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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

R.I.P. What Is There Left to Say About John Lennon's Death?

Posted by Ned Lannamann on Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 11:58 AM

This being a music blog, it seems necessary to bring up the fact that John Lennon was assassinated 30 years ago. But I honestly don't have much to say about it. What can you say about Lennon that hasn't already been said? Yes, he's one of my favorite musicians, his music measurably changed my life, it sucks that he was killed, yes blah blah BLAH. I thought about posting my favorite Lennon track (Beatles? solo?) and couldn't pick one ("She Said She Said"? "Isolation"?). Tthere's too much to choose from. And I don't see much point in posting something like that anyway—you know his songs, you know the ones you like, you're probably gonna spend part of today listening to 'em.

SOOO, gonna do something a little different. Here, instead of one of the magical finished moments from his long catalog, is the isolated bass track from "Helter Skelter," one of the few Beatles songs on which Lennon played bass.

This comes from the Dangerous Minds blog, which has been posting a few of these deconstructions—isolated tracks taken from the master tapes we know and love—and they're a revelation. (The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" post is also astonishing.) Anyway, here's John Lennon playing bass on "Helter Skelter." It's raw. It's a fucking mess. It sounds like shit. It might be the most rock 'n' roll thing you'll hear all day. I think that's how Lennon would like us to remember him. Goodbye, John. We miss you.