Who is your favorite Beatle?

[PappyTron]

None of them; all a bunch of wankers.

[Gracii Guns]

Yoko.

Her contribution to the visual arts has been profound, movement-defining and arguably more thoughtful than any other high-profile contemporary artist. It's sad that most people regard her as 'John Lennon's wife' or 'the person who split up the Beatles'. She has contributed to the arts more than she ever potentially damaged it.

[Chris1989]

George Harrison for his Beatles and post Beatles work, plus I think I could relate to the spiritual side.

[DirtyDeeds]

Yoko.

Her contribution to the visual arts has been profound, movement-defining and arguably more thoughtful than any other high-profile contemporary artist. It's sad that most people regard her as 'John Lennon's wife' or 'the person who split up the Beatles'. She has contributed to the arts more than she ever potentially damaged it.

Can you give some of what you think are the best examples of this?

[hellobeatle]

When I was a teenager I would've definitely said John Lennon. I can now really appreciate how insanely talented McCartney is. I would have to say it's a tie between Lennon-McCartney.

George was great but just wasn't in the same league. And Ringo... well, he's lucky he even ended up in the band given how late he joined.

[The Sandman]

Ringo

[TombRaider]

But Yoko wasn't even a Beatle

[DirtyDeeds]

But Yoko wasn't even a Beatle

She thought she was.

[TombRaider]

I don't really know all that much about why the Beatles decided to call it a day, but I don't think Yoko had a very big influence on their decision.

[DirtyDeeds]

I don't really know all that much about why the Beatles decided to call it a day, but I don't think Yoko had a very big influence on their decision.

That is true, but there are a lot of other reasons one might not particularly like Yoko.

[TombRaider]

such as?

[DirtyDeeds]

such as?

Being at her core an opportunist, the way she treated Julain, and things like this:

[TombRaider]

Isn't it a shame that the Beatles stopped touring in 1966? I think so. But is it true they stopped touring because of the screaming fans and because they couldn't listen to themselves playing? That's a weird reason to quit playing live, isn't it?

[DirtyDeeds]

Isn't it a shame that the Beatles stopped touring in 1966? I think so. But is it true they stopped touring because of the screaming fans and because they couldn't listen to themselves playing? That's a weird reason to quit playing live, isn't it?

It is at least partially true. The audio systems were complete shit back then. For instance, when they played the Shea Stadium gig, they played it with little amplifiers that you might use in your home for practice or at a very small gig. Then those were mic'ed and played through the Shea Stadium PA system that they would use to announce the baseball lineup or the football flags and penalties. Utter crap for a concert. They also had no idea how to mic drums back then and couldn't get those sounds right. I kind of don't blame them in a way.

[Gracii Guns]

Yoko.

Her contribution to the visual arts has been profound, movement-defining and arguably more thoughtful than any other high-profile contemporary artist. It's sad that most people regard her as 'John Lennon's wife' or 'the person who split up the Beatles'. She has contributed to the arts more than she ever potentially damaged it.

Can you give some of what you think are the best examples of this?

I'm away from home this weekend, with my iPad so can't post any photos (and this argument is seriously stifled by photos). If this thread is still alive by Sunday, I shall.

As a general overview, she's contributed so much as she's got one of the longest careers in Art, spanning from pre-Warhol to the present day. She's 80 and still working, when there's never been a necessity for her to work since the '60s. She's worked very hard, remained relevant and remained highly commercial. Her art provides food for thought and dramatic discussion. Because she's so old, she's had many contemporaries which have come and gone, so it's difficult to compare her reasonably. Her work has inspired other artists. The 90s saw a massive trend for introspective art, which flung the likes of Hirst and Emin to fame. This has really saturated the western art culture. Ono's work is more reflective, emotional and has a refreshingly virtuous message.

I'm not saying she's great, or the best, and partially wrote Yoko to cupcake. But as a personal favourite I think if she were really a Beatle (as some regard her) she gets my vote.

[Ryan95]

Always loved that quote by john lennon when asked if ringo was the best drummer in the world? He replied he's not even the best drummer in the beatles.

[DieselDaisy]

There was a lot of crazy stuff happening to them on tour also, such as the 'Bigger than Jesus' southern-US backclash - people literally saying they would try to assassinate John. Then there was the Imelda Marcus Phillipines thing, and, the Budoken thing. A lot of crazy things.

[Gracii Guns]

In Liverpool there's a peace 'memorial' with the lyrics of Imagine written on.

In Comic Sans.

[Guest Len B'stard]

John Lennon was a dick.

Everyone else was okay.

I could care less. He might have been the biggest douche on the planet, but he could write a hit fucking song.

"It's okay to be a dick who beats women and mentally abuses your own son, if I like your music"

Got it.

