There ain't no Jesus gonna come from the sky...now that I found out, I know I can cry.


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There ain't no Jesus gonna come from the sky...now that I found out, I know I can cry.
03.01.04 (7:21 am)   [edit]
On a whim yesterday, I put on yet another record I haven't listened to in ages: John Lennon's [i]Plastic Ono Band[/i]. Again, it was a pleasant rediscovery--this one so much so that I'm giving it a special mention.

Like every self-respecting Lennon fan, [i]Plastic Ono Band [/i]had always been my favorite solo record anyway. But more and more as I listen to it, I think that before yesterday this may have been more due to process of elimination than anything else. It's much too mature a record for a fifteen-year-old to really understand. A lot of overzealous critics refer to it as the "first grunge album," which is completely untrue: not only does are there a lot of really beautiful quiet songs amidst all the sludge, the angst here is very adult, very focused. The man singing these songs has been abandoned by his parents, used by his fame. The ideals of his generation (often credited to him) have failed him and so has the religion of the generation before him. The only thing he has to hold onto is his love for Yoko, and even that is under constant attack from the people who oppose it. Teenagers couldn't relate to [i]Plastic Ono Band[/i] as easily as they could to, say, Nirvana, because you can't just be depressed to understand this music; you have to be depressed and in love.

Basically, there are two albums within [i]Plastic Ono Band[/i]: the cathartic results of Lennon's "Primal Scream" therapy (Mother, I Found Out, God, most famously Working Class Hero), and then a sort of bittersweet love letter to Yoko (Love, Look At Me, Hold On, Isolation). While I love the Primal Scream stuff, especially God, it's really the love cycle that interests me most. These are some of the most beautiful songs John Lennon ever wrote. Hold On is breezily ethereal, like a good dream; Love, its use in a recent cotton commercial notwithstanding, has to be one of the most tender and perfect love songs written by anybody. John and Yoko are under attack at this point, but they can still go within themselves to make this amazing music, this testament to the love they have. I think that's what makes this record so special: it's the sound of a love fighting desperately against the forces that would tear it apart, or more generally, the sound of a man fighting desperately against the forces that have hurt him since childhood--including himself. It has to be the best of the Beatles solo albums, and at least one of the best albums released in 1970. For my money, it's one of the greatest records ever made, and before yesterday, I would probably never have said that.

Listening to: Remember by John Lennon
 

posted by: Someone Who Cares (reply)
post date: 03.02.04 (2:21 pm)

Sir,

You don't know me; indeed, even I am somewhat surprised to witness myself typing these words, as not so long ago I swore a solemn oath never again to give unsolicited criticisms to strangers on the Internet. However, the factual error demonstrated in the title of this (otherwise commendable) review of the first solo record by John Winston Ono Lennon, M.B.E., formerly of inimitable Merseybeat moptops-cum-world conquerors the Beatles, simply cannot be allowed to exist without reproof.

Sir, take a good look at the lyric quoted at the beginning of this journal entry. Notice anything strange? I did. While your taste in Lennon's music is impeccable--I too am a stalwart proponent of the track I Found Out, though I will confess that God is somewhat nearer and dearer to my heart--the lyric in question most certainly does NOT go, "There ain't no Jesus coming down from the sky." No, as a cursory glance at the libretto of that fine album will prove, the lyric is, "There ain't no Jesus GONNA COME from the sky." Clearly, such a flagrantly unnecessary piece of information is a grave disservice to the legacy of a genius of Lennon's calibre. And while I feel assured that you did not intend to commit such a disservice, it remains, by accident or design, a disservice nonetheless. This, begging your pardon, is simply inexcusable.

What do I propose? I propose you check your facts and make the amends necessary to restore Mr. Lennon's good name. Let me reassure you that I mean you no disrespect. In fact, I am a regular reader if this journal, and, excepting the occasional quibble (your inexplicable and utterly undeserved love of that showboating '80s relic Prince, for instance), find your musical commentary most enlightening. This is why your John Lennon lyrical mistake disturbed me so, my good man: it is, quite simply, beneath you. To quote the popular parental maxim, "I am not angry, just disappointed." If you would take the necessary steps to salve this disappointment and return yourself to the prime spot in online-journaldom you once occupied, it would be much appreciated.

In Liberty,
Jacob R. Nelson III


posted by: churchofmadlove (reply)
post date: 03.02.04 (9:56 pm)

Hey, thanks for the correction...uh, whoever you are. I was quoting the lyrics from memory and I guess I thought my memory of the song that has just played five minutes ago would suffice. Guess I was wrong. Anyway, thanks again for the help, even if I'm not entirely sure I was doing a disservice to John Lennon just for getting a couple words of his song wrong.

Oh, and by the way, while you did get both of John's middle names right, he gave back the M.B.E. in protest in 1969. Thought you might like to know. Enjoy the corrections!


posted by: Jacob R. Nelson III (reply)
post date: 03.04.04 (2:18 pm)

Sir, I stand corrected. Mr. Lennon did indeed give back his M.B.E. in 1969, and I am, I admit, a little embarrassed to have forgotten that fact. Thank you for reminding me, and for your prompt and much-needed corrections. Lennon can stop spinning in his grave now, and I can start sleeping better at night.

Incidentally, I must take the time to commend you on the courtesy you granted me when I did no more than correct you on a few seemingly insignificant--yet vital--facts. I'm afraid I have had more than my share of run-ins with individuals for whom your sense of understanding and accomodation does not come as easily. Mr. Mad Love, I sense that we have a lot in common, and it's not just because your screen name is a cheeky little paraphrasing of one of my favorite Bowie lyrics (I was tickled upon discovery of this, let me assure you). If you would allow me to introduce my own readership to this fine journal, it would be much appreciated. If you'd like to see my journal--I of course do not mean to impose on you--it can be found at this address:

http://www.livejournal/com/users/underpressure84

I hope you enjoy my own musings on the music I love, and I hope especially that you will allow me to introduce YOUR musings to the readers of my own humble journal.

In Liberty,
Jacob R. Nelson III


posted by: churchofmadlove (reply)
post date: 03.04.04 (4:24 pm)

Uh, sure, you can link to my blog if you want to. In fact, just in the spirit of brotherhood, maybe I'll link to yours, too. Thanks a lot.

- "Mr. Mad Love"

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