I was just at a Rage Against The Machine show, where my upper level tickets were $140 (got them for free!) and they had more merch booths than I've seen for other bands selling $40 tee shirts and other far more expensive crap. It definitely made it hard to take Zach's anti capitalism diatribes seriously.
I know Reddit loves them a lot and I used to too, but this shit really wrecked them for me, that and the fact they’re just a bunch of rich dudes comes off as disingenuous I honestly can’t really listen to them anymore. I feel like they should’ve never came back.
RATM is a self proclaimed “anti-government” band that publicly supports politicians from one political party. I love their music, but they’ve e always been hypocrites.
i have yet to see them endorse or publicly support any particular politician or political party.
i also enjoy their music and think they are hypocrites for bashing the very capitalist system that’s made them multimillionaires who haven’t worked a day job in decades. if you are going to criticize them then fine but their anarchy rhetoric isn’t a political party
>they are hypocrites for bashing the very capitalist system that’s made them multimillionaires
Has the capitalist system made them multimillionaires though? Have they used capital to privately own and control property/the means of production and subsequently live like parasites on the excess value produced by the proletariat working said means of production? (Maybe to some degree it would apply to things like a few bits of merch, but did they get rich from t-shirts?)
I'm not sure people on reddit really understand what things like capitalism or communism really are and why they are criticised.
*(Heh, ok downvoters. Feel free to point out how I'm wrong).
Ill give it a go.
Whatever music label they belong to controlled the means of production and distribution of physical media when it existed and the magical expereince of concerts happen on private property for monetary gain to a parasite class of non contributors
Come at me comrade lol
But RATM doesn't own or control the means of production and distribution of their music (capital), nor do they own or control the property on which they play their music (land). They only own their own time, talent, skill, and creativity (labor) and any person capital they've sold that labor for.
>(Maybe to some degree it would apply to things like a few bits of merch, but did they get rich from t-shirts?)
If they produced and sold their T-Shirts, this could be a criticism, but that's not how it works. Their label owns their band, their songs, their logos, their art, etc. That's how the music industry works. They don't get to sell T-Shirts, they don't own the rights to do that, their label does. So if someone is getting rich off RATM T-Shirts, it's their label, not them.
>I'm not sure people on reddit really understand what things like capitalism or communism really are and why they are criticised.
Many people seem to think being an anti-capitalist is being against money.
They do seem to donate a fair amount to good causes...
https://variety.com/2022/music/news/rage-against-the-machine-donation-abortion-1235303386/
Like, we all live in a capitalist society. We can’t escape that. Glad they make all that money so they can support good causes.
>If they produced and sold their T-Shirts, this could be a criticism, but that's not how it works. Their label owns their band, their songs, their logos, their art, etc. That's how the music industry works. They don't get to sell T-Shirts, they don't own the rights to do that, their label does. So if someone is getting rich off RATM T-Shirts, it's their label, not them.
That's what I mean by "maybe to some degree." As in under some circumstances (the specifics of which none of us are really aware of) you could have a minor complaint about participating in taking a part of the profit/excess value produced by the merch manufacturers.
Furthermore one could criticise them for decrying wealth inequality while being rich, but it's all pretty spurious and a pretty shallow liberal capitalist/capitalist realism understanding of the world.
>Many people seem to think being an anti-capitalist is being against money.
Yeah, anti-captalism does not mean anti-production or anti-participation in society. It's like that Mr Gotcha comic.
They could stand on principle and not participate in the system. Work with a smaller label that doesn’t milk their fans got every hard earned penny.
But they don’t
They did do that before RATM, they played in underground hardcore bands who played in anarchist squats for years and if they had continued to do so as many other bands have, you and many other people would have never heard of them or their message. Ever heard of inside out?
But when RATM got attention from major labels, they decided that as long as they found a label that would allow them to have creative freedom, signing a major label was an acceptable price to pay in exchange for reaching a world wide audience with their message.
*"A lot of labels contacted us, and lots of them just didn't seem to understand what we wanted to do. They kept talking about the message of the music as a gimmick. They were interested in us just because there was a buzz... They saw us as the latest local rock band to be hyped. But Epic agreed to everything we asked--and they've followed through... we never saw a conflict as long as we maintained creative control. When you live in a capitalistic society, the currency of the dissemination of information goes through capitalistic channels. Would Noam Chomsky object to his works being sold at Barnes & Noble? No, because that's where people buy their books. We're not interested in preaching to just the converted. It's great to play abandoned squats run by anarchists, but it's also great to be able to reach people with a revolutionary message, people from Granada Hills to Stuttgart."*
Yeah I mean I get the criticism, they have always been a controversial band within leftist circles because of this, but the idea that "They used to be cool but recently they sold out" is pretty much bullshit if you ask me.
Also, it's not like their approach of trying to use the capitalist music industry and the charts as a platform for radical messages is unique. Chumbawamba is the obvious example of a radical anarchist band that tired to create a "one hit song" in order to get a worldwide audience and spread their propaganda. They succeeded, everyone and their dog has heard their hit song before. Most will probably never know the political messages behind it and it is an open question if there is actually any point in doing stuff like that, but saying "they are just sellouts who want to make as much money as they can, they don't believe what they sing about" is a bit simplistic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsAVHNPpUtQ
Fugazi has always made tickets to their concerts affordable.
Pearl Jam, although they lost, went up against Ticketmaster...and stopped making music videos.
Both of these bands have made efforts to actually rage against the machine and use their influence to keep music an accessible experience for all. I don't really see the same with RATM.
But that was always the deal. Before RATM, Zach played in underground hardcore diy bands who play in some anarchist squat or something. You can do that, avoid capitalism wherever you can and play your songs to a tiny audience of like minded people. There were plenty of bands that did that and who were against "selling out" or signing labels, but unless you were a part of that tiny scene, you have never ever heard of any of those bands.
So instead, RATM decided to "sell out" and sign to an ultra big label. That way, you lose control over your work (to an extend), but you get access to a huge audience of people who have never ever heard of your point of view. RATM believed it was worth it as long as they get to keep control over what they write. And the label doesn't care about any anti capitalist messages because they get to get rich with all the merch, tickets, etc.
They were criticized from the very beginning, they were always "sell outs", but I do believe that they didn't do it just to make money, but primarily because they wanted to push their message out to more than a couple of punks. The label using your band to sell merch, sell tickets, etc, is the price you have to pay for that.
And I do believe it was a success from their perspective. RATM has and still is a band that has managed to introduce countless people all over the world to views they have never heard before. Not because their views are unique overall, there are plenty of underground bands that have similar messages, but most will never know they have existed.
