Americans and gun violence. And the leader and man who started the Beatles (who arrived in America 2 1/2 months after JFK's assassination) from Liverpool shot down, un-armed (for all the "cowboys" out there) in front of his home. I woke up on my birthday to Good Morning AMERICA and Geraldo Rivera standing out front of the Dakota with the tragic news. Insane. My senior year of High School. Nothing of this scale had ever happened before, the assassination of a pop star/Rock 'n' Roller turned political activist. And it shocked the WORLD. The Beatles were the first INTERNATIONAL superstars in pop culture when they came out of the gates with all Fab Four of them being in their early twenties. And for six more years their impact and influence on the world infected an entire generation across the globe. They broke the Western influence wall in the Soviet Union with the black market album exchange among Russian youth.
John Winston Lennon was dead. The man who wrote All You Need is Love was murdered in America, and Ronald Reagan had been elected to his first term the month before and had yet to be inaugurated. That would come six weeks later. So, "better" things to come? Sure, nothing like a B-movie actor and corporate mannequin to get things rolling after blowing smoke up the American working class heroes' ass while de-regulating on the behalf of corporate America and tearing down labor unions.
Yeah, gun violence. Now look at cha. "Gone postal" had become a catch phrase already because a U.S. postal worker had went on a killing spree inside his federal government work place and killed and wounded his co-workers. And this was all before the violence hit the school playgrounds and classrooms and churches and shopping mall and Las Vegas outdoor country music concert(s). Good Mourning, America, how are ya?! Don't bother to take your temperature 'cause you ain't sick...
Thanks, Stephen, for a passionate, pointed, and pertinent recap of events that have brought us right up to the present. All along it has been the inability to discern truth from bullshit. There have been consequences for this a bit at a time. The consequences for each uninformed choice add up. The consequences for this last election is costing us American democracy. And the fucking ignorant MAGA assholes made it happen.
I'm an agnostic as well, but sometimes I think that those four guys were cosmically ordained to bring something else other than great music to this vile world of bullies and carnage in pursuit of global dominance. A chemistry they possesed like no other, those four sides to the perfect square brought something magical and positive that continues to vibe 54 years after they dissolved. Most, usually male fans, always blame Yoko Ono for their parting, when it was really the infection of money and restlessness after the loss of Brian Epstein who had their back from the beginning. Yeah yeah yeah 😊 ✌️
(Responding to your comment here): I’m a huge Beatles fan! I consider them the band that got me into music. (also a story on Substack if you’re curious). That Lennon song will always mean a lot to me. It’s fascinating how popular it ultimately grew with its strong, anti-religion message. It’s very unique in that way. I’m not sure I can think of another song so generally well-regarded that’s so blatantly against it.
Interesting to know it wasn’t always that way! Thanks for reading and sending!
Americans and gun violence. And the leader and man who started the Beatles (who arrived in America 2 1/2 months after JFK's assassination) from Liverpool shot down, un-armed (for all the "cowboys" out there) in front of his home. I woke up on my birthday to Good Morning AMERICA and Geraldo Rivera standing out front of the Dakota with the tragic news. Insane. My senior year of High School. Nothing of this scale had ever happened before, the assassination of a pop star/Rock 'n' Roller turned political activist. And it shocked the WORLD. The Beatles were the first INTERNATIONAL superstars in pop culture when they came out of the gates with all Fab Four of them being in their early twenties. And for six more years their impact and influence on the world infected an entire generation across the globe. They broke the Western influence wall in the Soviet Union with the black market album exchange among Russian youth.
John Winston Lennon was dead. The man who wrote All You Need is Love was murdered in America, and Ronald Reagan had been elected to his first term the month before and had yet to be inaugurated. That would come six weeks later. So, "better" things to come? Sure, nothing like a B-movie actor and corporate mannequin to get things rolling after blowing smoke up the American working class heroes' ass while de-regulating on the behalf of corporate America and tearing down labor unions.
Yeah, gun violence. Now look at cha. "Gone postal" had become a catch phrase already because a U.S. postal worker had went on a killing spree inside his federal government work place and killed and wounded his co-workers. And this was all before the violence hit the school playgrounds and classrooms and churches and shopping mall and Las Vegas outdoor country music concert(s). Good Mourning, America, how are ya?! Don't bother to take your temperature 'cause you ain't sick...
Thanks, Stephen, for a passionate, pointed, and pertinent recap of events that have brought us right up to the present. All along it has been the inability to discern truth from bullshit. There have been consequences for this a bit at a time. The consequences for each uninformed choice add up. The consequences for this last election is costing us American democracy. And the fucking ignorant MAGA assholes made it happen.
Thanks for taking time to comment, Stephen.
Abrahamson
I'm an agnostic as well, but sometimes I think that those four guys were cosmically ordained to bring something else other than great music to this vile world of bullies and carnage in pursuit of global dominance. A chemistry they possesed like no other, those four sides to the perfect square brought something magical and positive that continues to vibe 54 years after they dissolved. Most, usually male fans, always blame Yoko Ono for their parting, when it was really the infection of money and restlessness after the loss of Brian Epstein who had their back from the beginning. Yeah yeah yeah 😊 ✌️
(Responding to your comment here): I’m a huge Beatles fan! I consider them the band that got me into music. (also a story on Substack if you’re curious). That Lennon song will always mean a lot to me. It’s fascinating how popular it ultimately grew with its strong, anti-religion message. It’s very unique in that way. I’m not sure I can think of another song so generally well-regarded that’s so blatantly against it.
Interesting to know it wasn’t always that way! Thanks for reading and sending!
With our freedom on the line Lennon's work seems more powerful if that's even possible
Absolutely. What a fucked up country.
🇺🇸Worried To Hell🇷🇺& Back⚠️🍊🫅🏼👑👹🤡🤑🤥⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️