Cultural values matter. The Beatles are going through a kind of renaissance today, largely thanks to Peter Jackson, Disney and YouTube. The irony is that some of their music is so exciting and inviting we often forget to listen to the messages in the melodies and ponder the global cultural impact. Who cares?, even many Christians… Read More John Lennon’s ‘Wet Dream’
The Beatles were not just another Rock band. They were an Event with lasting cosmic effect across the entire planet, heralds of a new evangelium. Evangelium is a Latin term that translates to “gospel,” meaning “good news.” It is derived from the Ancient Greek word εὐαγγέλιον Here, in exquisite harmonies and creativity, The Beatles gave… Read More The (New) Word
Steve Turner in his important 2016 book, Beatles ’66: The Revolutionary Year, relates what John Lennon told him regarding his view of Jesus Christ; “Once he left school and music began to take up more of his free time,” Turner says, “John stopped attending church, but wealth, adulation, and his drug experiences made him reconsider… Read More John Lennon and The Gospel “Bullshit”
Learning the First Notes All Over Again. In Fellini’s film “Orchestra Rehearsal” the Conductor suddenly found himself in the midst of a revolt. The musicians had long murmured against the Conductor on account of his rigorous methods, demands and practice sessions. The exchanges between them and he were bitter. And time did not heal the… Read More Fellini’s Orchestra Rehearsal.
“Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream”—John Lennon Photo by Yoko Ono. Perhaps it is one of those curious fearful symmetries that the words of John Lennon quoted above are found in the Beatles’ album titled ‘Revolver’…and that he was finally gunned down, shot multiple times in the back by a “fan”. I… Read More John Lennon and The Seductions of Beautiful Nothing
Before there was Gloria Steinem or Michel Foucault, there was Dada. And it was deadly serious. Kickoff, Demolition time. “Dada thrives on contradictions. It is creative and destructive. Dada denounces the world and wishes to save it.” So says one narrator of journalist-filmmaker Mick Gold’s Europe After the Rain, a 1978 Arts Council of Great Britain documentary… Read More 1914. Europe After the Rain.
By John A. Perricone | New Oxford Review, January-February 2021 The Deleterious Effects of a Subtle Inversion One of Hollywood’s more sybaritic starlets solemnly announced the other day that she was embarking on a 30-day “spiritual cleanse” in India. Since neither ecumenism nor eco-enthusiasm is my métier, I was bewildered. Could it be some novel… Read More “New Spirituality” & the Ghost of Catholicism