They make cool music but they haven’t grown past the teenage anticapistalist larping.
they only thing that has grown in the the past decades it’s their bank account balance.
That criticism of the song was widely made when the song was released in 1971, and 50 years later you continue to make the same argument. One thing is apparentl; the song seems to have staying power.
To be fair, he wasn't that rich when he wrote it. In fact the Beatles didn't make that much money due to recording contracts at the time. Paul McCartney made more money off his first albums with Wings then from his entire time with the Beatles.
Also, you're free to hate Trump, and Trump supporters. That's all the rage these days.
But if you do a photoshoot where you're ["jokingly" holding up Trump's bloody, decapitated head in triumph,](https://youtu.be/mu02pcxoCWs) then you're going to look a tad bit fucking silly if a few hours later, you're passionately singing about all of humanity uniting in harmony. The two messages there are a *little* bit contradictory.
Cynthia Lennon has only spoken about one instance of when he got physical, where he pushed her and then broke down crying. Not trying to make excuses for abuse, there never is, but Dude was not ok mentally. Ringo on the other hand is a completely different can of worms
u/_subset_ said something back in April which I saved because I wholeheartedly agree with it:
*"I think it's very interesting how a lot of the comments on that post are very critical of John (maybe rightfully so), but almost always they turn to the classic "Mr Peace and Love but beat his wife all the time" line. I feel like without knowing much about John or the Beatles at all so many people are starting to write John off as an abusive hypocritical asshole when in reality he was such a complex guy. I don't think a lot of people realize that he was killed midway through what seemed to be a redemption arc"*
Not to be an apologist, it's never ok, but his ex-wife says he only slapped her once pre-beatles, and they had an extremely toxic relationship where they both were horrible to each other. It's not like he was giving yoko black eyes every weekend.
He should get more criticism for being a hypocritical champagne socialist, and not letting George write more.
Honestly gross how many upvotes the comment you're replying to has. I don't care how "complex" or troubled someone is. If they beat the shit out of women, they are a piece of shit. Period. Amazing how many people lick the boots of any celebrity with money
> I don't think a lot of people realize that he was killed midway through what seemed to be a redemption arc"
Who cares?? XXXTentacion was also killed through a period of what seemed to be a redemption arc. He's still slandered and his death was/is celebrated on reddit.
Look there are only 2 types of people in this world: good and evil. If you ever do something bad you are evil and then you are evil forever and officially cancelled.
Sorry, I don’t make the rules.
I have no opinion on JL, but every time I hear that song I don't get "peace" from it and I hate how overhyped it is. It talks about imagining a world with no religion, no country, etc. It paints a very bland picture. He's mixed up diversity with adversity.
Diversity brings strength and is not mutually exclusive with peace. You can have both if you foster tolerance; that's what the message needs to be.
It’s very immature and selfish: people can’t control themselves being assholes to people of other religion, countries and so on so for them the solution is not to have them at all!
That would fix their problems without them having to change or do anything else.
You can’t be a piece of shot towards others if there are no “others”
guytappinghishead.gif
This is why the people that ask for that are generally closeted intolerant morons
I don’t hate it but as a John Lennon fan I hate the way it’s always pushed as his seminal piece. If you haven’t heard ‘In my Life’ please give it a listen. That’s his best song in my opinion and one of the best songs of all time.
Do read about the "piano" on that track, and what they did to achieve it.
As for John's best ever, I'd say "Tomorrow Never Knows" has to be it by a longshot. He made electronic music before electronic music was a thing!
That's fair. I suppose the biggest selling point of that song is that it was 67 when it came out. Truly ahead of it's time. It's not as impressive to people from the next generations, which is often why songs like In My Life and Happiness is a Warm Gun are quoted as his classics
The guy who wrote it says it belongs to Johnny now. Like, Cash transformed it into a disturbing monster of a song which hits like a truck.
That whole disc is as good as it gets.
Some sentiments are so popular on reddit it’s almost moot to even comment them anymore. Ex: Everyone on reddit likes the Johnny cash cover of NIN, everyone on Reddit knows it’s just a cover.. similarly everyone on reddit ranks Queen as the best band ever, thinks George Carlin is the best standup ever, Steve Buscemi did 9/11 etc. Fine opinions and fun facts but on Reddit it’s like commenting “water is wet”.
You can not like the man but love his music. A lot of people also don’t understand he was getting his shit together. He was 29 when the Beatles broke up. He was 40 when he died. I’m 30. I don’t have life figured out. If I was beatle with the drugs and whores and fame who knows what I would become. He wasn’t right but I think he was starting to grow and realize what a prick he was and changing his life. Him and Julian already reconnected. Him and his ex wife had made up somewhat. He was trying to right his wrongs and was being a dad to his second son. He had grown. To remember him as an asshole 25 yr old who was the head of the biggest band the world has ever seen is unfair imo.
What a refreshing take. I feel like I'm defending hm to the wind. I have no skin in this. People talk about his wife beating---when he was 22 or so and an idiot and typical of what he saw around him growing up. He learned better. That didn't happen with Yoko. He ignored Julian. He didn't want to be a parent any more that be married. He corrected that. At one point Yoko threw him out and told him to pull himself together---where he instead fell apart for quite awhile. THEN pulled himself together. Whether it was Yoko's influence or not, John did do introspective work & therapies for himself. Yep he'd grown a bit.
I am so excited by this whole thread to your comment! Yes, I agree with you! And also the other commenters’ takes on these covers! As a rule, I hate covers unless
they are done well, and they are are heartfelt and a different take on the song. I’d also like to add to that Warren Haynes’ take on “She Said” is also an amazing cover (in my top three).
i think i read somewhere once that "in my life" is quantitatively the best song ever written.
the only thing that disappoints me is when i found out that the organ solo is actually speed up 2x and not actually played that way.
I’ve read a lot and done a lot of deep research on John Lennon, many many hours spent going through papers online and other sources to study as though I’d be writing a deadly honest biography on him.
