John's Blog

Although the untimely and tragic passing of John Lennon is usually noted on the December anniversary, today marks the day this cultural icon was born. Given his high-profile and vocal opposition to the Vietnam War, it's not hard to imagine (no pun intended) that if he were still with us he would be just as outspoken today, as he was then. Although we still have artists who are politically active, even when they band together, seldom do they make the kind of impact that Lennon did, and to a degree still does.

Unfortunately, today political apathy seems to be more the order of the day than it was when Lennon's star was at it's apex. Back then, political activism was at least given more lip service, even if the reality may be about the same as current participation levels. But it's hard not to wonder, what was taken from us on that cold, dark December day, both musically and in terms of his social and political advocacy.

A little Lennon influenced link dump to commemorate what would have been his 66th birthday:

John Lennon: Imagine
John Lennon Performs Give Peace A Chance
Absolute Elsewhere: The Spirit of John Lennon
Everybody's talking about Bagism
The U.S. vs. John Lennon
Imagine: The Bush Remix
Imagine
Accordian Beatles
Meet The Beatle Barkers!

Tags: music, politics