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Re: “Cee-Lo v. John Lennon: To "religion" or not to "religion"”
To me, the only trouble is context: if Cee-Lo had made the change at one of his own concerts, then it would have been understood that what we were seeing was his personal take, which would have been what we'd all paid money to see. But when you sing a song in a public context, the song and our public relationship to it is at center stage, not the singer: we have a right to expect the song we know, and if you have any disagreements with the song (which Cee-Lo clearly does), it's THE most disrespectful place to argue it. It's the public that has ownership of that song then, not Cee-Lo, or even Lennon. It was not a stupid lyric-change at all - however, my biggest concern now is that it will turn into a huge meme in schools across America where they've never been comfortable with Lennon: expect to hear every high school choir incorporating the line, effectively disappearing Lennon for millions of kids. Sort of the way the "socialist" verse from This Land Is Your Land is now completely silenced. Does anybody know it?