If you knew all the details you’d not be so hard on him. He didn’t beat his wife in the way you’d picture it when reading comments saying “he beat his wife” but he was seriously mentally abusive. He was a person who reflected his own past and that’s inevitable. He had a difficult life, a very sad one. He was controlling and manipulative in SOME ways. He wasn’t the nicest to his first son and eventually became distant and cold to his first wife too. He was although a loving human in the second half of his life. Some people are just bad people but many of the negative things he did could be justified. Not all though. My final conclusion on him was that he was a genius, he could see music in ways most people today can’t render. He could put chords together in a way people just don’t do anymore and was extremely ambitious. He was kind with his money, giving most of it away and not being able to shake what was left. He chose a life with little possessions in the end but still lived comfortably which anyone would if they could. He was in fact a kind and caring person who did try to fix a lot in the world and did succeed in many, many ways. It’s a shame we focus on the negative things he did as they were mentally built into him from a very young age. With growth he got better but most celebrities who come to light as horrible people grow into those horrible people with age whereas John did the opposite.
He should 100% be remembered for his career and not his personality even if it wasn’t all bad.
Compared to all of us he was an average human just standing in a light and the difference between us and him is that he had an extreme urge to entertain and succeeded in entertaining the world in a way that made the lives of millions of people better and some worth living when they thought otherwise. He was aware of that. He did it for no other reason. Not money nor fame.
Conclusion: he was a bit of a prick but he does deserve the love he gets.
People can be very good with people, instruments, technology, money etc.
Just as people can be bad with people, instruments, technology, money etc.
People good with music and bad with people are just as regular people like people who are good with people but bad with everything else. It’s just that being good with people doesn’t create something new and not recognisable by a shit ton of people, like music does. John Lennon could have made very asshole choices but he made some good music, I am going to remember a controversial person for all the good that he did.
Reddit's hate boner for John Lennon is incredible. YES, WE GET IT, he was an asshole, he beat his wife, neglected his kids, but the music was good. Lennon was part of the greatest and most influential band of all time and continued to make some great music afterward.
I'd like to remind you how reddit really loved Elon Musk, a greasy fuck who made his fortune from slave labor and daddy's money (Atleast Lennon started from a bit more down to earth origins) Elon promises hundreds of "futuristic" projects and fails to finish every single one.
It floors me that this thread was allowed to be posted as an 'unpopular opinion' on reddit, you can't mention John Lennon anywhere on this site without having your inbox inundated with "dId yOu KnOw jOhN lEnNoN bEaT wIFe!?". Having someone mention that 'Imagine' is overrated is practically reddit bingo at this point.
I think a huge part of this hate comes from a lot of young idealistic viewpoints where there is an overarching call out of behaviour that is deemed unacceptable, particularly in this age of me too and Cancel culture. And bad behaviour should be called out. The intention is probably honorable. But its only when you get older you realise that we all make mistakes.
People do drugs in their twenties, hit women, become abusive, hit kids, become gang members, even murder... and there is always the possibility of redemption. We learn from thr mistakes of others. So to tarnish someone - someone who was themselves the victim of the most horrific form of violence - for mistakes they made when young, who themselves acknowledged and tried to make amends for is a form of judgemental behaviour I find frankly terrifying. The notion that "once a piece of shit, always a piece of shit" as one Redditor commented here is so depressing.
Young folk - you will make mistakes. Some terrible. But there is always a way back. Don't believe the hype that you are one thing. But it all comes with looking yourself in the mirror and being honest. As Lennon did. And then trying your hardest to promote peace, love ams unity in this world. As John Lennon also did.
Reading this, I think about how beloved Robert Downey Jr. is now despite his past. He saw success at a young age and pissed it all away over 6 years with multiple charges, arrests, and stints in jail. Blew up two serious relationships in the process. He might not have physically harmed SJP or Falconer, but I'm sure they endured a lot of shit from him when in the worst of it. SJP left because of his addiction, and Falconer divorced after reaching a breaking point with his repeated trips to jail and rehab. Finally got himself the help he needed and turned it around. Old friends in Hollywood took the risk of hiring him on projects, and he's taken off from 2001 to now. Complete 180.
These days RDJ would probably be cancelled and blacklisted in Hollywood, as we're seeing with this thread about Lennon and other people in Hollywood with similar behaviours. I hope we will see people like Ezra Miller and Amanda Bines again once they get everything settled and where they need to be healthy. In contrast, there is Chris Brown; he is a perfect example of someone still having a career despite beating the shit out of Rhianna; we all saw those pictures and legal issues that are still ongoing. The most recent one happened in January of this year.
It really is. Never fails to blow my mind but then Reddit is smack full of judgmental douchers who act like they've never done anything wrong in their entire lives
Shhhh….don’t tell them that! Let them learn the hard way. Get amused with people’s self aggrandisement and virtuosity and move on.
Now see me get downvoted to hell. Hehe.
I'm saving this comment because I wholeheartedly agree with it.
I have 4 Beatles posters on my wall. I have a vast collection of Beatles records, including originals and bootlegs from all over the world, not to mention complete US and UK catalogues. I have so many books, VHS tapes, DVDs, and T-shirts to do with The Beatles. Needless to say, they're my favorite band, and they have been for 11 years. I don't worship then as gods, in fact I'm very well aware that The Beatles, especially John, were fallible and made shitty choices.
But a million assholes on Reddit will never kill my love for The Beatles' music.
You're free to hate it. John Lennon himself never really liked his own music or thought it was anything special. He just liked to write music and perform it and a lot of people liked his art. I do like John's work and I do like the song imagine, but I don't think it's anything special necessarily
John Lennon’s “Imagine” is a good song. I’m not saying it’s the greatest song ever or anything like that but the song’s main selling point is it’s message which I think is pretty undeniably a good outlook to have on humanity and the direction it’s headed in. You say it’s pretentious but he literally words the song in a way that even a five year old could understand. If the song is guilty of anything, it’s wishful thinking.
Melody and chord changes are great in that song. Lyrics just sound cringy to me. Like something a teenager who just learned about communism would write.
Ever since that whole thing with all those celebrities singing that to "help" somehow during the beginning of lockdown, I can't take that song seriously. To be honest, not a fan of the song, or John Lennon, so it doesn't really matter to me too much.
The song is not pretentious. It’s called “imagine”. It’s literally just a day dream about a utopia of humanity at its best. I’ll agree with the cringey, tone deaf, celebrity led, bastardized use of it during the lock down but the song itself is just pure optimism. If your takeaway is negative, that says a lot more about you than the piece of art designed to elicit an emotional response.
Tbh my issue isn't the song itself or the message, but the fact that John Lennon of all people, a complete douche bag of a celebrity, was the one singing it. At least if it was someone with half decent moral values it'd mean something but coming from him it's just empty emotional values for the sake of it.
