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John & Yoko: The Dentist Interview, 1968
11.11.2011
09:27 pm
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Dutch sociologist Abram De Swaan interviews John and Yoko for the TV program Rood Wit Blauw at the practice of Lennon’s Knightsbridge dentist. The interview took place on December 12, 1968, just after their Two Virgins album had come out.

In the first part, while John was in the dentist’s chair, Yoko discusses Fluxus, the underground vs. the establishment, her own approach to art, why she abores “professionalism” and more.

When Lennon joins them, in reel four, he talks about revolution, reincarnation, taxes and money.

This is the single best vintage Yoko Ono interview I’ve ever seen, a real treat for Yoko fans.
 

 
After the jump, Yoko discusses living her life with Lennon in public and how their first meeting was a “miracle.”

READ ON
Posted by Richard Metzger
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11.11.2011
09:27 pm
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Herman Cain sings ‘Imagine’
10.17.2011
01:24 pm
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“Imagine there’s no Republicans… it’s easy if you try…”
 

 
Via The Daily Beast

Posted by Richard Metzger
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10.17.2011
01:24 pm
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Abbie Hoffman and the theater of revolution


 
In the video below shot a few days before the 1968 Democratic National Convention, radical prankster Abbie Hoffman discusses guerrilla theater, drugs, sex and the role of humor as a tool for shaking up the status quo. Dissidence with a touch of Dada.

While the shit is hitting the fan it’s always good to have a sense of the absurd to keep things in perspective.

“Sacred cows make the tastiest hamburger.”

Much of the tone of the current Occupy Wall Street movement, with it’s colorful signs, face paint, freak flags, costumes and optimism in the face of so much opposition, can be traced to the Sixties provocations and theater of Hoffman, Jerry Ruben, The MC5, Ed Sanders, Paul Krassner, Allen Ginsberg, Dana Beal and the Youth International Party.

While Abbie showed us that political activism could have a playful side and that yippie tactics could be an effective means to grab headlines, releasing word viruses that could fuck with the status quo, he was also wise in his grasp of political realities:

Revolution is not something fixed in ideology, nor is it something fashioned to a particular decade. It is a perpetual process embedded in the human spirit. When all today’s isms have become yesterday’s ancient philosophy, there will still be reactionaries and there will still be revolutionaries. No amount of rationalization can avoid the moment of choice each of us brings to our situation here on the planet. I still believe in the fundamental injustice of the profit system and do not accept the proposition there will be rich and poor for all eternity.

Become an internationalist and learn to respect all life. Make war on machines. And in particular the sterile machines of corporate death and the robots that guard them.

Being a revolutionary isn’t just about talking a good game, it’s also about showing the world what freedom loving human beings are capable of: a robust passion for life and a deep respect for humanity and the earth we stand on.

There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”
― John Lennon

When people discount the role the Sixties play in contemporary attitudes about politics, sex, the environment and human rights, I say open your gawdammed eyes and take a look around. The press, pundits and people in general are comparing the OWS movement to the radical uprisings of the Sixties for good reason - they arise out of the same basic impulse toward justice and freedom….and something innate in all humans: the desire to fuck with authority.

With their limited frames of reference, I keep hearing people referring to the OWS protesters as hippies. Well, I guess we’re all hippies now. Pass the patchouli. Yippee!
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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10.03.2011
03:56 pm
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Miles Davis and John Lennon shooting hoops, 1971
09.30.2011
06:34 pm
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Photo found at Awesome People Hanging Out Together

Crazy! Here’s some Super 8 footage of John Lennon and Yoko Ono at a party—perhaps one held at Allen Klein’s house, according to some accounts—in 1971 playing basketball with Miles Davis.

 

 

Posted by Richard Metzger
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09.30.2011
06:34 pm
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Stuart Sutcliffe: The Lost Beatle
09.15.2011
06:58 pm
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He couldn’t play the bass, but he certainly could paint. The trouble is, Stuart Sutcliffe never lived long enough to fulfill the destiny his talents promised, tragically dying at the age of twenty-one from a brain haemorrhage.

As The Beatles original bass player, and John Lennon’s best mate, Sutcliffe’s legend has grown over these past fifty years, and this documentary Stuart Sutcliffe: The Lost Beatle examines the short life and long myth of the man who quit the Fab Four to follow his own star.

