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It's just occurred to me recently that if people think of themselves as true John Lennon fans, they wouldn't be questioning why he chose to marry Yoko Ono, nor would they be laughing at her or criticizing her music today.

What do you guys think? More importantly, what would John think if he saw people laughing at the woman he loved so much he married her?
 
Hmmm... first off, I reckon that if John Lennon were alive today, he probably wouldn't be all that bothered by criticism directed towards Yoko Ono as an artist(e)... she was a conceptual artist a long time before they ever met, and has always been quite left-field, hence the subject of some derision at times - it's pretty much par for the course for an artist such as she - hence, I think they would have got used to the criticism by now - just as Tony Blair, David Beckham or even Hilary Clinton (?!) have to handle criticism of their partners, John Lennon would probably have shrugged off such criticism quite easily. Also, Yoko Ono has come in for criticism with regards to the handling of John Lennon's legacy... (a recent notable example was her ill-fated musical about the music of John Lennon, which was mercilessly panned by the critics)... but someone has to do it, and who better than the woman that knew him best and loved him the most?...

On a personal front, however, I'm sure JL would be quite mad at people who continued to make nasty comments about her non-artistic qualities, such as her looks, her personality etc.... alot of people were unhappy with JL for separating from Cynthia Lennon, and many people also blame Yoko Ono for the demise of The Beatles - although arguably both of these things would most likely have happened anyway, whether Yoko Ono had appeared or not...
 
I just think a musician who preached peace, love and understanding would have had enough of the nastiness directed towards Yoko, no matter what fans think she is or is not responsible for with respect to John and The Beatles. To be a huge Beatles fan and then lambast Yoko Ono for "breaking up the band" is to have missed the message of The Beatles' music entirely.
 
Kind of... But then again, they did make the song, "The Ballad of John and Yoko". In my opinion, it's kind of toung in cheek. People are far to often mixing musicians personal lives with their music. I like some of Michael Jackson's music (there, I said it!!!) but I don't support his weird assedness (I just made up a word, just like Bush). It's the same with John and Yoko, you don't have support the lifestyle they lead, you simply have to like the music. After all, the typical "rock star" is a junky who cheats, beats women, drives drunk and cheats on his wife and ultimatly dies a young death... Hardley a roll model, or something that people can really get behind. Of course this is a rude generalization, but it can be said none the less, that most of the musicans you know about have a shaddy side to them... and let's not get into hip hop artists... Still, their "art" is supposed to speak for itself. Even the greatest composers of classical music have had many many scandle attached to them, and people still love their music. Music vs. personal life is often a hard thing to destinguish for some people, I think as time passes, it becomes less of an issue...
 
Canadian Speed
Kind of... But then again, they did make the song, "The Ballad of John and Yoko".
You mean John and Yoko? I'm not sure about that... I think John Lennon wrote the song, but the entire song was performed by just John Lennon and Paul MacCartney (ironically!)... Lennon plays the guitars and sings, Macca is playing the drums, bass and backing vocals...
 
Yoko was very brave to try alternative music as alternative as she did.

It wasn't a bad attempt either.
 
If you call souding like a dieing peacock a good attempt...:sick:

Touring Mars
You mean John and Yoko?

Yeah, although your info was right about who made it, the song is called The Ballad of John and Yoko... At any rate, I still think it was tounge in cheek, at least on McCartney's behalf... And if it wasn't it should have been lol. "Ah if only I knew then what I knew now..." Hind sight's always 20/20...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ballad_of_John_and_Yoko
 
I think a true fan is someone who overlooks those aspects of that artist's/band's personal life, and focuses on the music. A true fan is someone who will enjoy the music, and doesn't get affected with whatever happens in that musician's personal life, good or bad. That is a true music fan.

I refuse to look at the "what if" on anything. The Beatles were a great band. John Lennon was a great musician. I wouldn't have it any other way.
 
Touring Mars
You mean John and Yoko?
Canadian Speed
Yeah, although your info was right about who made it, the song is called The Ballad of John and Yoko...

