unenlightened at the time came to know of their magic/power in the late 90's. I was spending time going back and forth from KC to LA and a band mate of mine sat me down and said, you really need to listen to these two discs back to back and if you still feel no curiosity/wonderment with what you hear then I will write you off on the subject, the albums were Revolver and Rubber Soul and the rest they say is history. I am a happy late convert and must say, every decent band owes their props to these four lads from Liverpool and its all more or less derivative from that point on. Great post Prof B! ~ Eason
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