Thing is about beating women, or more accurately, documented as having a dig or two in a select few instances, if you combed through that generation of men, it was a pretty commonplace thing, sorry if thats an awful thing but it's also a real thing, slapping a woman wasn't this big *gasp* shock, horror! thing in them days, in fact it was pretty common. In fact, it wasn't really that big a deal at all, especially in working class places like Liverpool.

You can't really take a working class lad from Liverpool (and John was, if a little less than George and Paul and Ringo) in the 1950s and them apply the logic of nowadays to their behaviour and expect it to come out evens. He was massively homophobic too, he beat the shit out of a reporter that asked him whether he was gay or had been part of a gay tryst with their manager Brian Epstein, this again is behaviour that wouldn't've been uncommon in them days, men didn't consider being called a poof a compliment in them days.

As far as mentally abusing his kid, how? What, cuz he told him to shut up and said 'sometimes i can't stand the sound of your voice!' Come onnn, a lot worse has been said to kids in this world.

Shit, you even see it in the films of the time, like a woman'll be gobbing off and the bloke'll just belt her one and she settles down Now i'm not justifying it or whatever but we're talking about 70 odd years ago, different world. John took the piss out of Brian Epstein for being a jew too, all sorts of racist comments could be attributed to John, don't mean to say he was a bad person, just that was quite common in those days, no one thought nothing of saying N***** or paki or taking the piss out of jews or whatever. Again, it might make you uncomfortable or whatever but it's the way of the world.

Yes, John Lennon was a massive dick often in his life but who isn't?

Edited July 5, 2013 by sugaraylen

[Guest Len B'stard]

Yoko.

Her contribution to the visual arts has been profound, movement-defining and arguably more thoughtful than any other high-profile contemporary artist. It's sad that most people regard her as 'John Lennon's wife' or 'the person who split up the Beatles'. She has contributed to the arts more than she ever potentially damaged it.

Can you give some of what you think are the best examples of this?

She was invaluable to post punk and sort of a precursor to that whole generation, she's worshiped by the No Wave Scene who were pretty influential as a movement in the direction that certain aspects of art and cinema went into from there, she was associated with artists as diverse as Gustav Metzger to Ornette Coleman, she's one of the most recognisable political activists living today

[batman007]

Live and let die!

[Johnny Drama]

John Lennon was a dick.

Everyone else was okay.

I could care less. He might have been the biggest douche on the planet, but he could write a hit fucking song.

"It's okay to be a dick who beats women and mentally abuses your own son, if I like your music"

Got it.

Thing is about beating women, or more accurately, documented as having a dig or two in a select few instances, if you combed through that generation of men, it was a pretty commonplace thing, sorry if thats an awful thing but it's also a real thing, slapping a woman wasn't this big *gasp* shock, horror! thing in them days, in fact it was pretty common. In fact, it wasn't really that big a deal at all, especially in working class places like Liverpool.

You can't really take a working class lad from Liverpool (and John was, if a little less than George and Paul and Ringo) in the 1950s and them apply the logic of nowadays to their behaviour and expect it to come out evens. He was massively homophobic too, he beat the shit out of a reporter that asked him whether he was gay or had been part of a gay tryst with their manager Brian Epstein, this again is behaviour that wouldn't've been uncommon in them days, men didn't consider being called a poof a compliment in them days.

As far as mentally abusing his kid, how? What, cuz he told him to shut up and said 'sometimes i can't stand the sound of your voice!' Come onnn, a lot worse has been said to kids in this world.

Shit, you even see it in the films of the time, like a woman'll be gobbing off and the bloke'll just belt her one and she settles down Now i'm not justifying it or whatever but we're talking about 70 odd years ago, different world. John took the piss out of Brian Epstein for being a jew too, all sorts of racist comments could be attributed to John, don't mean to say he was a bad person, just that was quite common in those days, no one thought nothing of saying N***** or paki or taking the piss out of jews or whatever. Again, it might make you uncomfortable or whatever but it's the way of the world.

Yes, John Lennon was a massive dick often in his life but who isn't?

Didn't he once tell Julian that he came out of a whisky bottle on a Saturday night? That's kinda cuntè.

[Guest Len B'stard]

John Lennon was a dick.

Everyone else was okay.

I could care less. He might have been the biggest douche on the planet, but he could write a hit fucking song.

"It's okay to be a dick who beats women and mentally abuses your own son, if I like your music"

Got it.

Thing is about beating women, or more accurately, documented as having a dig or two in a select few instances, if you combed through that generation of men, it was a pretty commonplace thing, sorry if thats an awful thing but it's also a real thing, slapping a woman wasn't this big *gasp* shock, horror! thing in them days, in fact it was pretty common. In fact, it wasn't really that big a deal at all, especially in working class places like Liverpool.

