The Beatles song you're thinking about right now thread

[Dr. Medulla]

Watched that semi-recent documentary series about Lennon's murder over the last couple days. Informative to the degree that I really knew very little about the murder beyond the basics. My Beatles love never took me to that level of inquiry. That said, it was a bit flat in terms of impact. I came away feeling some empathy towards Chapman, a guy with an abusive childhood, and because of his guilty plea he was denied psychiatric treatment in prison. Plus he's spent most of his incarceration in isolation, largely to protect him from other prisoners.

Weird factoid: John Hinckley also had a copy of Catcher in the Rye when he shot Reagan. Huh.

I've walked past the Dakota several times and every time I've seen people posing for photos in the infamous entrance where Lennon was gunned down. Am I being too touchy, or does that feel weird to anyone else?

It ain't my thing, but to more than a few people it's about acknowledging "history." It becomes real or legitimate when there's a picture of you at that place where that thing happened a long time ago. But it's shallow tourism for me, inserting yourself into the story in a way that you don't belong. Desecration is too strong a word for it, but it's a kissing cousin.

(That said, I super highly recommend a book by the wonderful Sarah Vowell called Assassination Vacation, which is part history, part travelogue as she, her twin sister, and nephew visit the sites of Lincoln's, Garfield's, and McKinley's assassinations. The audio version is better because it has Stephen King as Lincoln, Jon Stewart as Garfield. Funny and insightful history.)

edit: A passage from AV that I love, discussing Garfield's assassin Charles Guiteau and his membership in a kind of pre-hippie Christian commune called the Oneida Community.

Mutual Criticism required a member of the group to stand up in front of everybody and listen to the enumeration of his or her faults. The bright side of being that night's subject for criticism was the rare treat at Oneida of being the center of attention. The downside was that everyone you knew and loved was allowed, even encouraged, to look into your eyes and ask, "You know what your problem is?"

[Marky Dread]

The Sheetles.

[coffeepotman]

Watched that semi-recent documentary series about Lennon's murder over the last couple days. Informative to the degree that I really knew very little about the murder beyond the basics. My Beatles love never took me to that level of inquiry. That said, it was a bit flat in terms of impact. I came away feeling some empathy towards Chapman, a guy with an abusive childhood, and because of his guilty plea he was denied psychiatric treatment in prison. Plus he's spent most of his incarceration in isolation, largely to protect him from other prisoners.

Weird factoid: John Hinckley also had a copy of Catcher in the Rye when he shot Reagan. Huh.

I've walked past the Dakota several times and every time I've seen people posing for photos in the infamous entrance where Lennon was gunned down. Am I being too touchy, or does that feel weird to anyone else?

Dr. Medula, I used to captain a sail boat out of North Cove, right next to "ground Zero". I can't tell you how disgusted I was to see smiling tourists taking pictures with the carnage in the backround. It made me sick and I actually went off on a family like don't you know what fucking happened here, how dare you smile and laugh and take pictures. I almost punched the father until he apologized to me. People are sick and disgusting.

[Dr. Medulla]

Dr. Medula, I used to captain a sail boat out of North Cove, right next to "ground Zero". I can't tell you how disgusted I was to see smiling tourists taking pictures with the carnage in the backround. It made me sick and I actually went off on a family like don't you know what fucking happened here, how dare you smile and laugh and take pictures. I almost punched the father until he apologized to me. People are sick and disgusting.

People treat the world as raw material for their entertainment, especially for their personal photo ops. Twenty-year-old me would be appalled by old guy me, but we need to regain a sense of reverence and respect. Some places are above selfies and smiles. If you don't think you can conduct yourself appropriately, stay the fuck away.

[gkbill]

Dr. Medula, I used to captain a sail boat out of North Cove, right next to "ground Zero". I can't tell you how disgusted I was to see smiling tourists taking pictures with the carnage in the backround. It made me sick and I actually went off on a family like don't you know what fucking happened here, how dare you smile and laugh and take pictures. I almost punched the father until he apologized to me. People are sick and disgusting.

People treat the world as raw material for their entertainment, especially for their personal photo ops. Twenty-year-old me would be appalled by old guy me, but we need to regain a sense of reverence and respect. Some places are above selfies and smiles. If you don't think you can conduct yourself appropriately, stay the fuck away.

