Where would John Lennon's genius take us?

What would John Lennon be like today? Isn't this among the most fascinating "what if" questions? And theories would most likely be all over the map. The young generation would need a little primer.
Maybe today's youth just wouldn't care much. Can you blame them? Lennon was inspired to create music by what was happening in the world around him. Hey, this is the universal for songwriters and creative people in general, isn't it? The issues of Lennon's time wouldn't apply a whole lot to today, except in the sense that basic human nature never changes.
Lennon presented himself as sort of an inscrutable oddball. This was in a time when society decided that nonconformity could be a valuable trait. We were shedding conventions all over the place. Today by comparison we are quite strict in guiding our youth into accepted pathways. We stress the need to accept authority.
There were aspects of Lennon's nature that would make us cringe today. Was it really that he wanted to be off the beaten path, as a matter of pure principle? I would suggest not. Lennon was merely an astute artist. He was a genius whose gift could not be explained in a straightforward way. He himself said his songs seemed to "come from another place," outside himself. This doesn't mean he was stealing anything! It means he had a talent that was just part of his makeup, not lending itself to empirical explanation.
Thus we ought to be fascinated by the craft of songwriting. What makes one melody more appealing than another? In an age in which we think science can explain everything, this one stumps us. Why do well-known musical performers go through so much prospective material, rejecting a lot of it, even though it's all prepared by people with the best credentials? In other words, why this hit-and-miss quality? You would think that at the highest levels of the profession, where money helps get things done, there would be a more orderly or predictable process. But oh no, it's highly subjective. The best experts can be wrong.
The music industry is full of stories reflecting this. I wonder if Lennon was worried about his own well running dry. The idea in those days was to write a song of about three minutes that had a "catchy melody." You'll hit upon one, and then be gripped by anxiety about whether it is highly similar to a pre-existing one. Melodies are not random patterns of notes. Certain progressions of notes are appealing. How many songs have been written over time? Each year brings a massive addition and obviously we can realize that it's practically impossible to write a new, appealing melody that is totally original.
We see news items regularly about aggrieved parties who will pressure an artist somewhere into sharing the royalties for a particular work. I have heard that this issue is a disincentive for even getting into the craft of songwriting. That's really a shame.
The digital world has changed music as it has changed everything. A boomer like me can hardly believe how the doors have swung open, how we have access to seemingly unlimited free music. I have always admired Paul McCartney, but back in the '70s in his "Wings" phase, I wasn't going to plunk down money for his albums, perhaps none of them, for the simple reason of cost. His "hits" could be heard on the radio.
Today thanks to the online world, I can listen to most if not all of the selections on each of those "Wings" albums. For example, the album "Venus and Mars." McCartney's "Band on the Run" is presented as his masterpiece from that phase of his career. I would suggest that the Venus and Mars album is nearly if not totally as good.
I really put the live album "Wings Over America" as No. 1.
"Sir Paul" still does recordings today. His newest offering seems good enough but there's nothing there that stays in my head. What would stay in my head? Again, science cannot answer this question! A song like "Take It Away" from McCartney's past stays in my head. We'd like our old heroes to just keep turning out stuff like that. It would assure us that our world isn't changing, that there are certain things we can always count on.
But our world does most certainly change and profoundly.