Told via interviews with an impressive array of Sutcliffe’s family and friends—and through uniquely descriptive quotes from his letters—this hour-long documentary reveals a lot of intimate detail about Sutcliffe’s transition from promising art-school student in Liverpool (and best friend of John Lennon) to reluctant musician (pressed into service by Lennon) to determined painter within the German avant-garde scene. A lot of Stu’s story, as Beatles fans know, is set in Hamburg, during and after the days the group was a house band in the city’s red-light district. Familiar tales of friction between Sutcliffe and Paul McCartney abound. But these are offset by a tremendous amount of fresh insight and detail offered by such important Beatles-saga figures as rocker Tony Sheridan, Klaus Voormann and—most crucially—Astrid Kirchherr, the photographer who influenced the Beatles’ look and who became Sutcliffe’s lover until his death.

 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds

Jimmie Nicol: The Beatle Who Never Was


 
More on Stuart Sutcliffe, after the jump…
 

READ ON
Posted by Paul Gallagher
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09.15.2011
06:58 pm
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‘The Shining,’ comes face to face with ‘Instant Karma,’ by John Lennon
09.12.2011
12:32 pm
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Nicely!

I highly suggest looking through Jeff Yorkes’ Vimeo account—he has many, many more fun movie mashups.

Posted by Tara McGinley
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09.12.2011
12:32 pm
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Not only Peter Cook & Dudley Moore, but also John Lennon
08.31.2011
05:54 pm
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John Lennon made three appearances on Not Only… But Also, the mid-1960s BBC sketch comedy show starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.

Also seen here is British actor Norman Rossington, who was in A Hard Day’s Night and the first British “New Wave” film Saturday Night and Sunday Morning with Albert Finney. You’ll also catch a glimpse of a young Diahann Carroll at the end.
 

Posted by Richard Metzger
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08.31.2011
05:54 pm
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The politically incorrect side of John Lennon
08.10.2011
04:29 pm
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Imagine that...
 

 
(via reddit)

Posted by Richard Metzger
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08.10.2011
04:29 pm
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Grant Morrison in concert: Comics great channels the spirit of John Lennon
08.08.2011
07:52 pm
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Via Comics Alliance:

Just what the headline says, people. Grant Morrison performed this song during a recent event at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles, thanks to the urging of My Chemical Romance frontman (and Umbrella Academy writer) Gerard Way. As Way explained, Morrison was given this song by the spirit of John Lennon, which Morrison communed with in a magic ritual while writing The Invisibles.

I think it says a lot about the wonderfully enigmatic Grant Morrison that the only reason this surprised me at all was that I didn’t know he played guitar. It actually sounds a great deal like a Beatles song…

Recorded at “An Evening with Grant Morrison” at Meltdown Comics in LA on 7/28/11. I’ve had two private performances of this tune, it’s quite something! Enjoy!
 

 

Posted by Richard Metzger
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08.08.2011
07:52 pm
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A Brief History of Recent Pop Culture as told through Photographs of Alice Cooper and Friends
08.05.2011
11:41 am
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A brief history of recent pop culture, as told through various photographs of Alice Cooper and Friends.
 
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Marxism: Alice and Groucho.
 
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The Super Group: Alice, Keith Moon, Harry Nilsson, Marc Bolan, 1973.
 
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Surrealism: Alice and Salvador Dali.
 
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Popism: Alice, Ray Manzarek, and Iggy.
 
Previously on Dangerous Minds
When Alice Cooper met Colonel Sanders
 
Culled from various but special thanks to This Is Not Porn
 
More photo-history with Alice plus bonus clip, after the jump…
 

READ ON
Posted by Paul Gallagher
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08.05.2011
11:41 am
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John Lennon interview 1973
08.01.2011
02:23 am
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One of the many things I love about John Lennon is that despite having more money than God and being one of the most influential human beings of the 20th century he seemed to have a very clear perspective on what was going on in the tumultuous reality he inhabited and a surprising sense of humility. There’s something very Zen about Lennon. Yes, he was capable of being an asshole at times, who isn’t, but mostly he comes off as a sweet sweet man.

In this interview conducted in 1973 prior to the release of Mind Games, John discusses his days with The Beatles and a possible reunion.
 

 
Thanks Mick Stadium.

Posted by Marc Campbell
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08.01.2011
02:23 am
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John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Zappa, Mothers live at the Fillmore East 1971
07.27.2011
01:53 pm
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Three clips of John and Yoko onstage with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention at the Fillmore East in NYC, June 5, 1971. For whatever reason, Lennon re-titled the Mothers’ song “King Kong”—the centerpiece of their live act for years and one that took up an entire side of the Uncle Meat album—as “Jamrag” and credited it to “Lennon/Ono” on their 1972 Sometime in New York City live album. Zappa’s own mix of this material—radically different from the Phil Spector produced tracks on John and Yoko’s album—came out on his Playground Psychotics album in 1992.