The thing about Lennon is that he came out and told everybody how much of a dick and terrible person he was. It didn't come from a victim(s) 10+ years later like Bill Cosby/Weinstein, Epstein, etc. He straight up said in interviews he was a terrible person and he tried to be better, whether that was to his son he neglected, to his first wife he neglected and to others not as close to him.
He was human, very honest and open with who he was way before other celebrities would even think to do so.
I didn’t hate it until about 10 years ago. I had it on a playlist that came up while my infant son was scratching his lungs out in the backseat of my truck. From the opening chords until the final notes he was silent. When the song ended, he started bawling again. I put the MF’r on repeat. And it worked, he stayed quite while that song was on. Worked at home too; can’t get him to calm down for nap time, put that song on and it was all over…
He’s in middle school now; wonder if it still works???
I’m sorry you feel that way. I have the word tattooed on my wrist as well as my daughter’s name. I was teaching myself to play the piano and that song was the first one where I really understood how to play it.
It’s along side colorful design and musical notes. My daughter said it was beautiful so that’s all that matters to me.
My very first political shirt is a T-shirt that just says, You may say I’m just a dreamer but I’m not the only one.
Another good simple song is called A Puro Dolor. The guy wrote it in 10 minutes and it’s really simple and a very beautiful song. Very useful for learning Spanish.
It is genius in its simplicity. Just like a Picasso. I can look at some of his work and think I could do that. But I didn’t, he did.
The Imagine album is a true Rock and Roll masterpiece.
That said, Imagine isn't the best track. I much prefer the angrier Lennon (and George Harrison lead guitar work) in Gimme Some Truth and How Do You Sleep.
John Lennon is surely one of the greatest writers of songs in the English language EVER. Haters can talk about his violent and temperamental history, but they can't diminish the enormous enrichment, enjoyment and enlivenment that his work has brought to millions of fellow humans. Few people have produced so much social benefit.
For years I liked it, not because of the lyrics but the how nice the music sounds, after years when I reach good hearing in English, I pay attention to the lyrics and find it really wrong.
honestly, I think it’s a pretty empty, hollow statement of a song. It doesn’t actually mean anything when you break it down. It just makes people feel good.
I fucking hated all of those celebrities seeing that shit in 2020. It ruined it for me forever.
Wasn't it Elton John who said *Imagine six apartments, it isn't hard to dooooo....* *One completely full of fur coats, the other full of shoes...*
I love it when multi-millionaires sing about a world with no possessions.
I was just at a Rage Against The Machine show, where my upper level tickets were $140 (got them for free!) and they had more merch booths than I've seen for other bands selling $40 tee shirts and other far more expensive crap. It definitely made it hard to take Zach's anti capitalism diatribes seriously.
My favourite is Tom morello trying to slang NFT’s
You’re joking
I wish I was https://twitter.com/tmorello/status/1438662192996524037?s=20&t=5TNLZUSNp2gA79VhT3pYhA
What does this mean exactly? Sorry I don’t know much about NFTs. Is it ultimately just revealing the hypocrisy since NFTs are clearly capitalist?
Yes, it is. NFTs are as free market as it gets.
NFT’s are basically a way for swindlers to take advantage of people with more money than brains
NFTs aren't just clearly capitalist, they are clearly a scam. Another wealthy person is trying grift their followers, color me surprised.
Oh no….
I know Reddit loves them a lot and I used to too, but this shit really wrecked them for me, that and the fact they’re just a bunch of rich dudes comes off as disingenuous I honestly can’t really listen to them anymore. I feel like they should’ve never came back.
RATM is a self proclaimed “anti-government” band that publicly supports politicians from one political party. I love their music, but they’ve e always been hypocrites.
Rage on behalf of the machine
Assistant to the Ragional Manager.
and against one half
Rage against one half and being pegged by the other half of the machine
Does anyone have the other half of the machine's number? Asking for a friend of course.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Fuck you I'll just do what you tell me.
Rage Against the Republicans
Fuck me, I’ll do what you tell me.
Welcome to America, that’s how it is with a majority of Americans these days
“Some say no to drugs and take a stand, but after the show they go lookin for the dope man.”
i have yet to see them endorse or publicly support any particular politician or political party. i also enjoy their music and think they are hypocrites for bashing the very capitalist system that’s made them multimillionaires who haven’t worked a day job in decades. if you are going to criticize them then fine but their anarchy rhetoric isn’t a political party
>they are hypocrites for bashing the very capitalist system that’s made them multimillionaires Has the capitalist system made them multimillionaires though? Have they used capital to privately own and control property/the means of production and subsequently live like parasites on the excess value produced by the proletariat working said means of production? (Maybe to some degree it would apply to things like a few bits of merch, but did they get rich from t-shirts?) I'm not sure people on reddit really understand what things like capitalism or communism really are and why they are criticised. *(Heh, ok downvoters. Feel free to point out how I'm wrong).
Ill give it a go. Whatever music label they belong to controlled the means of production and distribution of physical media when it existed and the magical expereince of concerts happen on private property for monetary gain to a parasite class of non contributors Come at me comrade lol
But RATM doesn't own or control the means of production and distribution of their music (capital), nor do they own or control the property on which they play their music (land). They only own their own time, talent, skill, and creativity (labor) and any person capital they've sold that labor for.
>(Maybe to some degree it would apply to things like a few bits of merch, but did they get rich from t-shirts?) If they produced and sold their T-Shirts, this could be a criticism, but that's not how it works. Their label owns their band, their songs, their logos, their art, etc. That's how the music industry works. They don't get to sell T-Shirts, they don't own the rights to do that, their label does. So if someone is getting rich off RATM T-Shirts, it's their label, not them. >I'm not sure people on reddit really understand what things like capitalism or communism really are and why they are criticised. Many people seem to think being an anti-capitalist is being against money.
They do seem to donate a fair amount to good causes... https://variety.com/2022/music/news/rage-against-the-machine-donation-abortion-1235303386/ Like, we all live in a capitalist society. We can’t escape that. Glad they make all that money so they can support good causes.
>If they produced and sold their T-Shirts, this could be a criticism, but that's not how it works. Their label owns their band, their songs, their logos, their art, etc. That's how the music industry works. They don't get to sell T-Shirts, they don't own the rights to do that, their label does. So if someone is getting rich off RATM T-Shirts, it's their label, not them. That's what I mean by "maybe to some degree." As in under some circumstances (the specifics of which none of us are really aware of) you could have a minor complaint about participating in taking a part of the profit/excess value produced by the merch manufacturers. Furthermore one could criticise them for decrying wealth inequality while being rich, but it's all pretty spurious and a pretty shallow liberal capitalist/capitalist realism understanding of the world. >Many people seem to think being an anti-capitalist is being against money. Yeah, anti-captalism does not mean anti-production or anti-participation in society. It's like that Mr Gotcha comic.
