Hard to imagine why they play "Imagine"

WMAmorican

Why Paris is doomed: Some bum drags his piano, decorated by a "peace" symbol, by bicycle to the Bataclan theatre, and proceeds to play "Imagine." What kind of fool would think that an appropriate response a day after mass murder? Answer: Apparently everyone in the western world, because, of course, it "went viral."

One would like to think that, were a crowd of survivors and grieving relatives present, they would smash the piano into kindling, save for the peace-symbol lid, which they would thwack the pianist over the head with.

John Lennon wrote "Imagine" in 1970. From the look of him, the pianist was only in short pants back then, or perhaps not even born. Yet his response to a very 21st-century atrocity is to assure the world that the ancient peacenik bromides still apply. When Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941, did everyone coo because somebody dragged along a piano to the naval base and played a hit song from 1896?

Nothing is a more reliable indicator of a lack of imagination than singing "Imagine." We sing the same crappy songs but we do not live in John Lennon's 1970. For example, what has changed since Lennon wrote his apparently indestructible talisman? Here's what did happen between 1970 and 2000: The developed world declined from just under 30% of the global population to just over 20%, and Muslim nations increased from about 15% to 20%. So in 1970, developed nations had twice as big a share of the global population as the Muslim world; by 2000, they were at parity: each had about 20%. And by 2020...?

Well, you can't really measure those distinctions anymore. "Imagine there's no countries"? It isn't hard to do: "Citizens" of some 11 "nations" were supposedly involved in the Paris slaughter - native-born Belgians, immigrant Frenchmen, "refugee" Syrians. It makes no difference. Because ISIS has come up with something greater than nominal citizenship, something that commands fierce allegiance and provides them with a real identity.

While we were "living for today," Islam was playing for tomorrow. When you sing "Imagine," you're saying you can't imagine anything beyond the moment. You can't imagine that there are people who don't think as you do, and who regard lame boomer-pop solidarity as confirmation of nothing more than your flaccid passivity.

Our enemies understand how myopic we are. They attack a concert by Eagles of Death Metal, which is not without a certain blood-soaked irony: In our world, "death metal" is a genre at iTunes. In our enemies' world, the term is literal: They bring real death metal to our "death metal" concerts and pile high the corpses. In our world, it's all pose and attitude. In theirs, these words still have meaning.

dignin

Nice copy and paste. At least provide a source for this trash.

Edit: Here I did it for you

http://www.steynonline.com/7298/imagine-there-no-imagination

hedonist

Well, sir (madam?) - I hope your post was borne of anger, frustration...not lack of forethought.

Always felt that music, from lyrics to voice to notes, are subjective.

I found the "bum's" reaction to be just that...a reaction. A sweet and genuine one. I appreciated it, anyway.

Have you ever dealt with grief? If so, have you ever dealt with it in a way that others might question, stupidly or not?

In difficult times and out of your mind...ever turned to music instead?

I'm not blind, but shit's not black or white.

FYI, it's ok to cut some a break. For playing a fucking song on a fucking piano.

brianlux

OK, to be fair, I kind of get the point. Yes, the song gets used a lot. Yes, it's old... (but easy now, not that old, haha!). Yes, viral clips mean mass appeal and some of us like things that are a bit more obscure. But is this all worthy of such venom? I think not. And try as much as I can, I don't remember anyone wanting to bash in Neil Young's head with his piano lid when he played "Imagine" for the 9/11 Tribute. I think he really meant that song.

mattsl1983

I agree, it's a song of bullsh't, that for some reason people who think they are so much smarter and understand the world so much more think it's a great message. I started a discussion on it a while back. The song is lame, the people that think the song means something great are lame. It's ideology. Basically imagine all the things that make us human are gone. Yea great world I want to be in..

http://community.pearljam.com/discussion/238361/imagine-really-imagine-what-the-world-would-be#latest

mattsl1983

the real "bums" reaction is not to take what the song actually says and interpret as if they were one with Lennon and actually felt what he felt when he wrote it. That's the "bums" way.

Lennon wrote it from a place of peace that he thought the world should be. It's easy to take this stand and write these amazing "imagine" lyrics when you are what around the age of 30 (I'm not sure how old he was, ball parking) and oh yea, you have wealth beyond imagination and don't know how the world works because you never were in the real world. Same as Eddie, love the guy, the music is amazing, but his message misses every time when he tries to get political. Both Lennon and Eddie don't know sh't about the real world. They haven't lived it, they never had to. It's easy to be an ideologist when your bar stool sits higher and you never have to pay the tab. I agree 100% with the op point. Last thing I want is to see Eddie and Pearl Jam end up being the next U2. Real World.

josevolution

I say both you and matt jerk are trolls and clueless at best go back to your caves ...

mickeyrat

To me it helps to keep hope alive that humanity can come to improve itself individualy and collectively.

Hopelessness is a horrific state of being.

dignin

It says a lot about a person to find the negative in this and focus on it.

benjs

Every few months, sparked by some event or some performance, someone on here seems to criticize the naiveté of the song Imagine (or am I imagining this?), and each time, I read the comments, disregard them, and move on. Naive as it is, a song which resurfaces constantly, created almost fifty years ago, clearly has some relevance to a good number of others. If it takes an ancient relic to keep humans hopeful, then I see nothing wrong with that, context be damned.

JimmyV

I thought the backlash against people expressing their grief over Paris crossed the line into the ridiculous long ago. Then I read this.

brianlux

It's one thing to think critically and be skeptical and another to just be cynical. I'm sorry to see there are those who don't know the difference.

hedonist

mattsl1983 said:

I agree, it's a song of bullsh't, that for some reason people who think they are so much smarter and understand the world so much more think it's a great message. I started a discussion on it a while back. The song is lame, the people that think the song means something great are lame. It's ideology. Basically imagine all the things that make us human are gone. Yea great world I want to be in..

http://community.pearljam.com/discussion/238361/imagine-really-imagine-what-the-world-would-be#latest

Recap!

Appreciating a very simple sweet song that brings a bit of comfort to many = lame.

Calling those in the above category lame = leaning on the asshole side of things.

For me, the whole point of the song and its intent is live and let live. Living life in peace. Trying to, anyway.

(maybe still as a stupid human being but beside the point)

Shame on us for that glimmer of hope in wanting that!

SVRDhand13

mattsl1983 said:

Both Lennon and Eddie don't know sh't about the real world. They haven't lived it, they never had to.

This proves you know little to nothing about either man. Self made men I might add.

Kat

Someone hasn't listened to "Alive" and this thread is taking a very bad turn. It's done. There are other discussions about Imagine and the Paris events on the forums. Please continue using those.
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