Interviewer: First of all, John, do you think there's been a change in pop music, a change in attitude towards sex?
John: Well it was just all metaphors, you know, there was nothing to do with reality in any of the songs. Well, I'm- I'm saying that broadly, I don't know every song written, but the image that comes over of the movies and the pop music then was just complete, sort of uh, true romance, sort of women's weekly books.
Yoko: You know what I think? Sex is like shaking hands, you know. What is shaking hands then, you know. And the reason people shake hands is, they could always sort of rationalize it, you know, and say "Well I just had to do it because it was a formality" or whatever. But you see deep down in them they always have this desire of communication, you know? And it's just a form of communication. And you either shake hands or you either kiss, you know, make love or whatever. But it's all a form of communication, sort of a- kind of attempt, you know, attempt of doing that. So what is love then? Love is when you understand it so well, that you relax finally, you know. And we have that kind of relaxation between us a lot.
Interviewer: Would you say, um, come, specifically on the pop at the moment, that, uh, these records were therefore telling kids to go out and make love.
John: Now?
Interviewer: Yeah, well.
John: I don't think they're particularly- I mean, because, people, the kids were making love anyway. Y'know, I don't really believe they're that much more randy than they were then. I just think they're open about it, and there's probably a- less guilt. There still is a lot of guilt about sex. I think the music reflects the state that the society's in. It doesn't, ah, suggest the state, I think, uh, poets and musicians and artists or whatever they are of the age, not only do they sort of lead the age on, but they also reflect that age. And I think, uh, that's what the pop music is doing, it's mainly reflecting, I mean, like The Beatles we came out of Liverpool and we reflected our background and we reflected our thoughts in what we sang.
Interviewer: First of all, John, do you think there's been a change in pop music, a change in attitude towards sex?
John: Well it was just all metaphors, you know, there was nothing to do with reality in any of the songs. Well, I'm- I'm saying that broadly, I don't know every song that was written, but the image that comes over of the movies and the pop music then was just complete, sort of uh, you know, true romance, those sort of women's weekly books.
Yoko: You know what I think? I think, you know, sex is like shaking hands, you know. So, what is shaking hands then? You know. And the reason why people shake hands is, you know, they could always sort of rationalize it, you know, and say "Well I just had to do it because it was a formality" or whatever. But you see deep down in them they always have this desire of communication, you know? And it's just a form of communication. And you either shake hands or you either kiss, or you know, make love or whatever. But it's all a form of communication, sort of a- kind of attempt, you know, attempt of doing that. So what is love then? Love is when you understand it so well, that you relax finally, you know. And we have that kind of relaxation between us a lot.
Interviewer: Would you say, um, come, specifically on the pop at the moment, that, uh, these records were therefore telling kids to go out and make love.
John: Now?
Interviewer: Yeah, well.
John: I don't think they're particularly- I mean, because, people, the kids were making love anyway. Y'know, I don't really believe they're that much more randy than they were then. I just think they're open about it, and there's probably less guilt. There still is a lot of guilt about sex. I think the music reflects the state that the society's in. It doesn't, ah, suggest the state, I think, uh, poets and musicians and artists or whatever they are of the age, not only do they sort of lead the age on, but they also reflect that age. And I think, uh, that's what the pop music is doing, it's mainly reflecting, I mean, like The Beatles we came out of Liverpool and we reflected our background and we reflected our thoughts in what we sang.
Interviewer: Some people at least are commercializing sex. I mean, you mentioned the press, for instance, and there's people using sex for advertising.
John: I don't see anything wrong with it. You know, I mean, people commercialize everything. If we're going to have a commercial society, I think anything goes. If... I think people commercialize religion too. You know, that's just as sickening to me as commercializing sex. I don't, you know, if we're going to have it, let's have it all.
Interviewer: But you would agree there's some people in the pop world are deliberately selling themselves as sex objects?
John: Well, so what. You know, that's always been so. I mean, it… pop is just a sort of, you know, fashionable medium to talk about, but I'm sure there was the equivalent in the uh... I don't know what Rudolph Valentino and Greta Garbo were and I don't know what Veronica Lake was then. Or uh… the actors in the old days or what Shakespeare's plays were. What, what the hell were they? They were just, you know, people playing the rolls of sex objects in some of them. So what about it? It's just part of society. I don't see anything extraordinary about it, or any issue. And uh... pop is just an easy label to, to attack, the same as youth is. And uh... people are just uptight because the kids are having fun and they didn't have the same freedom because they didn't take it. They just followed the lines laid down by their parents.
Interviewer: Do you think that a new attitude towards love and relationships, would it be fair to say we're getting away from the “property” concept of relationships?
John: Of owning the other person? I think, yeah, we could be. But, uh... see, that's all very well intellectually, but when you actually are in love with somebody you tend to jealous and want to own them, possess them one hundred percent, which I do. But intellectually, before that, when I thought right, you know, I mean, that owning a person is, is rubbish. I love Yoko, I want to possess her completely. I don't want to stifle her, you know. That's the danger, is that you want to possess them to death. But, uh...
Yoko: But we're doing alright now. Just very nice, you know. You know, because I think...
John: That's a personal problem. It's after the beginning when it, when it cools down a bit -- not cools down -- whatever is, whatever the word is, you know.
Yoko: Yes, relax a bit.
John: Then you can allow each other to breath, you know. At first, you tend to strangle each other I think.
Yoko: And you're starting to relax.
John: And, and because you have so little as a child, I think it is, you, you, when once you find it you want to hang on to it. You grab it so much you tend to kill it.
John: You tend to kill it.
Interviewer:But would you say on the whole that uh young people today have gotta; love is very important to young people today.
J: I think that, to all people...
Yoko:to everybody
J:everybody's continually searching for love. And it manifests it ways, itself in many strange ways like for Ted Heath it manifests itself in being number 1, you know, but to me, all he really wants is to be loved by everybody. That's why he's in that position. And that's why I'm doing, what I'm doing basically.'Cause I want love from all those people, but that's just the way it goes.
John: Imagine there's no heaven.
It's easy if you try. No hell below us. .. no sky. Imagine all the people. Living for today. Ahah. Whatever,you'll hear the record.
There's an old cliche about progress is about standing on the shoulders of giants. And ..
