Interview: Author creates digital tribute to John Lennon for iPad

Judith Furedi ('john lennon: in their own write, a loving tribute from his friends and fans"), who has done interactive tributes to John Lennon before, has done it again with her latest, “A Lennon Pastiche,” an imaginative digital combination of music, video and stories dedicated to Lennon that's now available through iTunes just for the iPad. Furedi said her goal was to get a wide variety of voices in tribute to Lennon.

“We had many submissions but we only chose the creme de la creme. We were going for quality instead of quantity,” says Furedi.” And we wanted to also showcase a variety of talent from diverse countries, backgrounds, specially and ages and different generation - to show how Lennon's music and message still appeals and speaks to such a diverse group of ages.”

The various tributes indeed run the gamut. Most are original songs, with notable examples being Andrew Gordon's "Yoko and John," and Blythe Abilgail Su-Ren Schulte's charming "Fire." Another highlight is Anthony Toner's "Me and John Lennon and You," a beautiful acoustic song that's accompanied by a touching video shot on a rainy day in New York City.

According to co-editor John Schulte of Pangea, the book's publisher, their original plans were to produce a DVD to be added as a supplemental to the printed edition.

“As clever as Judith's interactive printed book was, she knew that the music and interview component would complete her vision. We wrestled with the idea of releasing a navigable DVD to select between sections -- keeping the experience organic and non-linear,” Schulte says.

“As the concept matured, the idea of an interactive book, from a digital standpoint, became immediately feasible when Apple introduced the format. As Apple publishers, Pangea commenced the project from the proposition that the concept of Judith's interactive book could best be realized using this platform.”

He says the contributors came from a combination of social media and friends. He also said they tried to use a cross section of contributors from around the world.

“We also felt we needed the younger generation to be represented, so we approached a graduate of the Orange County School of the Arts, the famous conservatory school that “Glee” star Matt Morrison attended. There we found Jude Conlee, a remarkably versatile teenager, who articulated John Lennon's influence over her generation with amazing clarity and depth.

“Overall, we selected content that we felt was eclectic, experimental and professional. We included material from artists, musicians and writers, as well as creative folks from academia and sundry industries.”

“A Lennon Pastiche” is that – an imaginative digital tribute to John Lennon that goes outside the box.

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