Response to Hans Ulrich Obrist / Yoko Ono
I was very touched by reading Obrist interview with Ono. I felt kind of sad for her that Lennon is no longer around. They seemed to be so perfect together. Her response about celebrating difference was especially touching (Ono):
“Yes, and allowing people to be different, that’s very important. That’s something we (John and Yoko) tried to convey. We felt that we were almost symbolic figures of that concept. John and I come from very different places. We were man and woman, we were from the West and the East. Each of us represented totally different social strata as well. We came from extreme opposites. So in some ways, we were very different from each other, but then in another way we were totally together. By the way, we were very aware of that symbolism, and also how people hated us for it. We were two people who transcended the positions they were suppose to adhere to. We didn’t get together just to do that, but we felt that it was very magical that we fell in love with each other and understood each other totally in spite of all the differences.”
Having grown up in London, a small town in Sweden, Kuwait, and South Florida, I deeply empathize with her statement that allowing people to be different is very important. In my experience, you can’t get two countries more unlike each other than Sweden and Kuwait, but I enjoyed living in both countries. They each offered an opportunity into understanding different people. Looking back and thinking about this moment in my life always reminds me of this particular image:
Life is all about perspective. I believe that celebrating difference and empathizing with people who look, sound, behave, and think differently from you is important in order to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the world and the humans that inhabit it. This will challenge your assumptions and generally make you more mindful, which helps you navigate society.
I also related to many of Ono’s statements as an (aspiring) artist, her discussion of perfectionism in particular (Ono):
“But even in music, there was an understanding that the score was for the performers to repeat the score as faithfully as possible. I wanted to give an unfinished work for others to add to, not to merely repeat. That’s very, very different. In those days, especially, most artists hated the idea of letting anybody touch or variate their works. It was a big step for me, too. I am a perfectionist. I, also, did not like the fact that somebody will touch my work. I did it in spite of myself, in a way. You can say that I did it for my growth, for me to let go my artistic ego. I felt like I was representing the whole artistic community and releasing my ego on behalf of the elitist group of people.
[…]The perfectionist in me is still there. The problem of a perfectionist is that you limit yourself with that image of perfection you have in your mind, so you don’t really accept anything short of something you regard as perfect.”
I have written some 90 original songs, less than 10ish of which I am proud enough to share with the rest of the world. For every “final” recording, there are 100s of sub-par recordings. For every decent song, there are at least 5 mediocre ones.
Actually, I really like it when someone takes my work and remixes or samples it. I almost always like the outcome more than the original. Collaboration is so fun and having more than one person’s mind think about a problem, share an emotion, or find an expression is super powerful. Imagine multiple minds imagining concepts beyond physical manifestation. Imagine the creative outcome! Especially, as Ono remarks: “In your mind, you can be in touch with a six-dimensional world, if you wished.”
Auld Lang Syne (The Millennium Mix)
The lyrics are available here, as a fellow classmate pointed out: https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kennyg/auldlangsynemilleniummix.html.
This song samples recordings from several important events in history that happened across the world, ranging from WW2, death of John Lennon, death of MLK, Princess Diana’s marriage, Ellen coming out, and much more. All the events are easily traceable from the lyrics provided above. This song is a depressing walk down memory lane, but it is also enlightening. We must reflect upon our past and confront reality in order to be better in the future. I think this mix is a great example of how art is both original and highly influenced by previous work.