Sean Ono Lennon, the son of John and Yoko, told CBS that the Beatles are in danger. “I’m just doing my best to help make sure that the younger generation doesn’t forget about the Beatles and John and Yoko,” he said. Is that possible? “To forget about it? I do, actually,” he said. “And I never did before.” For example, he said, somebody on social media said they’d never heard of Ringo. Any other reasons? CBS didn’t ask. Network news, when doing reverence, doesn’t worry much about questions. A mood’s being created, and heavyweight statements are there to add to it. Poking behind the statements isn’t what the occasion’s about.
Matthew Continetti, a writer of conservative opinion pieces, figured that Sean’s pronouncement was solid enough to hang a column, so he’s telling readers of The Wall Street Journal what steps he’s taking to keep the dream alive. His program is to take those members of the younger generation who are under his parental control and shove their noses up against the catalogue. The kids can’t be left to themselves: “Locked into the perpetual now of the smartphone screen, ears dulled by atmospheric, autotuned and monotonous pop, the rising generation is ill-equipped to appreciate the nuances of ‘Rubber Soul’ and ‘Magical Mystery Tour.’ They must be taught.”
I suspect that passage is the money shot for the column. Conservatives love a harrumph at the young, and the column doesn’t have much else to say. The writer says to play Beatles songs when the kids are around, something parents have been doing for generations. Start with the light, happy stuff from the early days, he advises. Again, not news. He says he might tell the kids about the many types of music the Beatles absorbed and the genres they presaged. Also, there’s this bit of right-wing piety: “Drill the lyrics of ‘Taxman’ until they become a mantra.” Somebody not on the right but willing to be a drag might remind the kids that the Beatles became rich because government action enabled British teens to have spending money. Now here’s George—that whiny bitch—complaining because his wealth is merely incredible, not stupendously mind-boggling; and let’s face it, he got the money for tagging along.
The column combines two popular flavors, the harrumph and a baby-boom pop-culture idol, and that’s enough for a quick read. But a harrumph on behalf of the Beatles does present a paradox. Conservatives used to deplore 1960s youth culture and what it meant for hairstyles, music, sex lives, cultural standards, and continence generally. The 1980s were supposed to undo the changes and swing us back to right order. As it happened society’s swing back left many large elements unswung. The self, not continence, still came first: the self’s stimulation and gratification, accomplished with a maximum of intensity and a minimum of effort. Demand remained strong for sonic experiences that delivered profound thrills within a few minutes, and the creators of the greatest of these thrills were still regarded as noteworthy men.
Decades later the battle for continence has been lost. The incontinent Donald Trump leads the right, and a Journal op-ed wags a finger on behalf of the drugged-out, adult-defying, virgin-bedding Beatles. Make sure the young folks properly appreciate these indulgers of sensation, undisciplined self-exploration, and unlimited sexual opportunity—the little fools are too degraded to get it on their own. To a conservative from long ago, it would look like the Journal piece takes the first big phase of our cultural decline and pretends it’s the same as the pre-decline. The degradation, those conservatives would say, came when the works of kids with guitars got talked up like Beethoven. Autotuning? Some descent.
Since his interview, Ono Lennon has walked back his remarks about the Beatles fading. He hadn’t meant that it was about to happen, just that these things do happen and nothing is safe. “Everyone used to be able to quote Shakespeare and now not so much,” he tweeted. He sanctions no finger wagging, but he does make some worried noises: “we have to choose what aspects of our culture to keep thriving for future generations.” My view is that the Beatles are well set up to continue. Their works are still brief and intense, and the works’ creators still had so much sex so young that they must fascinate new-grown adolescents forever. I say trust to the above and the music’s quality. One great thing about the dawn of the Beatles is that no children were ever told that listening to the band was for their own good. Personally that’s a tradition I favor.