From: edc@evolution.bchs.uh.edu (edward s. chen)
Subject: Yoko Ono / Options magazine
Organization: Little to none, or maybe not......
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1992 18:37:38 GMT

There is a nice cover story on Yoko in the current (July/August)
issue of "Option - Music Alternatives" magazine.  Above all, the
article is *fair*, highlighting Yoko's highs and lows, without the
usual "Mrs. Lennon" bias.  A handful of the more relevant bits are
included below (without permission), but I would suggest seeking the
entire piece out.


...Yoko remains a vital influence on contemporary music.  Kurt Cobain of 
Nirvana calls her "the first punk rocker."  Donita Sparks of L7 calls her
"a real gem."  And the feminist music fanzine "Bikini Kill" recently noted
that women musicians should "rescue our true heroines from obscurity, or in
Yoko's case, from disgrace... What your boyfriend teaches you is that Yoko
Ono broke up the Beatles...But besides being the victim of the girlfriend-as-
distraction thing, Yoko was so f***ing ahead of her time."

[on Onobox's first disc, "London Jam", featuring Lennon, Eric Clapton,
Ringo, Jim Keltner, Klaus Voorman, and others with Yoko]

...I had a nice rapport with those musicians, you *know* they were getting
into it, and you can hear it on "London Jam" if you listen.  There was no way
that those guys were just playing with me out of politeness or anything.  There
was a real kind of 'getting into it' thing going on, it was a nice groove.  
That's something you just can't fake."

Drummer Jim Keltner recalls Yoko's musical single-mindedness during those 
sessions on a press page that went out with "Onobox": "She told the horn
player next to me to throw away his mouthpiece, and make his instrument sound
like a wind that was sliding down a frog's back.  I rolled my eyes because
it all seemed so strange and ridiculous.  (However) When we were finished,
the track sounded perfect"

[on Yoko's selling Lennon recordings to Nike]

...Over the past five years, Yoko has sold John Lennon's songs to companies
including Nike for use in TV advertisements.  Yet Yoko has always incredible
business acumen.  When she took over the business management of John Lennon's
career, she made investments that quadrupled his wealth.  And while much of
her own material has been incredibly naive in its political and social 
idealism, there's a deep cynic lurking within Yoko Ono.  Of course cynics are
mostly just frustrated idealists.

Yoko raises up in her chair, her face and voice growing stern. "Listen" she
snaps, "you have something against big business? Well, so do I.  But, look,
even if we have something against big business, big business is going to 
thrive.  It's going to be there.  The way I see it is:  I've got an access 
there for millions of people to hear INSTANT KARMA; and I got $800,000, which
went to the United Negro College Fund.  That's what I got for that song.  You
have a problem with that?  What's the alternative?"  She switches to a 
singsongy voice:" 'Oh, we don't like big business,' Well, OK, but big business
is going to be there no matter what we do.  If it's going to be there, why 
don't we us it for positive things.  To say this is wrong is the same kind
of snobbery as, like, an avant-garde composer saying 'Ah, we should not do
that commercial deal; it's bad'  I don't buy that.  I mean, what is sell-out?
What does sell-out mean?"

"For instance, there was that big thing about Maplethorpe, right?  People
were saying that it was horrible that museums weren't showing his work.
But I come from the background and tradition of, like, if a museum doesn't
show your work, then show it on a subway, or put it on TV and sell it mail
order.  To me, artists have to be aware of constantly creating new ways of
showing their stuff.  John's not going to be on the charts anymore with new
music, right?  And I can't go to EMI and say 'Would you please put out "Instant
Karma" as a single again?  So if this ad can get that song out to millions of
people, what's the harm?  And it's a very important message today for the
young kids;  it's not like it's a perfume ad or anything"  (Nonetheless,
Nike is an expensive brand of sneakers that urban kids fight, steal and have 
even killed to acquire because they're presented as being so hip and 
desirable.)

[In summation]

In an awkward moment right at the end of our conversation Yoko's eyes begin
to well up slightly.  Suddenly, very quietly, and without any prompting, she
murmurs "I guess I'm still living in a lot of pain.  Yeah...ummm,umm..Like
just the other morning in London I woke up in a hotel in London, and was
very frightened.  I'm thinking 'What am I frightened of?'  And then I'm
thinking: 'Well, I guess I'm just frightened of being me'  That's a lot, you
know?  It's like, if you're frightened of being yourself, then nobody can
stop it.  I didn't try to make it difficult on myself.  Even in the beginning
I suppose..." She trails off and looks at the now overflowing ashtray.  "I
guess I'm just one of those people who, no matter what, could have been
comfortable with a mainstream kind of life.  Yet all of us - every one of us
, really - are looking for some kind of comfort level in our lives"  She
smiles disconsolately.  "And that level is not very easy to find"

[the interview was conducted by Mark Kemp, editor of the magazine]

<ESC>
 
-- 
..You either kiss the future or the past goodbye...
                          -- Ringo Starr (written by O'Deherty / Velez)

                                
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