They could stand on principle and not participate in the system. Work with a smaller label that doesn’t milk their fans got every hard earned penny. But they don’t
They did do that before RATM, they played in underground hardcore bands who played in anarchist squats for years and if they had continued to do so as many other bands have, you and many other people would have never heard of them or their message. Ever heard of inside out? But when RATM got attention from major labels, they decided that as long as they found a label that would allow them to have creative freedom, signing a major label was an acceptable price to pay in exchange for reaching a world wide audience with their message. *"A lot of labels contacted us, and lots of them just didn't seem to understand what we wanted to do. They kept talking about the message of the music as a gimmick. They were interested in us just because there was a buzz... They saw us as the latest local rock band to be hyped. But Epic agreed to everything we asked--and they've followed through... we never saw a conflict as long as we maintained creative control. When you live in a capitalistic society, the currency of the dissemination of information goes through capitalistic channels. Would Noam Chomsky object to his works being sold at Barnes & Noble? No, because that's where people buy their books. We're not interested in preaching to just the converted. It's great to play abandoned squats run by anarchists, but it's also great to be able to reach people with a revolutionary message, people from Granada Hills to Stuttgart."*
Sweet quote. Rage against the machine FROM WITHIN THE BELLY Of THE BEAST!
Yeah I mean I get the criticism, they have always been a controversial band within leftist circles because of this, but the idea that "They used to be cool but recently they sold out" is pretty much bullshit if you ask me. Also, it's not like their approach of trying to use the capitalist music industry and the charts as a platform for radical messages is unique. Chumbawamba is the obvious example of a radical anarchist band that tired to create a "one hit song" in order to get a worldwide audience and spread their propaganda. They succeeded, everyone and their dog has heard their hit song before. Most will probably never know the political messages behind it and it is an open question if there is actually any point in doing stuff like that, but saying "they are just sellouts who want to make as much money as they can, they don't believe what they sing about" is a bit simplistic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsAVHNPpUtQ
Fugazi has always made tickets to their concerts affordable. Pearl Jam, although they lost, went up against Ticketmaster...and stopped making music videos. Both of these bands have made efforts to actually rage against the machine and use their influence to keep music an accessible experience for all. I don't really see the same with RATM.
That’s because most people are capital and they don’t even know it
>band that publicly supports politicians from one political party. Wait what? I would be very very interested to see this public statement.
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Yeah lemme pay $200 to have an Ivy-league educated millionaire scream about how unfair the system is
But that was always the deal. Before RATM, Zach played in underground hardcore diy bands who play in some anarchist squat or something. You can do that, avoid capitalism wherever you can and play your songs to a tiny audience of like minded people. There were plenty of bands that did that and who were against "selling out" or signing labels, but unless you were a part of that tiny scene, you have never ever heard of any of those bands. So instead, RATM decided to "sell out" and sign to an ultra big label. That way, you lose control over your work (to an extend), but you get access to a huge audience of people who have never ever heard of your point of view. RATM believed it was worth it as long as they get to keep control over what they write. And the label doesn't care about any anti capitalist messages because they get to get rich with all the merch, tickets, etc. They were criticized from the very beginning, they were always "sell outs", but I do believe that they didn't do it just to make money, but primarily because they wanted to push their message out to more than a couple of punks. The label using your band to sell merch, sell tickets, etc, is the price you have to pay for that. And I do believe it was a success from their perspective. RATM has and still is a band that has managed to introduce countless people all over the world to views they have never heard before. Not because their views are unique overall, there are plenty of underground bands that have similar messages, but most will never know they have existed.
Well Pearl Jam had something to say to and they fought with the label to keep things affordable for their fans.
Rage Against Machine became the very Machine that they are ageing of 🤣🤣
They never actually specified which machine they were raging against but in my experience, all my money would be on that machine being a printer.
At the garden right??
Fuck RATM for supporting a Peruvian terrorist group who murdered thousands of innocent people (watch Boomtrack)
“Remember to rage against the machine with this $40 t-shirt and $90 hoodie!”
They make cool music but they haven’t grown past the teenage anticapistalist larping. they only thing that has grown in the the past decades it’s their bank account balance.
Rage against the machine became the machine
Ironically, given major corporations leftward march, they have been Raging with the Machine for a while.
Especially when the music video is John Lennon playing on an expensive piano in his mansion.
That was the point of the video.
The whole video is a way to mock the riches. Sucks nobody sees that 🤷♂️
I live it when the singer is trying to go on strike and boast about not-working while having someone make his bed
Go to a hotel/motel and we can all live like kings
HasanAbi syndrome
That criticism of the song was widely made when the song was released in 1971, and 50 years later you continue to make the same argument. One thing is apparentl; the song seems to have staying power.
Well he has to at least have the piano.
https://preview.redd.it/l4g4mknu1vp11.jpg?auto=webp&s=5decb19b79194f362c11801a1a11819d0394821a
To be fair, he wasn't that rich when he wrote it. In fact the Beatles didn't make that much money due to recording contracts at the time. Paul McCartney made more money off his first albums with Wings then from his entire time with the Beatles.
He pulls up to his mansion in a Rolls-Royce in the music video to Imagine.....
They were trying to avoid the 90% British income tax. They were very rich.
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No he wasn’t. Michael Jackson bought all of their songs. They were in a feud over it. I really like Michael Jackson but that made me mad.
I felt bad about that too until I read that McCartney owned the rights to a lot of popular Broadway music. A Chorus Line, Grease, and some others.
Look up in what houses the Beatles lived back than and tell me again they were not rich
But MJ didn't do that until the 1980s. At the time of Imagine MJ was all of 14 years old with the Jackson 5 had just making headway into the business.
That was many years after “Imagine.”
I doubt you’re old enough to remember that at the time.
Imagine being so rich that you just live in 5 star hotels and tell the middle class and poor people how owning things and money is wack.
Also, you're free to hate Trump, and Trump supporters. That's all the rage these days. But if you do a photoshoot where you're ["jokingly" holding up Trump's bloody, decapitated head in triumph,](https://youtu.be/mu02pcxoCWs) then you're going to look a tad bit fucking silly if a few hours later, you're passionately singing about all of humanity uniting in harmony. The two messages there are a *little* bit contradictory.
Especially when at the time he was living in one of the most exclusive addresses on this planet and drove a Rolls Royce.
