Typical of most of you societal leaches, you claim that you “don’t use iTunes” but would rather download them for free. You don’t understand what free markets are or what drives capitalism. I wish all of you well in the poor houses and future you have carved for yourselves. Just pathetic.

Hot damn,how soon will the Peter Tork collection be available for consumers in the free world?

“comment | 8/15/2007, 1:52 pm EST

Actually, both John and Yoko were pretty horrible people — if you dig just even a little below the surface, you’ll find lots of reasons why they weren’t such great people, esp. in the 60s.”

Everyone has skeletons in their closet–John and Yoko just happen(ed) to be public figures. Maybe John didn’t always act like a saint, but if you had a deadbeat father who turned up when you became famous (though John eventually made peace with him), and your mother was killed in a freak accident, and your best friend died of mysterious causes, you might be a little “screwed up.” Couple this with young fame and a serious drug problem, and you have a reason why John wasn’t always a saint. But in the end, the true John shone through. He and Yoko genuinely cared about people. Throughout the 70’s and up until his death, John became an increasingly sweeter person who finally seemed to shake his demons and put his life in order.

the beatles were amazing. they fall on a short list of bands and artists that changed music forever…but i always wondered what the beatles would have been if they never broke up? would they have changed with the 70’s? chances are they would have continued to make mile stones in music…but with them breaking up would we ever get to know paul george and johns amazing talents they posessed as solo artists? and yes some ringo i guess…i for one apperciate the music from when they were together and the fact that we got to listen to what they could do on their own

A post script to the reunion note–
If you have ever heard or read interviews with May Pang, the woman John had a fling with as a vacation from Yoko (and amazingly enough, at Yoko’s bequest), you’ve heard her talk of The Beatles getting close to reuniting. As fate would have it, Yoko came calling, John dumped May and The Beatles reunion never materialized in the early 70’s. I’d wonder how much of that was true.
As the years go by, we read about the idea that the four were in contact with each other despite the idea of a cold war between them. We hear about millions of dollars being thrown at them for a one off concert or two.
Yeah–the 80’s or 90’s, no doubt that as groups commonly reform, they would have, too. Somehow, the break up still seems like a tragedy, 37 years later.

Did you ever notice that John would love everything that makes Yoko Ono money? How about we stop talking in the genius’ names, this goes out to you too Courtney and let their catalogs speak for themselves. Yes its a good to have it available for legal download, but I hate hearing that crap.

Finally! John Lennon could have never imagined this moment of digital download heaven for his music. Bravo Apple!

To Hey common! A lot of people do hate Yoko Ono, but it’s almost never because they are rascist. Of course, some people probably do hate Yoko because they are rascist, but most of the time it is because they think Yoko broke up the Beatles. And she WAS part of the reason the Beatles broke up. But it wasn’t solely her fault. I do not hate Yoko, but I don’t necessarily love her either. I guess if I knew John and was a friend of his I would try to like her so as not to be mean to John.
But anyways, about the iTunes thing, I think it’s good these songs are all coming out on iTunes, but I don’t use iTunes anyway. John Lennon’s songs have been available on many other free music downloading websites forever. Or you can just buy the CD. It is probably cheaper to buy the CD’s anyways than to spend money on each song you purchase on iTunes. But at least iTune users can now listen to all of John Lennon’s songs in good quality

I feel guilty because I’m a big John Lennon fan, but I won’t be paying itunes. I’d rather get my music for free- legal or not. I’ll just end up buying the Vinyls if I ever find them.

Response to EK: John Lennon was on his own, in exile from Yoko in L.A. for many months in the early 70’s, and he retired from the music industry from ‘75 - ‘80 to raise Sean, so it is very unlikely that there would have been a Beatles reunion in the ’70s. Instead, it would have happened for Anthology (for real) if John had still been alive then.

