Talk:The Lives of John Lennon

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[edit] Wrong focus

The notations about Lennon's alleged homosexuality and Ono's alleged prostitution are merely sensationalist soundbytes that miss the essential character of the book, which was to destroy the carefully constructed narrative that John had selflessly sacrificed five years of his superstar career to raise his son, Sean, and that now he was somewhat self-sufficient, Lennon and Ono were free to re-enter the recording and touring industry and lifestyle. As I've enumerated in my additions, Goldman sought to pose an alternative narrative. The truth of that narrative maybe debated, but the character of the book is exactly that, and the bulk of it is supposed facts and testimony supporting Goldman's assertions. It seems to anger some moderators to see these assertions in print. Many people have rebutted them, and rebuttals could be posted, but they are not really germane to an article about the book, It should not be for Wikipedia to prove or disprove Goldman. It should be for the wiki to accurately report what the book was about. I believe I have added a great deal to that reporting, and have done so from the text itself.

I can quote more text verbatim if anyone doubts the veracity of this fact. The sensationalist stuff misses the point entirely.71.100.13.236 (talk) 00:46, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Biased, redundant text

. "...in spite of her litigious past history."

"past history" is redundant and incorrect; history is by nature in the past, or "passed" as it should be. Additionally, to say that Ono's history is litigious is an opinion. Perhaps replace it with a phrase the points out specifically that in the past, she has brought litigation against individuals who she alleged slandered or libeled her husband's legacy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.69.213.41 (talk • contribs)

[edit] the teen prostitute claim

I removed the word "teen" from the prostitution claim on Yoko Ono. She was at least 20 by the time she is alleged to have been a prostitute. 12.96.162.45 17:27, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] re: canadialinux reverting my edits

I have no idea what you are talking about. If you think I fabricated this material, you are free to read the Amazon reviews for verification if you don't believe I got it from the book. I have no internet links to the material, its taken from the book itself, which should be a valid reference to an article about the book.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lives-John-Lennon-Albert-Goldman/dp/1556523998

You might not LIKE the material I have added, but its valid, true and informative. 71.100.13.236 (talk) 12:47, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

From the Come Together article: Lawsuit

"Come Together" was the subject of a lawsuit brought against Lennon by Chuck Berry's music publisher, Morris Levy, because one line in "Come Together" closely resembles a line of Berry's You Can't Catch Me: (i.e., The Beatles' "Here come ol' flattop, he come groovin' up slowly" vs. Berry's "Here come up flattop, he was groovin' up with me"). After settling out of court, Lennon promised to record other songs owned by Levy, all of which were released on Lennon's 1975 album Rock 'n' Roll. --CanadianLinuxUser (talk) 13:11, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

ok fair point, I reworded it. I checked the text and found I had misremembered some of it from when I first read it years ago. I'm in the process of re-reading the entire book and will be able to quote more germane passages.

What is the limit of quoting text for fair use? 71.100.13.236 (talk)

Here is Wikipedia's policy on fair use. Wikipedia:Fair_Use --CanadianLinuxUser (talk) 13:53, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Well, it just says "brief". That's kind of vague. 71.100.13.236 (talk) 05:07, 2 May 2008 (UTC)