Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

RIP John Lennon (1940-1980); Lennon art exhibit in Ann Arbor

9. December 2005 • David Boyle
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      Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of John Lennon’s assassination by Mark David Chapman in front of the Dakota building in New York City. A loss for the whole human race.
      At least, though, Lloyd Cargo tells us in today’s MICHIGAN DAILY,
      ”...Lennon’s traveling art exhibit, “So This Is Xmas,â€? opened yesterday in Ann Arbor and will continue through Sunday.
      The free exhibit, located at 217 North Main St., showcases the line-drawing talents of the man who was half of pop music’s greatest songwriting team and features videos and music from the legendary Beatle. The exhibit opens just in time for the 25th anniversary of his tragic murder. ...So young or old, casual Lennon fan or Beatles obsessive, check out “So This Is Xmasâ€? while you can. Although there is no cover charge, there is a suggested donation of $2, which will go to Dawn Farms, a local rehab and recovery center. ...”
      Thank you LC. (“Lloyd Cargo” even sounds like some name Lennon would’ve thought up…) I hope everyone can see that exhibit, I intend to myself.
      Anyway: RIP JL. Hope you are in a better place, after all you did for us. “We love you, yeah, yeah, yeah…”

  1. Speaking of music and tragic death: Billy Bragg recorded this at Big Sky Recordings in ANN ARBOR on March 22, see the Guardian, The lonesome death of Rachel Corrie ,

    “An Israeli bulldozer killed poor Rachel Corrie
    As she stood in its path in the town of Rafah
    She lost her young life in an act of compassion
    Trying to protect the poor people of Gaza
    Whose homes are destroyed by tank shells and bulldozers
    And whose plight is exploited by suicide bombers
    Who kill in the name of the people of Gaza
    But Rachel Corrie believed in non-violent resistance
    Put herself in harm’s way as a shield of the people
    And paid with her life in a manner most brutal

    But you who philosophise disgrace and criticise all fears,
    Take the rag away from your face.
    Now ain’t the time for your tears.

    Rachel Corrie had 23 years
    She was born in the town of Olympia, Washington
    A skinny, messy, list-making chain-smoker
    Who volunteered to protect the Palestinian people
    Who had become non-persons in the eyes of the media
    So that people were suffering and no one was seeing
    Or hearing or talking or caring or acting
    And the horrible math of the awful equation
    That brought Rachel Corrie into this confrontation
    Is that the spilt blood of a single American
    Is worth more than the blood of a hundred Palestinians

    But you who philosophise disgrace and criticise all fears,
    Take the rag away from your face.
    Now ain’t the time for your tears.

    The artistic director of a New York theatre
    Cancelled a play based on Rachel’s writings
    But she wasn’t a bomber or a killer or fighter
    But one who acted in the spirit of the Freedom Riders
    Is there no place for a voice in America
    That doesn’t conform to the Fox News agenda?
    Who believes in non-violence instead of brute force
    Who is willing to confront the might of an army
    Whose passionate beliefs were matched by her bravery
    The question she asked rings out round the world
    If America is truly the beacon of freedom
    Then how can it stand by while they bring down the curtain
    And turn Rachel Corrie into a non-person?

    Oh, but you who philosophise disgrace and criticise all fears,
    Bury the rag deep in your face
    For now’s the time for your tears.”

    There’s a free download of the song in MP3 form on the page linked above.


       —David Boyle (Free Billy Bragg MP3, recorded in AA!!, about Rachel Corrie)    Mar. 28 '06 - 07:10AM    #