Pages tagged “yoko ono”

Yoko Ono has lost her lawsuit against Ben Stein and the creators of his pro-intelligent design documentary Expelled.

John Lennon's ex-wife, Yoko Ono, made her way back into the headlines last week when she sued the filmmakers of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, the documentary featuring none other than Ferris Bueller's economics teacher (anyone? anyone?), erm, Ben Stein.

The movie, which claims that scientists who support intelligent design are routinely fired or censored, features Lennon's "Imagine," a song Ono says the filmmakers never received permission to use. She's joined in the suit by Lennon's two sons, Sean Ono Lennon and Julian Lennon.

The producers of the film released a statement saying, "We are disappointed...that Yoko Ono and others have decided to challenge our free speech right to comment on the song 'Imagine' in our documentary film," so it seems that they are unlikely to back down without a fight.

Check out the trailer for Expelled below to see what the hype is all about:

Related links:
Julian Lennon on MySpace
YouTube: John Lennon and Yoko Ono on the Dick Cavett Show
BenStein.com

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

The filmmakers of the documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed have apparently used John Lennon’s “Imagine” without consent. Ben Stein spearheaded the film, which hits select theaters today.

In an article from the Wall Street Journal, Yoko Ono’s lawyer said, “It was not licensed. We are exploring all options.” Any legal resolutions are unknown at press time.

The filmmakers confirmed that they did use the track without permission, but they insist that their legal counsel told them it was fair use protected under the First Amendment due to the fact that they only used 25 seconds of it.

When the initial trailer of the film debuted with “Imagine” playing along to a montage of thematically ominous images, reportedly bloggers united against Yoko. James Boyce wrote on his blog, “I guess that the $20 million plus the estate earns every year isn't enough for Yoko Ono; not only does she feel the need to license the song out, she probably held out for the highest bidder.”

Boyce recently posted a retraction of his rant. Questions are also floating around about the legitimacy of the use of the Killers’ “All These Things I’ve Done.”

Thanks to The Playlist for the tip!

Below: the extended trailer for Expelled:

Related links:
ExpelledTheMovie.com
James Boyce’s blog on HuffingtonPost.com
News: Bill Maher and Ben Stein facing off with religious docs

Got news tips for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.

Occasionally, rock legends die before their time, but the devout always manage to find ways to help their memories live on. So is the case with the ever faithful Yoko Ono who has loved her late husband John Lennon with the same passion that she possessed before he departed. Now, Ono has found a way to make the adoration that she and his fans hold for him eternal.

To commemorate Lennon, Ono has partnered up with the city of Reykjavík, Iceland to construct the Imagine Peace Tower. The tower is actually a form of a phantom lighthouse in which the visual aspect of the structure is created through light bouncing off of glass prisms. Because Iceland’s weather pattern is so unique, the image of the light being projected into the sky will vary with the country’s external conditions.

The Imagine Peace Tower will be unveiled today (Oct. 9), which would have been John Lennon’s 67th birthday. Those who are unable to attend the unveiling of the memorial piece can go on to the ImaginePeace.com to witness the event. The tower will be lit from Lennon’s birthday until the anniversary of his death (Dec. 8), as well as New Year's, the first week of spring, and select other dates that Ono has worked out with the city.

If you want to be a little bit more personally invested in the tower then you can (literally) send your wishes to Iceland. Yoko Ono has been encouraging fans to make wish trees in which people tie pieces of paper with their wishes onto the branches. When your tree gets full of wishes you can send it to Reykjavík to be buried around the lighthouse.

Related links:
ImaginePeace.com
JohnLennon.com
YouTube: John Lennon - "Imagine"

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.

Surprisingly effective tribute marries Ono’s distinct vocals to fresh music

In the broadest pop-cultural sense, Yoko Ono’s name is shorthand for the opportunistic hanger-on who ingratiates herself into a scene and, through ill-conceived meddling, ruins something perfect. This is the context in which her music is usually heard. Or, more often, not heard, as it’s frequently dismissed out of hand. But a trawl through her back catalog reveals that Ono’s early experimental work now sounds oddly prescient, and she also wrote a number of great pop songs. She’s received her props through the years—praise from bands like Public Image Ltd., Sonic Youth and, more recently, in chart-topping remixes from the likes of The Pet Shop Boys and Basement Jaxx. But common perception has been slower to change.

Doubters would do well to start with this unusual compilation. It’s not exactly a remix set; instead, a number of artists were given access to original multi-track tapes and were told “take what you wish and create something new.” Almost all of them borrowed Ono’s vocals only and built a new piece around them, becoming, in essence, her backing band for a single song. Generally, the focus is on the pop Ono, with only a couple songs given over to her avant-garde work, but even these are made more accessible.

The result is a de facto best-of album, created in collaboration with a number of interesting bands whose treatments range from conservative expansions to radical re-workings. Some songs come together just how you think they would, like the crunchy, driving update of “Kiss Kiss Kiss” by nü-electro artist Peaches, who digs back to the ’80s for blocky synths and brings them to bear on a harder groove from the post-rave world. Others are completely unexpected, like Spiritualized’s shockingly effective take on the oft-remixed “Walking on Thin Ice,” which re-imagines the New Wave song as an epic, gospel-tinged acid-rock anthem.

Between these extremes are a number of flat-out great songs. Antony Hegarty, the versatile cabaret singer who usually fronts the Johnsons, intensifies “Toy Boat,” removing the original’s soft-rock instrumentation and bathing the song in shimmering electronics while adding his own distinctive croon in the background. Chan Marshall of Cat Power turns Ono’s 1995 song “Revelations” into a touching call-and-response duet, shifting the order of the words to great effect and then sealing the deal with casual upright piano that works perfectly with the song’s intimate scale. The Apples in Stereo prove that their Beatles worship extends neatly to spouses, as they dress up the stately, mid-tempo “No One Can See Me Like You Do”—originally a ridged electropop concoction—in lovely baroque clothing that reeks pleasingly of Glaswegian bands like Belle & Sebastian and Camera Obscura.

A few other tracks are decent but not revelatory: Producer Hank Shocklee, co-founder of Public Enemy, contributes intro and outro versions of “Yes, I’m a Witch” that never quite catch fire; and The Flaming Lips turn noise freakout “Cambridge 1969” into an instrumental that sounds too much like one of their own outtakes. Still, the highlights are very high indeed, demonstrating just how wrong received wisdom in pop music can be. All I am saying is give Yoko Ono a chance.

As per the title of her latest album, Yoko Ono claims, Yes, I’m A Witch. Don’t believe her? Well, if you happen to be in New York City this weekend, maybe you can ask her about it yourself. Ono will make an exclusive in-store appearance at the Penn Plaza Borders location on February 10th at 2:00 PM, and she’ll be signing copies of Yes, I’m A Witch, which features a treasure trove of unique collaborations with artists ranging from Cat Power to Apples in Stereo to Le Tigre. Look for a featured review of the album in Paste’s upcoming March 2007 issue!

(And, just to be on the safe side, don't really ask her about being a witch. It's not all that clever, and some other not-clever person probably already beat you to it.)

Related links:
Yoko Ono on AllMusic.com
Yoko-Ono.com, a Yoko Ono fansite
GoogleMap for NYC’s Penn Plaza Borders