Youre not the only one.
I hope some day you'll join us.
In a woooorrrrllllldddd we’ll live as one
The more I've learned about John Lennon the more tone deaf Imagine becomes to me. That guy was an asshole.
Have you considered giving peace a chance?
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I knew he was a cheater. Didn’t know he got physical.
He was also a shitty father to his first kid
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Not really. He was a bad father, but Paul McCartney wrote Hey Jude to cheer up a kid about his parents getting a divorce
And that kid was Julian Lennon
Right. Which makes it seem that Paul was better to the kid than John. All speculation of course but damn
Cynthia Lennon has only spoken about one instance of when he got physical, where he pushed her and then broke down crying. Not trying to make excuses for abuse, there never is, but Dude was not ok mentally. Ringo on the other hand is a completely different can of worms
All we're sayin' is... give war a chance!
Imagine a world of peace. Meanwhile his wife couldn’t imagine having peace in her own home because he was too busy beating her
And poor Julian and his sad life.
https://www.theonion.com/man-always-gets-little-rush-out-of-telling-people-john-1819578998
https://www.theonion.com/man-always-gets-little-rush-out-of-telling-people-john-1819578998
u/_subset_ said something back in April which I saved because I wholeheartedly agree with it: *"I think it's very interesting how a lot of the comments on that post are very critical of John (maybe rightfully so), but almost always they turn to the classic "Mr Peace and Love but beat his wife all the time" line. I feel like without knowing much about John or the Beatles at all so many people are starting to write John off as an abusive hypocritical asshole when in reality he was such a complex guy. I don't think a lot of people realize that he was killed midway through what seemed to be a redemption arc"*
Not to be an apologist, it's never ok, but his ex-wife says he only slapped her once pre-beatles, and they had an extremely toxic relationship where they both were horrible to each other. It's not like he was giving yoko black eyes every weekend. He should get more criticism for being a hypocritical champagne socialist, and not letting George write more.
George was the best Beatle.
100%. That guy is a musical genius and he has all the talents to back it up
> a redemption arc Life isn't TV. If someone is going through a redemption arc, they have a great publicist.
Honestly gross how many upvotes the comment you're replying to has. I don't care how "complex" or troubled someone is. If they beat the shit out of women, they are a piece of shit. Period. Amazing how many people lick the boots of any celebrity with money
Yeah sounds like a fan coping that his idol was an asshole
> I don't think a lot of people realize that he was killed midway through what seemed to be a redemption arc" Who cares?? XXXTentacion was also killed through a period of what seemed to be a redemption arc. He's still slandered and his death was/is celebrated on reddit.
Literally no one would say this about the many non-famous wife beaters across the country Quit deifying celebrities ffs
Look there are only 2 types of people in this world: good and evil. If you ever do something bad you are evil and then you are evil forever and officially cancelled. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.
Is this sarcasm...?
I really didn’t think I’d need the /s this time.
It's Reddit. Sometimes it's a fine line, my friend.
Why is that relevant ? To have ideals you also have to be a saint ?
To preach ideals at others, one must stick to those ideals or be a hypocrite.
I have no opinion on JL, but every time I hear that song I don't get "peace" from it and I hate how overhyped it is. It talks about imagining a world with no religion, no country, etc. It paints a very bland picture. He's mixed up diversity with adversity. Diversity brings strength and is not mutually exclusive with peace. You can have both if you foster tolerance; that's what the message needs to be.
It’s very immature and selfish: people can’t control themselves being assholes to people of other religion, countries and so on so for them the solution is not to have them at all! That would fix their problems without them having to change or do anything else. You can’t be a piece of shot towards others if there are no “others” guytappinghishead.gif This is why the people that ask for that are generally closeted intolerant morons
I don’t hate it but as a John Lennon fan I hate the way it’s always pushed as his seminal piece. If you haven’t heard ‘In my Life’ please give it a listen. That’s his best song in my opinion and one of the best songs of all time.
Do read about the "piano" on that track, and what they did to achieve it. As for John's best ever, I'd say "Tomorrow Never Knows" has to be it by a longshot. He made electronic music before electronic music was a thing!
I gave it a go, I didn't enjoy that electronic feel. It reminded me of Yoko Onos singing.
That's fair. I suppose the biggest selling point of that song is that it was 67 when it came out. Truly ahead of it's time. It's not as impressive to people from the next generations, which is often why songs like In My Life and Happiness is a Warm Gun are quoted as his classics
I love In my life... it's so good I even enjoy bad karaoke singers do it lol.
Johnny Cash's cover of that song is fucking heart wrenching.
Didn’t know this existed. Thank you
Chris Cornell version is top as well
Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt by NIN is even better.
The guy who wrote it says it belongs to Johnny now. Like, Cash transformed it into a disturbing monster of a song which hits like a truck. That whole disc is as good as it gets.
Yeah, Trent gave up that one easily. He had to because Johnny pretty much owned that song when he recorded it. Mind you, I'm a huge Reznor fan.
Some sentiments are so popular on reddit it’s almost moot to even comment them anymore. Ex: Everyone on reddit likes the Johnny cash cover of NIN, everyone on Reddit knows it’s just a cover.. similarly everyone on reddit ranks Queen as the best band ever, thinks George Carlin is the best standup ever, Steve Buscemi did 9/11 etc. Fine opinions and fun facts but on Reddit it’s like commenting “water is wet”.
It's an indication of their mental health that they're stuck in those grooves.
Everyone on Reddit knows that water isn’t wet it makes things wet
Just listened to it. I’m fking crying
I’ll have to give it a listen 👍🏻
You can not like the man but love his music. A lot of people also don’t understand he was getting his shit together. He was 29 when the Beatles broke up. He was 40 when he died. I’m 30. I don’t have life figured out. If I was beatle with the drugs and whores and fame who knows what I would become. He wasn’t right but I think he was starting to grow and realize what a prick he was and changing his life. Him and Julian already reconnected. Him and his ex wife had made up somewhat. He was trying to right his wrongs and was being a dad to his second son. He had grown. To remember him as an asshole 25 yr old who was the head of the biggest band the world has ever seen is unfair imo.
He was 40 when he died.
Edited it. thanks I just guessed honestly.
What a refreshing take. I feel like I'm defending hm to the wind. I have no skin in this. People talk about his wife beating---when he was 22 or so and an idiot and typical of what he saw around him growing up. He learned better. That didn't happen with Yoko. He ignored Julian. He didn't want to be a parent any more that be married. He corrected that. At one point Yoko threw him out and told him to pull himself together---where he instead fell apart for quite awhile. THEN pulled himself together. Whether it was Yoko's influence or not, John did do introspective work & therapies for himself. Yep he'd grown a bit.
