Friday, November 12, 2010

"The Last Years and the Legacy"

A few nights back, I watched the installment of Behind the Music about John Lennon. As the title of this post indicates, it focuses on the later events of his life, i.e., the making of Double Fantasy, his death, etc. Below are some of the brief notes I took on it.

- It's touching to hear Yoko recount the time when John grew rather worried over a slight fever Sean had and even told Yoko that she wasn't concerned enough. What a transformation John underwent: from drug-addled music megastar to dedicated Mr. Mom.

- Julian on his father: "...I didn't know who he was, really."

- The audio of young Sean singing "With a Little Help from My Friends" is beyond adorable.

- One poignant reaction to the news of John's death: "I just kept wanting to change it." (I can't remember who made this remark.)

- Lastly, I wonder if John's legacy would be different had he perished on that storm-ravaged sailing expedition to Bermuda rather than being gunned down in cold blood by Mark David Chapman. Death has a way of romanticizing those who have passed, and this is especially true when the manner of death is as gruesome as John's was. If he had gone out in a blaze of glory, bravely battling a tempest that would eventually prove too fierce, would his post-death deification have been as swift and thorough-going? Perhaps not. (I apologize if this is an overly macabre counter-factual.)

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