You can't really take a working class lad from Liverpool (and John was, if a little less than George and Paul and Ringo) in the 1950s and them apply the logic of nowadays to their behaviour and expect it to come out evens. He was massively homophobic too, he beat the shit out of a reporter that asked him whether he was gay or had been part of a gay tryst with their manager Brian Epstein, this again is behaviour that wouldn't've been uncommon in them days, men didn't consider being called a poof a compliment in them days.

As far as mentally abusing his kid, how? What, cuz he told him to shut up and said 'sometimes i can't stand the sound of your voice!' Come onnn, a lot worse has been said to kids in this world.

Shit, you even see it in the films of the time, like a woman'll be gobbing off and the bloke'll just belt her one and she settles down Now i'm not justifying it or whatever but we're talking about 70 odd years ago, different world. John took the piss out of Brian Epstein for being a jew too, all sorts of racist comments could be attributed to John, don't mean to say he was a bad person, just that was quite common in those days, no one thought nothing of saying N***** or paki or taking the piss out of jews or whatever. Again, it might make you uncomfortable or whatever but it's the way of the world.

Yes, John Lennon was a massive dick often in his life but who isn't?

Didn't he once tell Julian that he came out of a whisky bottle on a Saturday night? That's kinda cuntè.

He didnt say it to Julian he said it in an interview were he was asked about Julian and he told the truth and he said it more as making a comment about how in those days lots of men found themselves marrying girls cuz it was the honourable thing to do when you knocked em up as opposed to some sort of attack on Julian.

[Redhead74]

John Lennon was a dick.

Everyone else was okay.

I could care less. He might have been the biggest douche on the planet, but he could write a hit fucking song.

"It's okay to be a dick who beats women and mentally abuses your own son, if I like your music"

Got it.

Thing is about beating women, or more accurately, documented as having a dig or two in a select few instances, if you combed through that generation of men, it was a pretty commonplace thing, sorry if thats an awful thing but it's also a real thing, slapping a woman wasn't this big *gasp* shock, horror! thing in them days, in fact it was pretty common. In fact, it wasn't really that big a deal at all, especially in working class places like Liverpool.

You can't really take a working class lad from Liverpool (and John was, if a little less than George and Paul and Ringo) in the 1950s and them apply the logic of nowadays to their behaviour and expect it to come out evens. He was massively homophobic too, he beat the shit out of a reporter that asked him whether he was gay or had been part of a gay tryst with their manager Brian Epstein, this again is behaviour that wouldn't've been uncommon in them days, men didn't consider being called a poof a compliment in them days.

As far as mentally abusing his kid, how? What, cuz he told him to shut up and said 'sometimes i can't stand the sound of your voice!' Come onnn, a lot worse has been said to kids in this world.

Shit, you even see it in the films of the time, like a woman'll be gobbing off and the bloke'll just belt her one and she settles down Now i'm not justifying it or whatever but we're talking about 70 odd years ago, different world. John took the piss out of Brian Epstein for being a jew too, all sorts of racist comments could be attributed to John, don't mean to say he was a bad person, just that was quite common in those days, no one thought nothing of saying N***** or paki or taking the piss out of jews or whatever. Again, it might make you uncomfortable or whatever but it's the way of the world.

Yes, John Lennon was a massive dick often in his life but who isn't?

Didn't he once tell Julian that he came out of a whisky bottle on a Saturday night? That's kinda cuntè.

He didnt say it to Julian he said it in an interview were he was asked about Julian and he told the truth and he said it more as making a comment about how in those days lots of men found themselves marrying girls cuz it was the honourable thing to do when you knocked em up as opposed to some sort of attack on Julian.

Again an example where you can't apply the morals of today, to things that were said and done 50 or 60 years ago. And to be honest I don't think the comment is that bad. It's not saying he didn't love Julian. I think you'd find that many of us were conceived under these kinds of circumstances. Shit, I've noticed that many people I know were born in September. Basically 9 months after Christmas/New Year parties (particularly significant in Australia because its Summer and major holiday/party season). So what? Don't forget that the 50s and 60s were a time without the pill, so yeah, a lot of kids were born out of a whiskey bottle, I'd imagine.

[Guest Len B'stard]

Exactly...and thats what John was saying and he clarified it as such, maybe he could've phrased it different but...

I think a lot of the ways and the manner of certain people can come across as quite harsh when its just...a turn of phrase really, he was sort of making a comment on the fact that a lot of kids are the result of this kinda thing and not all like, the result of calculated family planning

That phrase was actually said as part of a long interview where he was talking about his life, his early days etc, it weren't something he yelled in Julians face although there were instances, that Lennon naysayers bring up in criticism of him, one being that apparently he once shouted at Julian saying 'i hate the sound of your voice!!' When Julian woke him up once when he was sleeping, having had some time off being a beatle, again not exactly nice but you try being a beatle for a living and tell me how easy a life it is, im sure everyones parents have said something of the like to em in their lives at some point or another.

Edited July 6, 2013 by sugaraylen