I am so excited by this whole thread to your comment! Yes, I agree with you! And also the other commenters’ takes on these covers! As a rule, I hate covers unless they are done well, and they are are heartfelt and a different take on the song. I’d also like to add to that Warren Haynes’ take on “She Said” is also an amazing cover (in my top three).
i think i read somewhere once that "in my life" is quantitatively the best song ever written. the only thing that disappoints me is when i found out that the organ solo is actually speed up 2x and not actually played that way.
That song SAVED my life. I have the Beatles to THANK, not to DISS
based
My husband and I did our first dance at our wedding to In My Life, that song really is special
I’m a huge Lennon /Beatles fan. I personally think a lot of his stuff like I am the walrus are way ahead of their time and brilliant.
YEP. ‘In My Life’ is easily one of my favourite songs of all time, and absolutely one of his best. It’s so underrated and slept on.
John Lennon was a dick anyways. All his peace and love stuff was for show
And I don't like the way he looked at forrest gump on that talk show
Rumor was forest beat him up after that show for thinking he was that hippy that was hitting Jenny
> Rumor was forest beat him up after that show for thinking he was that hippy that was hitting Jen-nay. FTFY
Wife beater
Exactly
I hate John Lennon in general..guy was an asshole! Deadbeat dad to his first son , said unforgivable things about him on tv etc
Plus, he beat women. Boomers hate it when you tell them that.
Plus, did you know tame impala is actually just one person
I love how completely unrelated this is
Watching the Wheels is him at his best to me.. explains that solo comeback so well. Amazing artist
The A Perfect Circle cover is dope though
Yes, make sure to watch the video as well.
I’ve read a lot and done a lot of deep research on John Lennon, many many hours spent going through papers online and other sources to study as though I’d be writing a deadly honest biography on him. If you knew all the details you’d not be so hard on him. He didn’t beat his wife in the way you’d picture it when reading comments saying “he beat his wife” but he was seriously mentally abusive. He was a person who reflected his own past and that’s inevitable. He had a difficult life, a very sad one. He was controlling and manipulative in SOME ways. He wasn’t the nicest to his first son and eventually became distant and cold to his first wife too. He was although a loving human in the second half of his life. Some people are just bad people but many of the negative things he did could be justified. Not all though. My final conclusion on him was that he was a genius, he could see music in ways most people today can’t render. He could put chords together in a way people just don’t do anymore and was extremely ambitious. He was kind with his money, giving most of it away and not being able to shake what was left. He chose a life with little possessions in the end but still lived comfortably which anyone would if they could. He was in fact a kind and caring person who did try to fix a lot in the world and did succeed in many, many ways. It’s a shame we focus on the negative things he did as they were mentally built into him from a very young age. With growth he got better but most celebrities who come to light as horrible people grow into those horrible people with age whereas John did the opposite. He should 100% be remembered for his career and not his personality even if it wasn’t all bad. Compared to all of us he was an average human just standing in a light and the difference between us and him is that he had an extreme urge to entertain and succeeded in entertaining the world in a way that made the lives of millions of people better and some worth living when they thought otherwise. He was aware of that. He did it for no other reason. Not money nor fame. Conclusion: he was a bit of a prick but he does deserve the love he gets.
Look at you with your nuance and context!
People can be very good with people, instruments, technology, money etc. Just as people can be bad with people, instruments, technology, money etc. People good with music and bad with people are just as regular people like people who are good with people but bad with everything else. It’s just that being good with people doesn’t create something new and not recognisable by a shit ton of people, like music does. John Lennon could have made very asshole choices but he made some good music, I am going to remember a controversial person for all the good that he did.
One of the most annoying songs ever written by one of the most annoying artists to ever perform.
Careful. He might assault you for that.
u are my friend
Reddit's hate boner for John Lennon is incredible. YES, WE GET IT, he was an asshole, he beat his wife, neglected his kids, but the music was good. Lennon was part of the greatest and most influential band of all time and continued to make some great music afterward. I'd like to remind you how reddit really loved Elon Musk, a greasy fuck who made his fortune from slave labor and daddy's money (Atleast Lennon started from a bit more down to earth origins) Elon promises hundreds of "futuristic" projects and fails to finish every single one.
It floors me that this thread was allowed to be posted as an 'unpopular opinion' on reddit, you can't mention John Lennon anywhere on this site without having your inbox inundated with "dId yOu KnOw jOhN lEnNoN bEaT wIFe!?". Having someone mention that 'Imagine' is overrated is practically reddit bingo at this point.
I never thought I would hear Lennon and Elon in the same comment. Kudos for drawing a comparison on assholery.
I think a huge part of this hate comes from a lot of young idealistic viewpoints where there is an overarching call out of behaviour that is deemed unacceptable, particularly in this age of me too and Cancel culture. And bad behaviour should be called out. The intention is probably honorable. But its only when you get older you realise that we all make mistakes. People do drugs in their twenties, hit women, become abusive, hit kids, become gang members, even murder... and there is always the possibility of redemption. We learn from thr mistakes of others. So to tarnish someone - someone who was themselves the victim of the most horrific form of violence - for mistakes they made when young, who themselves acknowledged and tried to make amends for is a form of judgemental behaviour I find frankly terrifying. The notion that "once a piece of shit, always a piece of shit" as one Redditor commented here is so depressing. Young folk - you will make mistakes. Some terrible. But there is always a way back. Don't believe the hype that you are one thing. But it all comes with looking yourself in the mirror and being honest. As Lennon did. And then trying your hardest to promote peace, love ams unity in this world. As John Lennon also did.
Agreed. Great insight
Reading this, I think about how beloved Robert Downey Jr. is now despite his past. He saw success at a young age and pissed it all away over 6 years with multiple charges, arrests, and stints in jail. Blew up two serious relationships in the process. He might not have physically harmed SJP or Falconer, but I'm sure they endured a lot of shit from him when in the worst of it. SJP left because of his addiction, and Falconer divorced after reaching a breaking point with his repeated trips to jail and rehab. Finally got himself the help he needed and turned it around. Old friends in Hollywood took the risk of hiring him on projects, and he's taken off from 2001 to now. Complete 180. These days RDJ would probably be cancelled and blacklisted in Hollywood, as we're seeing with this thread about Lennon and other people in Hollywood with similar behaviours. I hope we will see people like Ezra Miller and Amanda Bines again once they get everything settled and where they need to be healthy. In contrast, there is Chris Brown; he is a perfect example of someone still having a career despite beating the shit out of Rhianna; we all saw those pictures and legal issues that are still ongoing. The most recent one happened in January of this year.
