Lennon Death Anniversary

We passed the 30th anniversary of the death of John Lennon at the Dakota in New York City on December 8, 1980. Lennon was murdered by Mark David Chapman who said he killed him because "it would make me famous, make me be somebody". Hmmmm Such perversion os the reality TV mode today where people commit far less of an abomination, but disgrace themselves nonetheless, in a desperate attempt to grab fame. I mention reality TV because there is a link between Lennon and the Beatles and that awful genre.

For all the greatness of Lennon and his mates I think their own break from traditional pop music, in which the performer is compliant and subservient to the media and fans, was what started the kind of craziness by performers today. In a way, the Beatles were the first reality performers, not with their great music, but with the way they handled their celebrity. And John Lennon was the one Beatle who epitomized that idea that her was going to be himself, not a celebrity or a card board cutout of one who behaved the way his fans and media expected him to.

The Beatles tried hard (never succeeded) to live as non celebrity, something that was supposed to be the death of the career at that time. Lennon thought his music and other work should speak for itself, not an image of celebrity. Now we have "celebrities " like Lindsay Lohan who are famous not for any talent (she has none) or artistic contribution, but rather just famous for being Lindsay Lohan. And so it goes with "reality TV stars", people with little or no talent but a voice loudly screaming "Notice me! Notice me! I want to be famous!"

Did not the Lennon and Beatle break of the "celebrity must act like a celebrity" mold bequeath us now, generations later a kind of celebrity that is famous "for nothing". Before Lennon was murdered, ironically, by a person who killed him only because it would bring fame, John Lennon had holed himself in his apartment overlooking Central Park in Manhattan, and had lived the quiet life of desperation most humans live. And he was happy to live that way.

While the world today has become blurred between art and life it's good to remember that celebrity for celebrity sake is not often a fulfilling path. John Lennon surely knew that.