John Lennon

I think John Lennon was aware of the pressures involved with staying on top. He probably felt he needed to do outrageous things, pushing the envelope until it became annoying to many, because of the simple need to - excuse the bluntness - get attention. It's not that he was vain, it's just that he was being astute/realistic.
He was one of those very rare geniuses. He should have paid more attention to his personal security. I think he got more bothered by fame than McCartney did.
George Harrison? I find him fascinating because his best songs are the type that Lennon and McCartney would not write. Those songs have a quality that I just cannot explain. Take "Old Brown Shoe" which I find fascinating because in the original release, I don't think the listener can make out a single word of the lyrics! And yet the lyrics reflect the best songwriting craftsmanship.
Quite an irony from the glory days of radio-based Top 40 music: The lyrics had to be artistically sound, to pass muster with top artistic people, and yet much of the time our most beloved hits had words that were hard to make out. We might have a hard time even explaining the basic story of a particular song.
Songwriting helps keep my life interesting in my post-newspaper phase. I find it an essential outlet. Just two nights ago I finished a song entitled "There Must Be Snow in Heaven." My, I wrote the chorus of this song back in the '90s! The whole idea was to just try to be clever. Maybe you'd describe it as a novelty song because surely there is no serious message. It's an exception to the rule in my songwriting, as normally my songs are "topical." My new song is in the personal relationship category but it's totally light and rather irreverent.
It's also unusual for me because it's written from the perspective of a woman. She looks at her significant other and wonders why he couldn't accept total contentment with her rather than being tempted by others. She says to him, in effect, that if you think I'll stand idly by while you imagine these trysts, "there must be snow in heaven."

Jo Dee Messina

As I wrote the chorus, I was thinking of country music performer Jo Dee Messina. She had a persona that seemed consistent with the kind of expression I project in the song. She's tomboyish and energetic. I went to the county fair in Aberdeen SD to hear her perform during her late '90s "run." It was the Brown County Fair where I was fascinated by the Wild West replica main street complete with a guy who gives talks on gunfighting technique! It's a superb fair, not too big and not too small. It would be fun to go back but it's a rather long drive.
I discarded the original verses I wrote for the song, not so much because of lyrical content but because I experienced an old bugaboo for me: writing for a vocal range that was maybe one note too wide to be sung easily. I once explained to one of my studio contacts, Frank Michels, that my problem most likely was that I had played the trumpet. Playing the trumpet, you can easily cover two full octaves. The human voice isn't like that unless you're George Jones.
I joked with Mr. Michels that I could get by if writing for Frankie Valli! But seriously, I have had to work on this and now have the issue under control.
So after many years went by, I re-visited my "Heaven" song and now I have new verses composed, probably better from a lyrical standpoint. Remember this is a totally light song with no substance meant to be reflected upon. The point is to just enjoy listening to it, to be amused by the lyrics which merely reflect impulsive, shallow thoughts. Yes, much of our life is spent with such thoughts.
Could this song be a "hit?" If that's your motive in songwriting, you'll find it a pointless pastime. Just like if you go into anthropology, don't be motivated by wanting to be the one who finds the "missing link." Forget it. You just have to be fascinated by anthropology. Just like you should feel a fascination with songwriting.
And you know what? In our world of today, if you are a songwriter who seeks to make money by having someone else record your song, your odds of success are zero! So, just enjoy the craft. Here are the lyrics for my up-tempo song called "There Must be Snow in Heaven." All I need is for Jo Dee Messina to sing it.
 
"There Must be Snow in Heaven"
by Brian Williams
 
It should have been a breeze
As easy as saying please
As easy as breathing air in the morning
On a midsummer day
 
We had it all our way
Without any shades of gray
But you found a new flame, got in a new game
How can it be OK?
 
So if you are glib
About what you did
 
CHORUS:
There must be snow in heaven
And not just on the mountain peaks
When you're having a fling but say everything
Is rosy as a newborn's cheeks
If that's the way you reckon
That we can find a love that's real
There must be snow in heaven
I better bring a snowmobile
 
 
We didn't need a map
To know where our love was at
'Cause we were a sure thing, not just a quick fling
So I thought at the time
  
We loved the same ball teams
The same type of movie themes
But then like a villain, you went a-driftin'
I should have drawn a line
 
You must see the truth
Or I'll give the boot
 
(repeat chorus)
 
You wouldn't know true love
If it bit you in the butt
If it was on Fox News you would have no clue
Still I just kept the faith
 
I let the embers glow
When I could have let you go
So I was a soldier, there in your corner
Was it all just a waste?
 
I'll grab you and say
If you go astray
 
(repeat chorus)
 
 
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com