Wednesday is certain to be filled with a lot of stories recalling the tragic events 30 years ago. Here are a few suggestions to help remember John Lennon in ways that focus more on the good times as much as possible:
1) Movies: Any movies with John Lennon as a Beatle or solo artist, of course, should be considered. VH1 Classic is showing a string of Lennon-related shows on Dec. 8. But outside of those, there are other films to suggest that may be available through Netflix or your local video store. Our favorite non-Beatles Beatle film is "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," which is always fun to watch. Netflix has Lennon films available for instant streaming, including "Imagine: John Lennon" and "Classic Albums: John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band," an excellent look at the making of that album. There's also "John Lennon Live in Toronto" (we reviewed it here: http://www.examiner.com/beatles-in-national/lennon-live-toronto-recalls-...). "The U.S. Vs. John Lennon" is another good look at Lennon's life. "Gimme Some Truth: The Making of John Lennon's 'Imagine'" is a great look at the sessions for that album.
2) Books: There are so many books out there it would take a book to list them all. A recent entry is "John Lennon: Life Is What Happens: Music, Memories & Memorabilia," by John M. Borack. The memorabilia pictured in the book, both of Beatles and Lennon, is quite fascinating, everything from a "Yellow Submarine" lunch box to movie posters to a "Two Virgins" 8-track tape. Another new entry, found on newsstands, is LIFE magazine's "Remembering John Lennon," clearly labeled as a reissue of the classic LIFE illustrated biography." LIFE magazine had a tradition for great photography and it's evident in this book why.
More: Philip Norman's "John Lennon: The Life" received lots of critical praise and goes inside Lennon's life extensively. Ken Sharp's "Starting Over: The Making of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 'Double Fantasy'" is another excellent book, albeit of his later life. (On the other hand, there's Keith Elliot Greenberg's "December 8, 1980: The Day John Lennon Died," which, though it traces in somewhat documentary form how Lennon crossed paths with his killer, also traces Lennon's life at the very end. Still, it may be better for another time.) "Beatles Memorabilia: The Julian Lennon Collection", which we reviewed here, gives a unique and very special insight into John's life through Julian. May Pang's "Loving John" is being revised, but libraries may have copies. It's a look at a different part of Lennon's life. Jude Southerland Kessler's "Shivering Inside" (www.ontherockbooks.com), the second volume in her "enhanced biography" series (as we like to call it), traces John's life from Dec., 1961 to April, 1963. Otherwise, there are tons more (and we apologize for not listing them all).
3) Events: There will be candlelight ceremonies in Los Angeles (http://www.examiner.com/beatles-in-national/john-lennon-to-be-honored-wi...), New York (at Strawberry Fields) and in Ottawa on Parliament Hill (starts at 6 p.m.)
4) Meditation: But walks in any park with or without an MP3 player and thinking about John are good things and what John would appreciate. Miss him, miss him, miss him.
5) Radio: WABC Radio in New York will have a special on John Lennon. In addition, there's the syndicated special on John Lennon's last interview hosted by Dave Sholin. And the BBC is running a 10-week series on Lennon. (We're not mentioning the TV shows because they're mostly on the tragic part.)
6) Podcast: The latest Fab Fourum podcast, available at www.fabfourum.com and at iTunes, talks about John Lennon's life.
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Comments
BBC America is also showing John all day beginning at 9 AM EST.
Thanks.
Just knowing there are millions of us all around the world observing this day in whatever way we chose -all together - is quite an amazing feeling - being part of a huge group of similar souls world wide - something special for me :-))
Thanks, Terry!
I choose to not observe it at all.
I choose to not observe it at all.
I choose to not observe it at all.
Hard to believe it's been 30 yrs. i can remember finishing up by degree (was in early 30's then) and hearing of John's death- running up to at that time students who didn't even now who John Lennon was- will pull out the ole album on watch the wheels go 'round and round today and have a glass of wine in remembrance of him today!
Great that you should mention Robert Zemeckis' I wanna hold your hand, which is by far the best Beatles film without the Beatles acting in it.
I have lately had a fantasy of Universal and Apple re-releasing together the film restored with a remastered and remixed stereo soundtrack (like Yellow submarine). The dvd would include the commentary track of the director and producer (as the original dvd release) and commentary by Paul and Ringo (it would be great to hear their reactions about the beatlemania) but also original material from 1964 when the Beatles was in New York. Apple/EMI would then release a remixed songtrack of the film as they did with Yellow Submarine.
So if Apple is in need of new ideas to make money out of the Beatles, this is one idea.
You won't see anything until "Yellow Submarine" comes out again. But yeah, this would be great -- and to have both the old and new versions on DVD again would be excellent.
A day to remember the heart and soul of a true artist!
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