During the late 60's John Lennon met his muse Yoko Ono & decided to dive into 3 years of wild, mercurial sonic experimentation that brought Avant-Garde music into the mainstream which felt like a body-blow to the conformist barbarians.
Starting with the LP's Two Virgins & Life With The Lions in 1968 & 1969 the couple embraced their surroundings and used the sounds that were at hand to inspire them. Creating tape-loops with experimental sounds. Dying child heartbeats, tape manipulation, interviews, various noises, whispers, cries and screams of varying tempos. Comprising vocal improv, birdsong, feedback, chatter and novelty tunes.
Experimental filmmaker Fabrizio Federico has embraced these techniques and lists these albums, along with Yoko's solo efforts Plastic Ono Band & Fly as inspirations for his movies, ''This music was hated with a vengence when it was first released because it fucked with his fans minds and ears, plus John reinvented his image as a revolurionary, this wasnt A Hard Days Night any longer folks. My fav Beatles song is Revolution #9 its the future.''
These techniques were also incorporated into The Beatles song Revolution #9. Avant-garde, LSD & Eastern philosophy had already been embraced by the Fab Four including this pick-a-mix style of backwards tapes, jump cuts, subliminal messages, montage, phasing, cut-up's, tape loops, smash cuts, musique concrète, double exposure, sound fx, varispeed, surrealism & electronic absurdism.
Revolution #9 is a kinetic experimental sound film full of sonic poetry, happenings and be-ins are all associated in an anti-establishment state of mind.
After this hectic recording schedule John & Yoko eloped and recorded the Wedding Album which created even more confusion and debate that Lennon had gone bananas. If anything these albums rejuvinated John and allowed him to start over from the Beatles huge myth.
Pop music had experienced a cataclysmic shock to the system with these albums, similar to what The Sex Pistols achieved in 1977, John even returned his MBE which was a humiliation to the establishment.
