Saturday, December 8, 2012

The Joker in music

On this day, 32 years ago, John Lennon was murdered in front of his apartment building in New York. I've already planned to write about him, so this seem to be some strange coincidence. I won't be writing his biography, you can find that online, I'll be just expressing the way I see him.
As you all know, John was a founding member of The Beatles. Many consider them to be one of the best, if not the best musical groups of all time. Although they made really good music, I find John's life and career after The Beatles much more inspiring and interesting. I'll explain why...

The Beatles were the prototype of today's modern pop stars, so when you look at it that way, you can see what problems John had in the band. They made great songs for sure, but they were also used a tool to influence and control the masses. Just type BEATLEMANIA in your web browser and you'll get my point. John was known as a rebel while in the band but his solo work was his chance to truly express himself. His statement that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus was widely misinterpreted. He was very critical of the organized religions later in his life, but when you look at it closely you can see what he really meant by his statements. He criticized the manipulative aspect of religion not the spiritual side of it. Music, same as religion, has a very big influence on people. It can be used either for good or for bad. It's a very useful tool for the ruling class to manipulate people. Just look at the popular music today and all those ''stars'' that the masses admire... The Beatles were no different. By saying ''more popular than Jesus'' John was actually saying that same as religion, their music was also a tool of mass control, and in his opinion ''more popular''.
I'll copy here his full statement so you can see for yourself...

''Christianity will go.. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first — rock and roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me.''

''I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It's just that the translations have gone wrong''




John Lennon was a very spiritual person and I'm totally convinced that Jesus would like John's music very much.Just listen to ''Give peace a chance'' and ''All we need is love''. It's basically what Jesus was saying all along. But his teachings were distorted and John just pointed it out.After he left the band and embarked on his solo work he chose a different path than the rest of the rockstars. What I admire the most about him is the fact that he had a choice to stay away of the problems that the whole society was facing. He could have just made some pop love songs and make money without a care but he chose to fight for his ideals. Like I said, I won't be writing his bio but I encourage you to learn more about his activism. He used his music to spread the message of love and mutual understanding. His natural sense of humor makes him a real joker.






Like Gandhi, Martin Luther King jr and Tupac, John Lennon growing influence was a threat to the system. Because of his popularity they had to remove him somehow. First they tried to deport him, the FBI was monitoring him and in the end they killed him. Call me crazy but I don't believe that his death as a work of some nutjob that wanted to be famous. Google MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE or watch the movie. You might laugh at me now, but I remain convinced that his murder was organized.
His mortal body was destroyed 32 years ago, but his spirit, message and songs live on...


Watch Lennon in his own words...

2 comments:

  1. Wish I could post pictures with the comments... I'd add one of myself, standing on the site of the assassination. Because the building is still the residence of some economically powerful people, there is a security station beside the little entry where John was shot. I asked the guard if a day has ever gone by when nobody visited the site. He told me that rarely an hour passes between visitors. I was raised with the Beatles and John Lennon. This was pretty much the only music I heard throughout my early adolescence, and I could sing most of their songs from memory by the time I was five years old. I remember the day John Lennon was killed. He was definitely a joker. He had the sadness, frustration, and showy outlandishness that I'd associate with that role. An intelligent guy in a world of dull monkeys

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  2. Thank you for the great post. Lennon was a great inspriation and I have interest in studying his life and work further based on your post.

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