Buy’em, copy’em and sell the CD’s. Legal? Who cares! I have gone through LP’s and CD’s, buying numerous copies because the vinyl wore out, or the
record companies didn’t know how to record to CD’s and then came out with remasters - and how many times have you had to buy a Greatest Hits album because they added 1 or 2 “bonus tracks!”

As an original Beatles fan..almost, anyway…guess I am struck by the thought that unless you really are into collecting or souvenirs/having a tangible product, there is really no need for record companies anymore. Why can’t I feel any sympathy for them?

Also, there is a little bit of truth in all posts regarding John here. The man went through his stages. Don’t we all? Guess I am most disappointed that he let Yoko do his thinking for him in the late 60’s and beyond.

I’ve often wondered if the band would have ever reunited in the 7o’s. No doubt, if left to John alone, they would have.

Quick comment to jungleland: buying CDs, ripping them, and then selling the CDs is *not* legal. You lose the right to keep a copy of the song in digital form once you sell the CD.

I’m surprised Yoko didn’t manage to work a line from “Imagine” into her quote - I am so sick of her talking about John as some sort of messenger of peace looking down from us in heaven. He was an angry bitter and above all brilliant songwriter who covered the entire gamut of emotions and topics. I guess “Happiness is a Warm Gun” or “I Found Out” just aren’t as marketable as throw pillows or limited edition lithographs.

Actually, both John and Yoko were pretty horrible people — if you dig just even a little below the surface, you’ll find lots of reasons why they weren’t such great people, esp. in the 60s.

That being said, John still was an amazing songwriter and Yoko was/is incredibly creative. I find it funny how revisionist history, however, paints all of his solo work as stellar when, really, there was a lot of medium to bad stuff in there as well.

It’s amazing how many people who think that Lennon was brilliant will slag off on Yoko. Hey, losers, Yoko was the love of John’s life! He obviously saw something there that you can not see. You aren’t a friend of John if you don’t respect Yoko.

*****Yaawwwwwnnnnn******

The shoddy copyediting in that report is hurting my brain…It’s like reading the NME online.

I’m with jungleland - I’ve got a massive CD collection that I rarely listen to because I’ve got the songs on my iPod. But it’s a great comfort knowing they’re there.

I rarely download complete albums unless I just can’t find them on CD. iTunes (and other services) are best for single tracks from albums or compilations I wouldn’t ordinarily purchase as a complete package.

I’m thrilled Lennon’s on iTunes, and that Harrison appears to be around the corner. I’ve got the remastered discs I want from them already, but it’s great for the new fans or people who want that obscure cut they might not get on a hits compilation.

The best news is that the Beatles remasters are right around the corner. I’ll be buying those on CD, of course.

Buy Used Cds, rip ‘em and sell them back. This is the legal, cheap and smart way to build your MP3 library. Also, you get a chance to read the liner notes and choose the quality.

And EVERYTHING is available (amazon.com half.com)

I skip the last step and keep the CDs as well. I never play them, but I can’t get used to having my collection on I-tunes rather than a physical music shelf.

Someday I will sell the entire 1500 Cd collection and get a LES PAUL or something

Steve, they’re also available in DRM-free high bit-rate format for 30c extra.

Why do some people hated Yoko? she hasnt done anything wrong did she?
Rascist!

what a waste of blog. Rip it up! theyre already rich anyway!

I have a Sony MP3 player that doubles as my data stick. 1 GB for music and 1 GB for file transfers.

I can easily change out music folders whenever I want.

I buy the CDs and rip them to my hard drive (external just for music). I relish bringing home a CD and listening to it straight through a couple of times while reading the liner notes. I can’t imagine a time when I won’t enjoy this ritual. I feel that most of the artists I listen to, spend valuable time working on the packaging and sequencing and I want to be part of that piece of art for the moment.

I don’t get on the computer or go anywhere or answer the phone when I do this. It is a couple of hours put aside in a week when I’m not moving at light speed. Afterwards I may put the entire CD or selected songs on my MP3.

I love discovering who sang back-up on a particular song; would any of us know who Bonnie Raitt was before “Nick OF Time” if we didn’t read the liner notes of those Little Feat, Jackson Browne and Warren Zevon albums. Or discover Gillian Welch because of credits on Mark Knopfler cds. Or find out Jerry Garcia played steel guitar on CSNY’s “Teach Your Children”.

And now you have to love some of the Big Box stores offering up “undiscoverded” cds for $7.99.
I picked up Augustana, the Kaiser Chiefs and Plain White T’s months ago for $7.99 each. What a great chance for new bands to reel in some old farts like myself. It allowed me to not just buy the single but to get a better feel for the band with the entire cd.

And BTW, I still miss vinyl …

… and Jerry.

I dont care where i get them from, but i just want the beatles remasters!

what a yoko..i dont like her..she’s not yoko lennon..she is yoko ono..

soon every catalog by almost every artist will be on itunes, I cant wait until record compaines get kicked to the curb and take their overpriced cds with em, who will fund the artists you say??? well Itunes and compaines like it will fund concerts and distribute their music…this will not only make music albums cheaper to buy but will stop record compaines from choseing who gets the most air time….finally we chose what we want to listen to and not them its a revolution baby!!!!

Why can’t we all just go out and purchase the Beatle CDs?

Why can’t we all just go out and purchase the Beatle CDs?

Why can’t we all just go out and purchase the Beatle CDs?

i miss john lennon!

Drewcula,
Yes I have, and talk about useless posts.

yenrac your post was useless. ever heard of 128 kbps?

I’m really puzzled by all the fuss about why its better to buy from iTunes and whatnot. Some people love it and some haven’t even tried it and still hate on it. There is only one store to buy music in a 100 mile radius- and I live in california. Thats reason enough for me to use iTunes. Cds probably won’t be around for much longer anyway.

Ringo doesn’t have his 70’s albums on iTunes.

I can explain why buying off of itunes is better than cd’s, because with itunes you can easily rip a copy onto a cd-r and have it as backup in case your computer crashes.

With cd’s they sometimes just get scratched no matter how careful you try to be with them. I am pretty careful with my cd’s and yet I find little inconsequential scratches appear probably from my players and sometimes these scratches ruin a song or two….For years I’d try to persevere with the cd being scratched, but I’ve found I rarely listen to that cd anymore because I knew it was scratched…..and thus rarely listen to that album again…..very frustrating.

I know you can burn cd’s with cd’s, but ITUNES software is the best designed software for that purpose that I’ve seen to date (much better than Nero, etc, in that it’s very intuitive, fast, and easy to organize/update).

Also, a great thing with ITUNES/digital downloading, is that there are going to be artists that have some great songs on bad records….now you can buy just the great songs and ignore the fluff. Or buy the entire cd for much less the cost.

I mean take Da Capo from Love (arthur Lee) (obscure record I know, but a brilliant record if I’ve ever heard one), Da Capo has 7 songs, the first 6 of which fit on one side, track 7 which fit on the entire second half. The first 6 songs are one of the best and most varied sides in rock music history featuring hard rock, jazz, punk, flamenco, classical, and some folk music tinges…..and are absolutely essential. Track 7 was the complete period piece “Revelations” that while probably a trip in it’s day, hasn’t aged well. If yuo wanted to buy this album, you could spend $13-15 retail for it, or get it for $6 on iTunes and buy only the absolutely essential 6 tunes (believe me Revelations isn’t worth it unless you were there in the 60’s I guess).

The same goes for artists that you only enjoy a track or two whether they be guilty pleasures or one hit wonders…..iTunes and digital downloading are nice.

I’m less a fan of the iPod than I am iTunes (I like the process of picking out a cd/album still i guess), but I think iTunes is an awesome way to manage your library and also make mixes of your catalog and add new songs….

Bumper Sticker seen this week:

“Still Pissed at Yoko”

Itunes? Yeah right. I’ll get it free on one of those file sharing web sites. Boooyahh!

