davidvanwert.com

December 8 marks the 25th anniversary of the day John Lennon was murdered on the street in New York City. But the man who wrote “Imagine” and “Give Peace a Chance” could be volcanic in his personal life and was not one to mince words, as evidenced in this song written just a few months after the break-up of the Beatles.

Rolling Stone has released the full content of an interview with John Lennon that caused quite a stir in 1970. I dearly hope that in 35 years, people aren’t discussing and analyzing the Paris Hilton/Nicole Ritchie rift with this much passion, but it’s odd to hear a celebrity speak so bluntly and openly (other than as a publicity ploy). These days it would be a statement about “artistic differences” released through a spokesperson.
The interview is available as a podcast, though that doesn’t mean you need an iPod to hear it — nearly any desktop computer or mp3 player will do. “Podcast” was just accepted into the Oxford Dictionary as an official “word” with a “definition” which brings a strange confluence into the picture. Apple Computer was named after the Beatles record company, Apple Records, and there was a lawsuit over whether the name could be used. The computer company won on the grounds of “Hey, we have nothing to do with music.” But 25 years later, Apple Computer achieves a form of product placement in the Oxford Dictionary based on a music device.

Full Disclosure:
Magical Misery Tour (Bootleg Record), sung by Tony Hendra; piano: Melissa Manchester; drums: Jim Payne; bass: John “Cooker” LoPresti; lyrics by Tony Hendra & Michael O’Donoghue; composed by Christopher Cerf; arranged by Christopher Guest; by National Lampoon, 1972.