‘Imagine’: Why John Lennon’s Most Enduring Song Is Actually His Worst

WBUR ^ | 12/6/12 | Jim Borghesani

[ReformationFan]

Can I go to that world?

[ReformationFan]

My sister told me she went to a funeral for a friend’s teenage son at a Baptist church where they played this horrible “Imagine” song because it was his favorite song. Talk about cognitive dissonance.

[raccoonradio]

Interesting...but the song also says no heaven and no hell.
But yes, “no religion” but a yes to world peace and God

>>no denominations of religion—not without religion but without this my God-is-bigger-than-your-God thing—then it can be true

[Dr. Sivana]

My point was more that it doesn’t lose it rockingness for being longer.

Of course. And versatile performers like Elton John and David Bowie have made real (not joking around) tracks as short as one minute and longer than 10 minutes. I'll leave it to you to decide if they are capable of producing sufficient "rockingness".

I wasn't attacking long pop music tracks, only those who maintained that short tracks or covers weren't worthy of respect, and they tended to be in the hard rock/heavy metal crowd. I'm not a zep fan, though I do, of course acknowledge that they have the chops on their instruments. Their long songs were murder on those who purchased Led Zep 8-Track tapes. (ka-CHUNK!)

[Mr. K]

I think I read somewhere that one would take the beginning of one song and add the “middle 8” or somethign like that

If you listen to a lot of Beatles you can almost see where one person wrote one part and another wrote the other part- Lennon often adding the heavy edge rock to it- I dont know.. I am just guessing

I do this with my daughters all the time. I cannot play piano for anything (at least not very well) but when THEY are playing, I can accompany them like crazy- inventing new sounds by ear almost as if by magic