I grew up in a house well stocked with John Lennon. His solo work, as well as the Beatles records, dominated the record shelf. A few cassette tapes of John's interviews, recorded from the radio, completed the collection. An immaculate copy of Time Magazine's December, 1980 issue was tucked inside the sleeve of the Double Fantasy record. I loved the music. All of it. The Beatles. Lennon. I even enjoyed the absurdity of Yoko Ono. That music has been with me for my entire life.

As I rode the subway to work this morning, I read countless articles about John Lennon. About his life and his death. About his music and his beliefs. And while the media's portrayal is simplified beyond reason, it is well intentioned and, thus, largely forgivable. While reading these things, I was struck for the first time by how horrific John's death must have been. And, for the first time in my life, I was really sad about it. Then, quite unexpectedly, I came to the end of The Beatles: The Biography, which didn't exactly cheer me up.

The Beatles broke up. John is dead. Yet despite all the chaos and frustration and anger and contradictions, it's the good stuff that endured. That's pretty remarkable. It goes against human nature to focus on the good things, rather than the bad. But Lennon and the Beatles live on. And the world still loves them.

The only weird thing is that we celebrate the date of John's death and not the date of his birth.

Here's an mp3 of John Lennon performing Imagine at The Apollo. It is believed to be the only time he performed the song on guitar rather than piano. I can't find evidence of this existing on any official recording anywhere.

more beatles @ wtg:

• Behind The Beatles: Rain
• Behind The Beatles: Being For The Benefit of Mister Kite!
• Behind The Beatles: Dear Prudence
• Behind The Beatles: She Said, She Said
• even more beatles

more mp3s @ wtg:

• Ween MP3 Brownload #1 - Pandy Fackler
• Ween MP3 Brownload #2 - Champagne Jam
• Free Music: Live and Legal
• Brion Gysin's Poem of Poems
• Artifacts of Psychic TV, TG & Genesis P
  
• Music For The Hard Drive
• Close (To The Edit)
• Psychic Friends Network
• Before Mama Mia, Moving Out...There Was Sgt. Pepper's
• Eight Years of "Infotainment Valu!" From Ana Voog
• and more
  

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