As expected, there is much boohooing and wringing of hands today in observance of the anniversary of John Lennon's martyrdom. Amid all the worshipful candlelight processions and solemn ceremonies there are very few who remember this troubled, gifted man as he truly was: an artist who prostituted his art, a philosopher who helped to lead an entire generation to find their truths in drugs, a political agitator whose main focus was always himself, not the supposed huddled masses whose "Working Class Hero" he imagined himself to be.
I miss the man's music and humour, but I can't say I miss the man. His death, while unfortunate, was scarcely a hero's death. He was shot outside his palatial condo by a crackpot loser. Sad, but not as sad, for instance, as the death of Marvin Gaye.
Of all the many press releases on this day, I could find only one which contained even mild criticism of Lennon's politics. How quickly we whitewash our cultural saints.
Here is an excerpt from the one news item that I have seen which dares to mention a rather discomfiting fact: that Lennon is now being lionized in Communist Cuba. I would speculate that sales of Lennon albums have probably taken a sharp dip in Miami.
Once-Shunned Lennon Now Feted in Communist Cuba
HAVANA (Reuters) - Communist-run Cuba came full circle on Friday to fete John Lennon, whose music was once frowned on as a decadent Western influence, as a "revolutionary" hero.
Official honors for the Beatles star on the 20th anniversary of his death included a documentary by President Fidel Castro's personal cameraman, the unveiling of a bronze statue of Lennon in a Havana park and an open-air concert planned for Friday evening.
...Friday's honors were intended to "integrate Lennon into the patrimony of the cultural values that our people admire and respect," an official statement said.
...Communist Party daily Granma last year included the Beatles on a list of the most "relevant" figures of the 20th century, below Castro, Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, and Argentine-born guerrilla Ernesto "Che" Guevara.
I miss the man's music and humour, but I can't say I miss the man. His death, while unfortunate, was scarcely a hero's death. He was shot outside his palatial condo by a crackpot loser. Sad, but not as sad, for instance, as the death of Marvin Gaye.
Of all the many press releases on this day, I could find only one which contained even mild criticism of Lennon's politics. How quickly we whitewash our cultural saints.
Here is an excerpt from the one news item that I have seen which dares to mention a rather discomfiting fact: that Lennon is now being lionized in Communist Cuba. I would speculate that sales of Lennon albums have probably taken a sharp dip in Miami.
Once-Shunned Lennon Now Feted in Communist Cuba
HAVANA (Reuters) - Communist-run Cuba came full circle on Friday to fete John Lennon, whose music was once frowned on as a decadent Western influence, as a "revolutionary" hero.
Official honors for the Beatles star on the 20th anniversary of his death included a documentary by President Fidel Castro's personal cameraman, the unveiling of a bronze statue of Lennon in a Havana park and an open-air concert planned for Friday evening.
...Friday's honors were intended to "integrate Lennon into the patrimony of the cultural values that our people admire and respect," an official statement said.
...Communist Party daily Granma last year included the Beatles on a list of the most "relevant" figures of the 20th century, below Castro, Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, and Argentine-born guerrilla Ernesto "Che" Guevara.
)
Facebook
Twitter