I'd like to think...

I have said this all before. Probably more than once. But I really want to think a little bit about those artists that we've lost while in their prime. It's an easy thing to go out on top. You're legend will live on forever. In the past I have talked about the likes of Marc Bolan, but today I want to talk specifically about John Lennon. Unlike Bolan, Lennon had a full career and navigated his way through several styles and cultural changes. What makes John Lennon so important isn't that he was a Beatle, or The Beatle if you like, you don't even have to like him, his music or his politics. What made John Lennon special was his ability to adapt. The Beatles didn't do one thing for thier whole career, they evolved to remain relevant, and when the Beatles couldn't keep up with Lennon's need to be creative, he went out and found his own voice, independent of what made him a star, even though it effected his relationship with his dear friends. There are few other artists that have had the courage to drastically reinvent themselves for the greater good, more than once. I don't trust anyone who says they are a lover of music, but never really got the whole Beatle mania thing, or that John Lennon was overratted. It's counterintuitive for one to be a lover of art and disregard one of the most stalwart purveyors of a particular genre.