This past Wednesday was the 24th anniversary of John Lennon’s death. While spending the day at Strawberry Fields celebrating his life I got to thinking: Mark David Chapman is the best thing that ever happened to John Lennon. Getting killed did more for his life than his life could have ever done for itself. Need proof? Well, I present Sir Paul McCartney.
Now, the whole “premature death as image and career enhancer” argument is of course nothing new. Ask Tupac about how well it works. No really, go find him in whatever cave he is hiding out and making music in and ask him. I’d be curious to hear what he has to say. Maybe he’ll even address it on his next album…Anyway, the point is, death was clearly one of John’s best career moves - that much is indisputable. On a scale of good career moves from 1-10 with 1 being meeting Yoko Ono and 10 being forming the Beatles, his death ranks a solid 9.8. Plus, it couldn’t have been planed any better if his publicity team had dreamed it up themselves (if such a thing as a publicity team had existed back then). The voice of the 60’s and the Woodstock generation dying just as the 80’s dawned, was symbolically genius. Yet at the same time, the whole thing was so unexpected, so shocking, and so sad that it rocked people to their very cores, which was after all the purpose of John’s life and work. So in a sense in death, he achieved the greatest moment of his life. (Death as performance art, Yoko would be so proud…that hit man was money well spent…)
In dealing with his death the media and fans alike spent extensive time dealing with the greater social context of his life - his role as the voice of his generation, the ultimate embodiment of the sixties, and an emblematic spokesman for the common man. This intense focus during that time forever cemented those roles as the central tenets of his iconography and linked the symbolism of “John Lennon” inseparably with the reality of John Lennon the human being. This is where the genius of his death really becomes apparent, because innocently or not, this iconography was what Lennon was selling, and his death became the ultimate marketing tool.
It was however, a lie.
Well now lie might be harsh as it seems to imply malicious intent, but digging to the heart of the matter, Lennon’s self-created iconography is one that is inaccurate. A long way from being the common man, he was about as far from "common" as one could get (and that isn’t necessarily a complete compliment). He wasn’t one of “us” and didn’t speak for an entire generation. He said so as much himself if you ever took the time to stop and actually listen to the words of "Working Class Hero". But you don’t have to take his word for it. You can simply review the evidence…
John was addicted to heroin, had several known homosexual affairs, believed he was the messiah, and was married to a Yoko Ono - a hideous satanic creature who had him more whipped than any person in the history of mankind. Hell, Kunta Kinte was less whipped than he was. Does any of that sound like your common man to you?
Should I go on? Okay, I will.
John’s first non-Beatles album featured ambient noise and random sounds and featured him posed nude on the cover. He went through a period in which he basically locked himself in his apartment and broke off most all contact with the outside world. He was considered by the government to be a dangerous radical and was being heavily watched by them at the time of his death. He reinvented himself and his music constantly remaining always accessible yet always wrapped in mystery. Any of this sound like your Average Joe Schmo to you? I mean, I dunno about you, but I’m still working on inventing myself for the first time.
Want more? Okay.
John left his wife in the middle of his marriage for a year and a half, became a bachelor again, was wilder than ever before, and then when he was done, came back to her and she acted like nothing ever happened. He was a horrible parent, completely neglected his kid, then he gets a second chance and becomes a stay at home dad, and the model father. To be John seems to be to have your cake and eat it too. Usually in OUR life though we don’t even HAVE our cake, let alone eat it. We are watching our weight.
So it seems to me then that John isn’t really one of “us” at all. But him and his life sure do sound neat. He is dark, mysterious, endlessly fascinating, passionate, open, witty, and most of all, cool. He made art that touched people lives, and came as close to changing the world as music ever will. He was loved by critics and by the masses seemingly without even trying. He could have sex with any woman he wanted and hang out with any guy too. He had the courage of his convictions, and stood up and fought for whatever he believed in, regardless of what others thought or no matter how crazy or idealistic it seemed. We never saw him grow old and so he maintained his youthful vigor up until the end of his life….This all doesn’t sound like a description of who we are though. But all this does sound familiar.
It sounds like a description of who we want to be.
But alas, we are not John nor will we ever be. We actively want to be loved and respected. We would never risk making edgy avant-garde music that would potentially turn off fans and critics alike. We have strong views but we don’t fight for them like we should, lest we alienate others. Plus, we’re lazy. We’re not that cool as a whole, but boy do we try to be. We’d like to live a crazy life of adventure and carelessness, but hey there are bills to pay and we have to be responsible. A lack of restraint and order leads to too much uncertainty. We’ll chase our dreams and ideals for a little bit, but then its time to settle down and lead a safe, normal life. Our family is more important than our art or our career. We would like to be raw and emotional, but deep down we’re sappy romantics at heart. We would like to say the first thing that comes into our head, but we usually wind up censoring ourselves. We care a lot about what people think about us. We don’t age well. We get outbid for the rights to our own music by a surgically reconstructed albino pedophile.
That’s right, we are not John; “we” are Paul.
You don’t want to believe me I know. But Paul is the voice of his generation and of “us” just as much, if not more, than John was and is. Yes John has the mother issues, the directness, the hippie mentality, the common man appeal, etc.. Yes, Paul seems distant, inaccessible, sappy, and out of touch. But lets face it: if you were a former Beatle you would be the one writing “Silly Love Songs” with your wife and friends and playing at the Halftime Show of the Super Bowl, not the one getting into violent bar fights, starting your own religion, and dead by age 40.
Perhaps I can’t speak for you though.
Perhaps I should just let your mirror do me speaking for me.
Because you see, it’s pretty undeniable: Paul is who we are. John is who we want to be.
We are the eggman.
We are not the walrus.
Top 3 & 1/2 of the Week:
1.) FACEBOOK
2.) The Band - "The Weight"
3.) The Postal Service - "Sleeping In"
3 & 1/2.) Fountains of Wayne - "Valley Winter Song"
No comments:
Post a Comment