Monday, November 24, 2008

Vatican Forgives Lennon's Controversial Jesus Slam

By Scott Thill
 
800pxthe_beatles_in_america

Better late than never. The Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano finally forgave John Lennon's infamous 1966 claim that his band was "more popular than Jesus."

And, yea, it was all good.

In a curious twist, the way-past-due change of heart and mind came on the 40th anniversary of The White Album's 1968 release. Look Vatican, we don't want to tell you how to do your job, but you might have wanted to forgive Lennon's statement in 2007, the 40th anniversary of The Beatles' epochal Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Sure, we'd argue that The White Album, which is really named The Beatles, is a more lasting classic than its globally influential predecessor. But you might want to consider the fact that Charles Manson misread the double-album as a code for an apocalyptic class and race war, George Harrison suggests "a damn good whacking" for "Pigs" in power, Lennon calls for "Revolution" not once but twice (that is, after he claims that "Happiness is a Warm Gun"), and McCartney kicks off the effort with a sex parody about Russian girls.

We're just saying.

http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/11/vatican-forgive.html

No comments: