Boy, oh boy, did Sean Lennon put his foot in it. Apparently, the younger son of late Beatle John Lennon and his mom, Yoko Ono, are big Lady Gaga fans. When Gaga visited Yoko at the NYC apartment she shared with John until his murder in 1980, she was allowed to play a piano that belonged to John. Sean took a photo of Gaga posing at the piano – of course, in her trademark fishnet freak-wear – and posted it on Twitter. I don’t think Sean was prepared for the outrage that ensued.

Sean Lennon has defended Lady Gaga on his Twitter page, after irate Beatles fans lashed out after seeing that she had played John Lennon’s white Steinway piano in New York.

Lennon had posted a Twitpic of Gaga sat at the piano in her famously skimpy clothes. A caption said, “With Gaga at mom’s house, she’s belting on the white piano,” to which he received a torrent of negative messages from “uptight” fans.

Several people posted messages of “disappointment” after seeing the “unworthy” famous Lennon piano being used by the ‘Poker Face’ star, to which Lennon replied, “Pianos are meant to be played. Why is everyone so uptight? What should we do, lock it away in a dusty room? So judgemental…”

Responding to one particular Tweeter, Jennifer Flatman — Twitter handle lavielibre23 — John Lennon’s youngest son retorted, “Come on, lighten up … life’s too short, there’s enough real problems in the world,” before later adding, “Firstly, he gave that piano to my mother for her birthday, it is hers. Secondly, he was not not uptight the way you seem.”

Gaga had been visiting the Dakota Building — where Lennon’s mother Yoko Ono lives — when the photo was taken.

[From Spinner]

The piano in the photo resembles the white Steinway John played in the video for the song “Imagine,” so I guess it’s understandable that hardcore Beatles fans might be upset that a skanky attention-whore would think that she is worthy of sitting at it. But if Yoko allowed her to play it, then I don’t see what the big deal is. I would have swooned at the change to even touch it. I didn’t realize Gaga was a big Beatles fan – they may be the one band she hasn’t ripped off in her own career. But who knows, maybe her next CD will have a duet with Yoko or something equally horrific. You know what really bugs me about this whole story? How does Gaga just walk around every day, visiting people in their homes, going to baseball games, etc., in get-ups like that? I mean, I can see why she needs to dress in underpants as outerwear as part of her stage show, but when she is just out visiting people? Really? You have to wonder where her head is at. Is there any point in her day when she isn’t “On?”

Yoko Ono, 76, has made the painful and somewhat controversial decision to include the bloodied clothing her late husband John Lennon wore on the day he was assassinated in an exhibit on his life. A paper bag with Lennon’s clothes, saved from that fateful night nearly 30 years ago, will be shown at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex in NY as part of the show “John Lennon: The New York Years.”:

A new John Lennon exhibit is particularly emotional for his widow, Yoko Ono. Besides Lennon’s guitars, letters and other personal effects, it also includes a paper bag containing the bloody clothes from the night he was shot to death.

Ono received the items from the medical examiner in December 1980, when the former Beatle was gunned down in New York City at age 40.

“It was hard to include,” Ono said. “And I thought it might be criticized as well.”

But ultimately, Ono thought it was important to let people see the effects of gun violence.

The Lennon items are part of a new exhibit that will launch Tuesday at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex. “John Lennon: The New York Years” includes Lennon’s famous New York City T-shirt, his upright piano from his Dakota apartment, and a posthumous 1981 Grammy Award for the couple’s album “Double Fantasy.”

“I know it’s a kind of a sad and very poignant kind of paradox I think that he loved this place so much and this is where he was killed,” she said in an interview after a news conference for the exhibit.

There are also letters documenting Lennon’s long-fought battle against deportation in the early 1970s, both from the government and supporters. Glass cases also contain a dozen or so handwritten lyrics.

Ono says Lennon’s death still haunts her nearly 30 years later: “I still get affected by it.”

“If it (his death) was a slow a process we could have talked about it or something,” she added, holding back tears.

The exhibit will be on display throughout 2009.

[From AP via the Huffington Post]

Yoko Ono founded the John Lennon museum nine years ago in Saitama, Japan. It includes personal memorabilia, photos, videos and music from Lennon’s influential life cut short. Yoko saved so many things from her husband and it’s not shocking that she also has the clothes he was shot in. It’s brave of her to put those on display and it helps bring a sense of the reality of that terrible day. Yoko gets a lot of flack for her supposed role in breaking up the Beatles but that was a long time ago and she’s since worked hard to preserve her husband’s memory and to spread their joint message of peace. She’s a strong woman who witnessed the love of her life die unexpectedly right in front of her. She’s willing to let us see some of the most painful artifacts from that day, even though they bring up more bad feelings for her. “John Lennon: The New York Years” is open now at 76 Mercer St. in New York.

You can see some artifacts from the museum, including the bag of clothes, on The Daily Mail’s website.

Yoko Ono is shown at the opening of ‘Imagine Peace’ at Montreal Museum of Fine Arts on 3/31/09.

A new song on Paul McCartney’s new album, Electric Arguments, with “side project” band The Fireman, is definitely not about Heather Mills, as has been speculated, according to the ex-Beatle. “Nothing Too Much, Just Out of Sight” was thought by many to have been written about McCartney’s ex-wife whom he divorced this year.

Lyrics in the track include: “I remember you well/ Oh woman betrayed you/ I couldn’t resist you/ When I made you.”

However, Paul insists people are reading too much into the song, which is actually a sister track to his former band The Beatles’ popular song ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’.

He explained: “I didn’t have anyone in mind. There was an African guy called Jimmy Scott who I used to meet in nightclubs in London during the 60s.

“He was the guy who said to me, ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, life goes on’ and the other thing he used to say was, ‘Nothing too much man, just out of sight.’

“I always thought that it was a great thing to say, so it was really Jimmy. I just flew off that line and shouted out things around it.”

[From Female First]

I giggled just a little when I read that McCartney’s “side project” is called The Fireman, after recent news that Mills is scrambling to save her unsanctioned swimming pool by making it available to the firemen in the village. Isn’t it funny that Heather is hoping the firemen will save her perceived entitlements, while The Fireman are backing up her husband in a song thought to be villifying her? Irony is amusing.

While Paul McCartney’s music has had its ups and downs over the years, there aren’t many of people who would argue he isn’t a great lyricist. Not as existential as his former writing partner, John Lennon, but sometimes simplicity is what makes a song great. For that reason I also find it amusing that McCartney describes his songwriting process as flying off a line and just shouting things around it. They may be simple, but they’re always expertly crafted.

Sir Paul described the difference between himself and Lennon, saying, “John and I grew up together and I think we were both as experimental as each other but perception-wise he was the more experimental one. I’d been doing it as a hobby but with John it was the ‘main event’. That was John’s courage. The whole point of The Fireman is that’s it’s a very free approach.”

Here’s the song. This is not an official music video:

Paul McCartney is shown on 11/24/08 turning on the Christmas Lights at Stella McCartney’s shop in London with Peter Kay. Credit: WENN

May Pang and John Lennon. Photo via FoxNews
Yoko Ono wasn’t the only woman in John Lennon’s life after the Beatles. Lennon’s lover of nearly two years, May Pang, has just released a book of photos chronicling the time she spent with John while he and Yoko were on the outs. The book, called “Instamatic Karma: Photographs of John Lennon” features intimate photos of John doing everyday things such as taking a trip to Disneyland, playing with his pet cats and his son Julian, and hanging out around New York City. Pang says she began her romance with John, surprisingly enough, at the suggestion of Yoko herself. Hey, it was the 70′s– anything went back then.

May Pang, John Lennon’s former lover during 18 months in 1973 and 1974 has completed a new book which is being endorsed by John Lennon’s first wife, Cynthia Lennon. May’s affair with John was arranged by her employer Yoko Ono when Yoko split from John. During their 18-month relationship also known as the “Lost Weekend,” several of John’s records were produced which can arguably be said to be his most creative time after the Beatles broke up.

Yoko is said to have tried to systematically erase May from Lennon’s history, but May has now published a collection of photos she had during her time with him. May’s new book, “Instamatic Karma” is hitting stores next month. Although this is May’s second book about her relationship, the photos in this new book haven’t yet been published.

[From Dotspotter]

John’s first wife, Cynthia, has given her blessing to the book, saying that May was a positive force in John’s life who urged the singer/songwriter to maintain his relationship with his son Julian. The relationship had been strained after John left Cynthia to marry Yoko.

JOHN LENNON’s first wife CYNTHIA has pledged her full support to the late BEATLE’s ex-girlfriend MAY PANG and the forthcoming release of her book INSTAMATIC KARMA. Pang – who was Lennon’s assistant and lover in 1973, when the star had temporarily separated from his second wife Yoko Ono – is soon set to release a book of previously unseen photos taken of the legendary rocker during their 18-month romance. The collection, titled in reference to Lennon’s song Instant Karma!, features 150 photographs of the Imagine singer, including shots of him in the studio recording his album Walls And Bridges, and images with his Fab Four bandmates Sir Paul MCCartney and Ringo Starr. And Cynthia, who befriended Pang when she reunited her and Lennon’s son Julian with his father in the early 1970s, is glad she is using the photos so creatively. She says, “She is a lovely, vibrant lady. She was a good friend when my son and I needed one, and a dear close friend now. The book of photographic memories is very special and evocative of times remembered… “For all that May has done in the past and hopes to achieve in the future, Julian and I will be her greatest champions… May, I wish you all the success in the world.”

[From Contact Music]

The most interesting part of this book to me is the way in which Lennon could still do everyday things like walk down the street, play in the park, etc. without being mobbed by paparazzi. Here was one of the most famous men in the world, but he was still able to have a somewhat normal life after leaving the Beatles. I doubt that would be the case today. Something tells me if John were alive today he probably would have left the U.S. by now to avoid having his privacy invaded.