Indeed... I was asking if you meant that John and Yoko wrote the song, and not referrring to the song title ;) - I think it was just John Lennon who wrote it, and that Yoko had no part in the song at all... alot of people think that it is her singing the backing vocals, but it's not...

Canadian Speed
At any rate, I still think it was tounge in cheek, at least on McCartney's behalf...
Absolutely... especially since the song was written in 1969, long after John Lennon's famous statement about being 'bigger than God' - "Christ you know it ain't easy, you know how hard it can be/The way things are going, they're going to crucify me..." :lol:

I agree about being a 'true fan'... a true fan of Lennon would not be having a dig at Yoko just for being his wife... but you can be a true fan of The Beatles and of John Lennon without enjoying Yoko Ono's music, which arguably is not very pleasant :p
 
Indeed, yet many people quickly move from "Your music sucks" to "You suck." I don't like Yoko's music at all, but I still hate it when people insult her as a person, which happens a lot.
 
Anderton Prime
It's just occurred to me recently...laughing at her or criticizing her music today.

Just wondering what prompted this post. Have I missed something? Is the poor old thing catching hell from somebody again?
 
Jimmy Enslashay
I think a true fan is someone who overlooks those aspects of that artist's/band's personal life, and focuses on the music. A true fan is someone who will enjoy the music, and doesn't get affected with whatever happens in that musician's personal life, good or bad. That is a true music fan.

I refuse to look at the "what if" on anything. The Beatles were a great band. John Lennon was a great musician. I wouldn't have it any other way.

You're getting some points from me for that :) I agree completely.
 
Anderton Prime
Indeed, yet many people quickly move from "Your music sucks" to "You suck." I don't like Yoko's music at all, but I still hate it when people insult her as a person, which happens a lot.
If you believe the staff accounts in Goldman’s Lennon biography, Yoko would deliberately leave dog turds in John’s path, and John would retaliate by grabbing her by the hair and threatening to burn her on the kitchen stove.:sick: Although Goldman’s work is sensationalist dross (heh) I’ve read a number of Lennon biographies, and it’s quite clear that John and Yoko had a difficult relationship.
 
Touring Mars
Indeed... I was asking if you meant that John and Yoko wrote the song, and not referrring to the song title. I think it was just John Lennon who wrote it, and that Yoko had no part in the song at all... alot of people think that it is her singing the backing vocals, but it's not...

Sorry man, must have misread it the first time...

Absolutely... especially since the song was written in 1969, long after John Lennon's famous statement about being 'bigger than God' - "Christ you know it ain't easy, you know how hard it can be/The way things are going, they're going to crucify me..." :lol:

Yeah, it's a ballsy song... Even by today's standards.

I agree about being a 'true fan'... a true fan of Lennon would not be having a dig at Yoko just for being his wife... but you can be a true fan of The Beatles and of John Lennon without enjoying Yoko Ono's music, which arguably is not very pleasant :p

No argument there, I doubt you'd find anyone who says that Yoko is their favorite artist... And besides, musicaly, neither has anything to do with the other (Beatles or Lennon vs. Yoko).
 
Anderton Prime
It's just occurred to me recently that if people think of themselves as true John Lennon fans, they wouldn't be questioning why he chose to marry Yoko Ono, nor would they be laughing at her or criticizing her music today.

What do you guys think? More importantly, what would John think if he saw people laughing at the woman he loved so much he married her?

As a very big Beatles fan and a very big John Lennon fan, I don't question at all why John Lennon married Yoko Ono. He loved Yoko and that is a good enough reason for me. Personally, I haven't listened to any of Yoko's solo music. Don't really have the cash flow to just buy CDs just to check something out. I really only buy used CDs from the local Hasting's and their used selection is not always that great, nor do I make a trip there all that often.

Just speaking hypothetically. Let's just say Yoko's solo music is not all that great. I would not laugh at it, nor would I harshly criticize it either. If that were the case, I most likely wouldn't say much about it at all. Now if it was the exact opposite situation and the music was really good, I would definitely recommend to anyone.
 
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