Hello,

The memorial for the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor was a place where everyone (as of my one time) was extremely respectful. It may be the boat ride to the memorial, it may be the presence of older people who remember the event, it may be the movie you watch before going out. When you were on the memorial, everyone was very quite - whispers and little conversation.

[Dr. Medulla]

Dr. Medula, I used to captain a sail boat out of North Cove, right next to "ground Zero". I can't tell you how disgusted I was to see smiling tourists taking pictures with the carnage in the backround. It made me sick and I actually went off on a family like don't you know what fucking happened here, how dare you smile and laugh and take pictures. I almost punched the father until he apologized to me. People are sick and disgusting.

People treat the world as raw material for their entertainment, especially for their personal photo ops. Twenty-year-old me would be appalled by old guy me, but we need to regain a sense of reverence and respect. Some places are above selfies and smiles. If you don't think you can conduct yourself appropriately, stay the fuck away.

Hello,

The memorial for the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor was a place where everyone (as of my one time) was extremely respectful. It may be the boat ride to the memorial, it may be the presence of older people who remember the event, it may be the movie you watch before going out. When you were on the memorial, everyone was very quite - whispers and little conversation.

Having people watch a short film sounds like a good idea, to prepare people for what they are about to do and see. Mind you, I assume that's done at places like Auschwitz, and we still hear about callow simploids who insist on giggling and taking selfies.

[gkbill]

Dr. Medula, I used to captain a sail boat out of North Cove, right next to "ground Zero". I can't tell you how disgusted I was to see smiling tourists taking pictures with the carnage in the backround. It made me sick and I actually went off on a family like don't you know what fucking happened here, how dare you smile and laugh and take pictures. I almost punched the father until he apologized to me. People are sick and disgusting.

People treat the world as raw material for their entertainment, especially for their personal photo ops. Twenty-year-old me would be appalled by old guy me, but we need to regain a sense of reverence and respect. Some places are above selfies and smiles. If you don't think you can conduct yourself appropriately, stay the fuck away.

Hello,

The memorial for the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor was a place where everyone (as of my one time) was extremely respectful. It may be the boat ride to the memorial, it may be the presence of older people who remember the event, it may be the movie you watch before going out. When you were on the memorial, everyone was very quite - whispers and little conversation.

Having people watch a short film sounds like a good idea, to prepare people for what they are about to do and see. Mind you, I assume that's done at places like Auschwitz, and we still hear about callow simploids who insist on giggling and taking selfies.

Hello,

I took my team to the memorial - ~24 young female college players. The group was very quiet, somber, and respectful. I was very proud of them.

[Dr. Medulla]

The Sheetles.

Coincidentally: https://www.salon.com/2024/03/28/the-ot ... e-on-tour/

[Marky Dread]

The Sheetles.

Coincidentally: https://www.salon.com/2024/03/28/the-ot ... e-on-tour/

Wow they are seriously handsome.

[Olaf]

The Sheetles.

Paula's cute.

[Marky Dread]

The Sheetles.

Paula's cute.

I'm more of a Georgina guy.

[Silent Majority]

I've said it here before, but this one's a solid McCartney record. Compares favourably with mid-tiers Beatles.

[Dr. Medulla]

I've said it here before, but this one's a solid McCartney record. Compares favourably with mid-tiers Beatles.

I remember that when it came out, most of the credit in the press went to Nigel Godrich, Radiohead's producer who produced that record. While Godrich may well have gave Paul some new focus or whatever a producer actually does, it seemed a way to shit on Paul as a washed-up old guy who needed to be rescued.

[revbob]

That one Pat Benatar cover they do is really something else.

[Silent Majority]

I've said it here before, but this one's a solid McCartney record. Compares favourably with mid-tiers Beatles.

I remember that when it came out, most of the credit in the press went to Nigel Godrich, Radiohead's producer who produced that record. While Godrich may well have gave Paul some new focus or whatever a producer actually does, it seemed a way to shit on Paul as a washed-up old guy who needed to be rescued.

Seems like every 20 years or so, something reminds Paul to do some quality control. The ability is there, it's just he doesn't get challenged often. He did this stuff after Anthology and was impressed by how good the Beatles were.