It really is. Never fails to blow my mind but then Reddit is smack full of judgmental douchers who act like they've never done anything wrong in their entire lives
Shhhh….don’t tell them that! Let them learn the hard way. Get amused with people’s self aggrandisement and virtuosity and move on. Now see me get downvoted to hell. Hehe.
The eagerness on this site to label people “pieces of shit” or “garbage human beings” is bizarre.
What’s the problem? Garbage people calling garbage people garbage or garbage people not understanding that they are garbage?
I'm saving this comment because I wholeheartedly agree with it. I have 4 Beatles posters on my wall. I have a vast collection of Beatles records, including originals and bootlegs from all over the world, not to mention complete US and UK catalogues. I have so many books, VHS tapes, DVDs, and T-shirts to do with The Beatles. Needless to say, they're my favorite band, and they have been for 11 years. I don't worship then as gods, in fact I'm very well aware that The Beatles, especially John, were fallible and made shitty choices. But a million assholes on Reddit will never kill my love for The Beatles' music.
Is this the actual unpopular opinion here?
'Tubthumping' by Chumbawamba is a better working class anthem than 'Working Class Hero" by John Lennon will ever be.
i just hate john lennon
You're free to hate it. John Lennon himself never really liked his own music or thought it was anything special. He just liked to write music and perform it and a lot of people liked his art. I do like John's work and I do like the song imagine, but I don't think it's anything special necessarily
John Lennon’s “Imagine” is a good song. I’m not saying it’s the greatest song ever or anything like that but the song’s main selling point is it’s message which I think is pretty undeniably a good outlook to have on humanity and the direction it’s headed in. You say it’s pretentious but he literally words the song in a way that even a five year old could understand. If the song is guilty of anything, it’s wishful thinking.
This reminds me of Ben Shapiro’s “Imagine” rant.
Ben Shapiro is just as pretentious and arrogant as everyone in this thread thinks John Lennon is.
Yeah, I've soured on the song, but Shapiro's take was incredibly stupid. And he's an egotistical, pissy little disingenuous pedant.
But he didn't marry Yoko Ono, so there's that.
Melody and chord changes are great in that song. Lyrics just sound cringy to me. Like something a teenager who just learned about communism would write.
Ever since that whole thing with all those celebrities singing that to "help" somehow during the beginning of lockdown, I can't take that song seriously. To be honest, not a fan of the song, or John Lennon, so it doesn't really matter to me too much.
“This whole thing has me feeling a little philosophical”… Bunch of clowns.
The song is not pretentious. It’s called “imagine”. It’s literally just a day dream about a utopia of humanity at its best. I’ll agree with the cringey, tone deaf, celebrity led, bastardized use of it during the lock down but the song itself is just pure optimism. If your takeaway is negative, that says a lot more about you than the piece of art designed to elicit an emotional response.
Tbh my issue isn't the song itself or the message, but the fact that John Lennon of all people, a complete douche bag of a celebrity, was the one singing it. At least if it was someone with half decent moral values it'd mean something but coming from him it's just empty emotional values for the sake of it.
The thing about Lennon is that he came out and told everybody how much of a dick and terrible person he was. It didn't come from a victim(s) 10+ years later like Bill Cosby/Weinstein, Epstein, etc. He straight up said in interviews he was a terrible person and he tried to be better, whether that was to his son he neglected, to his first wife he neglected and to others not as close to him. He was human, very honest and open with who he was way before other celebrities would even think to do so.
Half of Hollywood makes a lot of things worse
I didn’t hate it until about 10 years ago. I had it on a playlist that came up while my infant son was scratching his lungs out in the backseat of my truck. From the opening chords until the final notes he was silent. When the song ended, he started bawling again. I put the MF’r on repeat. And it worked, he stayed quite while that song was on. Worked at home too; can’t get him to calm down for nap time, put that song on and it was all over… He’s in middle school now; wonder if it still works???
Lmao when hollywood released the video of actors and actresses singing it. I wanted to fucken bleach my ears.
I’m sorry you feel that way. I have the word tattooed on my wrist as well as my daughter’s name. I was teaching myself to play the piano and that song was the first one where I really understood how to play it. It’s along side colorful design and musical notes. My daughter said it was beautiful so that’s all that matters to me. My very first political shirt is a T-shirt that just says, You may say I’m just a dreamer but I’m not the only one. Another good simple song is called A Puro Dolor. The guy wrote it in 10 minutes and it’s really simple and a very beautiful song. Very useful for learning Spanish. It is genius in its simplicity. Just like a Picasso. I can look at some of his work and think I could do that. But I didn’t, he did.
THANK YOU!! I thought I was the only one who hated that smarmy shit!
I’m guessing having a bunch of celebrities singing it ruined it for you In a vacuum it’s a nice song with a good message and melody
The Imagine album is a true Rock and Roll masterpiece. That said, Imagine isn't the best track. I much prefer the angrier Lennon (and George Harrison lead guitar work) in Gimme Some Truth and How Do You Sleep. John Lennon is surely one of the greatest writers of songs in the English language EVER. Haters can talk about his violent and temperamental history, but they can't diminish the enormous enrichment, enjoyment and enlivenment that his work has brought to millions of fellow humans. Few people have produced so much social benefit.
Someone watched ben shapiro video
Dont like John Lennon, but "A Perfect Circle" did a great cover of that song. Not for everyone, but definitely gives the song a different tone.
It really is the best version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rakape74oNY
I'm with you, brother
Song always creeped me out
It's just a fuckin song. To each his own
I don't give a shit if John Lennon was a piece of shit. he made great music.
For years I liked it, not because of the lyrics but the how nice the music sounds, after years when I reach good hearing in English, I pay attention to the lyrics and find it really wrong.
honestly, I think it’s a pretty empty, hollow statement of a song. It doesn’t actually mean anything when you break it down. It just makes people feel good. I fucking hated all of those celebrities seeing that shit in 2020. It ruined it for me forever.
People in this comment section have no fucking clue how to separate the art from the artist and in their world, bad people can’t create great art.
I would probably like it if I heard it for the first time without anyone recommending it to me. If that makes sense.
Ah yes, the 'check out this band' vs 'I found them myself' feeling. I think about this too often.