I hate how Yoko is always saying “John would have been this and that.” It makes her look like she’s trying to justify what she’s doing when really its no big deal. I couldnt care less about his music being on itunes, and i dont think its going to change too much or get him any new fans.

Can we just take Yoko and ship her off to Baghdad. There’s a vast number of Shiites and Sunni that need to listen to Lennon there too.

Enough of Yoko
We were sick of her then and we are sick of her now

An album off itunes costs about 10 dollars, which is generally speaking 3 or 4 dollars less than a cd, yet with the cd you get the artwork, can rip the music to your ipod, and if your hard drive crashes, you still have the music. Now can someone explain to me why buying digital is the better option?

The music scene has always been changing and John always knew that. I think he would have been the first one on i-tunes if he was alive. John music still holds what it always has, its not as if they changed the lyrics to his music or changed his name. Maybe pepole that are my age(16) will finally see that he wrote more than the 2 songs they hear on the radio.

Have We Really Gotten To The Point Were Something That You Can Get At Best Buy On CD…Is Making News Because Now U Can Put It On Your Damn I-Pod Online?!

Oh, and to the person who said “The man was about his message and impact, and this brings his ideals to the ears of a whole new generation.”

I agree…except I think most of the ‘new generation’ is smart enough to figure out how to get Lennon’s music digitally without paying $1.29 or whatever it is per song. Online music is the future, but not in its present form…trust me.

Okay, so there’s “ITunes Plus,” which is even MORE ridiculously expensive, given that the selling of digital tracks eliminates manufacturing, distribution, and retail costs associated with CD’s, and yet the price is about the same. An album of digital tracks should be reflective of the costs, which, since it costs nothing to manufacture and virtually nothing to distribute, should be about $3 or $4, with most of it going to the artist.

Of course, this is iTunes, so obviously it doesn’t work that way. Yoko’s made enough money anyway, Lennon’s music should be made widely available at minimal cost, since it’s music that should be heard by every person on the planet who has a set of headphones.

“John would have been pleased…..now make that check out to Y-O-K….”

It’s always “John wouyld have been pleased to see ____________.”

Wow, you guys sure are bitter. I think yoko’s right, I believe John would be happy to have his message available to a generation that only get’s their music online. The man was about his message and impact, and this brings his ideals to the ears of a whole new generation. You can’t fight the future, and whether you like it or not, online music is that.

At least Harrison’s Estate still has got some guts.

John Lennon is rolling in his grave. How about 30 gigs and 128kbps of shut the hell up, you freaking 8==D heads!

128KBs aac does not sound better than 128KBs mp3. Try it yourself.

Here is some comparisons for anyone not able to create those different formats:
http://www.xciv.org/~meta/aud io-shootout/

I think lennon deserves more respect, his work is powefull, sensitive and, of course we cannot ignore this, not always fabulous, but even when you knew everybody was waiting for this new way of download music, I hate them, please yoko, If you ever loved John stop making money with his memory, it’s an insult

>>DRM encoded at 128 kbps? They should be GIVING that shit away, not trying to sell it for about the same price as the CD.

I couldn’t agree more.

This loser sings “no possesions” from his penthouse apartment.
Gimme a break

,,,,,why buy a “virtual copy” when you can buy the real thing and rip it yourself?

,,,,,I’m always late to catch on to something new, but I’ve yet to buy ANY music from i-tunes,,,,I like to have the disk.

Lennon’s music is on iTunes Plus, which means 256kbps DRM-free music.

Much better then 128kbps.

What are you, hard of hearing or just ignorant? A 128kbp AAC file (iTunes’ format) happens to be CD quality compared to an mp3 file with the same bitrate.

Painstakingly remastered albums sold at ridiculously crappy bitrates at an inflated price…Woot!

Seriously…DRM encoded at 128 kbps? They should be GIVING that shit away, not trying to sell it for about the same price as the CD.