The Mothers at this time were comprised of Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman on vocals, Bob Harris—keyboards, Don Preston—Minimoog, Ian Underwood—keyboards, alto sax, Jim Pons—bass, vocals and Aynsley Dunbar on drums. If you’re a Yoko fan, towards the end of the third clip, Lennon starts doing some feedback stuff with his guitar as she wails over it. It’s a fine Yoko moment, albeit brief.

This is either a fan-shot film that was synced up with soundboard audio or else something that came via Bill Graham’s archives or a mixture of both. The audio quality is quite good and the video quality is certainly watchable, although there are dropouts to black at times. Still, this is an amazing, historic concert to have footage of, I’ll take what I can get. This probably got onto YouTube by way of the amazing Zappateers fansite (truly one of the greatest fan communities on the Internet).
 

 

 

 
Below “Scumbag.” I love Don Preston’s Mini-Moog improvisations here:
 

Posted by Richard Metzger
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07.27.2011
01:53 pm
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John Lennon glasses frames collection: (please just) Let It Be!
06.16.2011
02:40 pm
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Hmmmm… Look, I’m a (big) Yoko Ono fan, and she can do whatever she wants in terms of licensing her late husband’s name for product endorsements or whatever—I’m not asking her to solicit my approval beforehand or anything—but for god’s sake, the John Lennon line of glasses frames is simply LAME as fuck. Are we supposed to believe that these are the styles of designer eye-wear that the Beatle might have worn had his life not been so tragically cut short? Why yes, yes we are!

John Lennon glasses are licensed by the estate of John Lennon. John Lennon glasses use light and thin metal frame materials, just like John would have worn.  Wear John Lennon glasses as a testiment to the great legacy of John Lennon.

Yeah, I will get right on that… Oh please, this is just… so pathetic. If they’d have stuck with just styles he actually DID wear (and not a bunch “like John would have worn”) this wouldn’t have been so cringe-worthy. Choose from the preppy “Sgt. Pepper” glasses, go for the “Walrus” look (I thought the Walrus was Paul???)  or stick with the classic “Imagine inspired frames, there are so many to choose from. Yuck.

A REAL pair of the late Beatles’ glasses can be seen (and purchased, if you’ve got the loot) here.

Below, John and Yoko on The Dick Cavett Show on September 11, 1971:
 

Posted by Richard Metzger
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06.16.2011
02:40 pm
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Jonas Mekas: Beautiful home-movies of Andy Warhol and George Maciunas, 1971
06.12.2011
05:43 pm
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DM pal, Alessandro Cima wrote a post on this short film, about Andy Warhol and George Maciunas by Jonas Mekas, on his excellent Candelight Stories site.

The film consists of three home movies: Warhol at the Whitney, May 1, 1971, George’s Dumpling Party, June 29 1971 and Warhol revisited, May 1971 which show scenes from the opening of a Warhol retrospective, followed by footage of Warhol, Yoko Ono, John Lennon, and founder of the Fluxus movement, George Maciunas at what looks like a fondue party in 80 Wooster St., Soho, before returning back to the Whitney.

The narration is by Mekas, who talks about the relationship between Warhol and Maciunas, Pop Art and Fluxus, which he says are the same, as both dealt with nothingness - “both took life as a game and laughed at it.” Warhol standing on the side, never a part of it, with George “laughing, laughing all the time.”

These beautiful short films are like water-colored moments from pop history, which as Cima points out:

Home movies become an artform in Mekas’ hands.

 

 
With thanks to Alessandro Cima 
 

Posted by Paul Gallagher
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06.12.2011
05:43 pm
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No Heaven: Kirk Cameron says Lennon and Hawking don’t know what they are talking about
05.18.2011
08:28 pm
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I love how Kirk Cameron has become the de facto “go to” dummy whenever the media needs a kooky comment about something related to Christianity. Like a kicked puppy coming back for more punishment, Cameron is always ready to oblige with his version of a “quip.” Today Cameron told TMZ that Stephen Hawking has nothing to back his claim that there is no Heaven and that it is merely a “fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”

“Professor Hawking is heralded as ‘the genius of Britain,’ yet he believes in the scientific impossibility that nothing created everything and that life sprang from non-life.”

He adds, “Why should anyone believe Mr. Hawking’s writings if he cannot provide evidence for his unscientific belief that out of nothing, everything came?”

So how does John Lennon fit in to all this? Cameron explains:

“[Hawking] says he knows there is no Heaven. John Lennon wasn’t sure. He said to pretend there’s no Heaven. That’s easy if you try.  Then he said he hoped that someday we would join him.”

“Such wishful thinking reveals John and Stephen’s religious beliefs, not good science.”

He’s an actor, so he knows a thing or two about science. It’s settled, then!

Mike Seaver 1, Stephen Hawking 0!

Posted by Richard Metzger
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05.18.2011
08:28 pm
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