Knitting while blindfolded

I figured it was time I got around to posting about John Lennon, as Macca has received plenty of attention on my blog in the past. It is not that I like one more than the other. To the contrary, when John was "on" - and from '64-'67 he could do no wrong in my book - he was the superior songwriter of the two. There was often an introspective sadness to his middle period Beatles output, including the three little masterpieces that kick off Beatles For Sale. When he kicked off his solo career in 1970 however, his first successful shot out of the gate became for me one of the happiest, most uplifting, and downright kick ass radio hits of my youth. Instant Karma espouses a do-it-yourself personal rebuilding program. Perhaps he wrote the song to himself as an antidote for the awful debacle of the disintegration of the Beatles. But the happy vibe, the cosmic lyrics, and the twin pummels of the piano and the drumming created a sound that was never really duplicated by anyone.

I love this song in a way that verges on being unhealthy. Back in the day it got me through some tough times and I will forever be indebted to John for writing it.

Speaking of John and the Beatles, there is an amazing thread over at Hey Dullblog that started out as discussion of "favorite" unreleased Beatles tracks but went sidewise into a psychological discussion of John and his relationship with his former bandmates. Although I do not agree with everything written the discussion is lively and left me pondering for days.