We all shine on

Today is the 25th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon and it has been in the news all week. There are constant tales of where people were when they heard the news, and constant re-tellings of how the murder happened. There have been specials documenting why Mark David Chapman killed Lennon, and anything and everything related to the life and death of Lennon. I could rehash some of this, but you can read it virtually everywhere on the internet.
I was in the hospital when the news came over the radio, but this is actually my mother's memory since I was only 6 days old. My mom has a fairly strong recollection of that moment and it is inextricably linked with her memory of watching the Beatles on Ed Sullivan for the first time. I don't have those memories, I don't even have a distinct memory of the first time I heard a Beatles or John Lennon song.

What I've always liked about Lennon's music is that it does a little bit of everything. It's playful, poignant and political, it's quiet and it's loud. Lennon's songs encompass all the things that I look for in music, diversity -- it never sounds the same. Lennon knew how to make music that was accessible to the masses yet carried a strong message, he also knew how to experiment and create music that wouldn't be understood or welcomed by most listeners. And he didn't care. He respected his work with the Beatles but wanted to move on. This time of year there is always tons of hypothesizing about what Lennon would be doing if he were still alive, but in my opinion there's no points to the what ifs. I can only hope that Lennon's music is used as an inspiration for musicians for years to come (wow, that was cheesy) .

I'm going to take this opportunity to mark the 4th anniversary of the death of George Harrison, he died on Nov. 29 2001. Harrison's death is never met with the same fanfare as Lennon's, because Harrison died from a long battle with brain cancer as opposed to being gunned down in the street. I do remember where I was when I heard the news of Harrison's death, I was in my car on my way to school and the radio station was playing 'Here Comes the Sun,' something I'd never heard on my local morning show at the time. I knew what had happened. So since I neglected to mark Harrison's death last week, I figured I should do it now.