Back in 1973, John Lennon and Yoko Ono founded an imaginary country, Nutopia. Launched to great fanfare at a press conference held at the New York City Bar Association in Midtown Manhattan, it was a reaction to Lennon's ongoing problems with the US immigration service, who were threatening to deport the former Beatles man back to the UK.

 "Citizenship of the country can be obtained by declaration of your awareness of Nutopia," he explains. "Nutopia has no land, no boundaries, no passports, only people. Nutopia has no laws other than cosmic. All people of Nutopia are ambassadors of the country. As two ambassadors of Nutopia, we ask for diplomatic immunity and recognition in the United Nations for our country and its people."

"Anybody could be a citizen of this country," says Yoko Ono today. "Anybody could be a citizen of this country. Citizens were automatically the country’s ambassadors. The country’s body was the airfield of our joint thoughts. Its constitution was our love, and its spirit our dreams. We produced a white handkerchief from our pockets and said, “This is a flag to Surrender to Peace.” Not 'Fight for Peace’, but 'Surrender to Peace’ was the important bit."

Source: Fraser Lewry/loudersound.com

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Sean Ono Lennon, the son of John and Yoko, has said his music collaboration with Sir Paul McCartney’s son James came about “naturally” and was not to “fulfil something for the Beatles fans”.

The multi-instrumentalist, 48, has released a song called Primrose Hill with McCartney, an ode to London’s panoramic viewing spot in Regent’s Park.

Speaking about the track to Chris Hawkins on BBC Radio 6 Music, Ono Lennon said: “It was really special for me. It actually happened quite some time ago, so I wasn’t sure if the song was going to come out or not.

“And so I was very surprised when he gave me a text and said ‘Hey, can we put Primrose Hill out?’ and I was like ‘Well, it’s about time I was hoping you would put it out!’ So yeah, I was thrilled you know. I thought he had forgotten about it or whatever.

“But it happened very naturally. I think a lot of people, I’ve been seeing just the comments section (which I guess one should avoid) but I’ve noticed that people kind of assume we’re trying to start something or we were doing it in order to fulfil something for the Beatles fans.

“But actually it came about very naturally. I was just at his flat in London and he was telling me about a girl he had a crush on, and he was sort of writing a song about it and he kind of wanted me to help him.

“And so all I really did was say ‘Well hey, where did you guys go on your first date?’

Source: Hannah Roberts, PA Entertainment Reporter

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On "Everything Fab Four," the acclaimed actor discusses the Beatles, his career and Netflix series "A Man in Full"

Emmy Award-winning actor Jeff Daniels joined host Kenneth Womack to talk about the lesson he learned from George Harrison, the beauty of “Get Back,” his new Netflix series “A Man in Full” and much more on “Everything Fab Four,” a podcast co-produced by me and Womack (a music scholar who also writes about pop music for Salon) and distributed by Salon.

Daniels, who has lit up the screen for decades in such films as “Dumb and Dumber,” “The Squid and the Whale” and “Arachnophobia,” is also a stage actor and playwright, in addition to being a musician. And his introduction to how music could change the world arrived in elementary school when the Beatles debuted on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964. As he told Womack, “You could just feel a change in the room. Here were fourth-grade girls, and they were in love with these British mop tops.”

His own admiration for the band didn’t really take off until a few years later, with the release of their “Sgt. Pepper” album. “It freed them up to chase anything,” said Daniels, “as long as it was different than what they'd done before.” Little did he know that as he continued to buy each album the Beatles released from then on, that one day he would end up in the same room – professionally – with one of his musical heroes.

“In 1988 I got cast in an indie movie called ‘Checking Out,’” he told Womack, which was produced by George Harrison’s company Handmade Films. While shooting in Los Angeles, Harrison visited the set. “A photographer captured a photo of George talking, because he was the only one who could talk. I was in awe and unable to speak.” Daniels had his guitar with him and asked George to sign it, and the former Beatle obliged – and ended up playing 20 minutes’ worth of songs for the people in the room. “He knew he was giving us a gift that we would talk about forever. It was a very giving thing for him to do, and I never forgot that.”

Source: salon.com

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Ringo Starr just released a new four-track EP titled Crooked Boy that was written and produced by acclaimed songwriter and producer Linda Perry. In the coming weeks, the former Beatles drummer will be launching a new tour with his All Starr Band, but Ringo says that fans who attend the shows shouldn’t expect to hear him perform any of his new tunes.

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Starr was interviewed recently by Nic Harcourt from the Los Angeles-area radio station 88.5 FM The SoCal Sound, and was asked if he planned to play songs from Crooked Boy.

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“No, I’m not playing the new music,” Starr said. He then quipped, “I’ll mention it. I thank the five of them for buying it, usually.”

Source: Matt Friedlander/americansongwriter.com

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The music of the Beatles won't be on iTunes or other Internet outlets in the near future, according to John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono.

Apple Corps, the Beatles' holding company, has not managed to agree on terms with EMI Group, the company that licenses the group's recordings, Reuters reported.

"Don't hold your breath ... for anything," Ono told Reuters.

Technology giant Apple Inc (AAPL) and Apple Corps had a long trademark dispute over the use of the name, which was eventually settled in 2007. Still, the deal did not lead to any Beatles songs being released on the iTunes platform.

"(Apple CEO) Steve Jobs has his own idea and he's a brilliant guy," Ono, 77, said. "There's just an element that we're not very happy about, as people. We are holding out."

Source: Hugh Collins/aol.com

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The app Lumenate has transformed the icon's 1973 peace and love anthem into nine different meditation mixes

You’ve probably meditated to John Lennon‘s music before, but now you can officially do it on the app Lumenate.

Lennon’s estate partnered with the company to deliver nine meditation mixes of “Mind Games,” the title track to his 1973 record. The song’s mixes are slowed down and extended — with four focusing on the brain waves Beta, Delta, Gamma, and Theta — that work with the app’s frequencies to drive listeners deeper into consciousness.

In addition, the nine mixes are paired with the phone’s flashlight to create a trippy psychedelic experience. The project launches today in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month.

“I’m very happy to be working with Lumenate on this release for Mental Health Awareness Month,” Sean Ono Lennon said in a statement. “I think our ‘Mind Games’ project is fun, meaningful, and potentially mind-expanding. I have been using the Lumenate app for my own personal meditations since it launched, and have had many profound experiences. My father was famously into meditation. I remember trying the ‘flicker machine’ he kept in the bedroom, which is what first introduced me to the idea of stroboscopic brain wave induction. I thought it made sense to combine the music of ‘Mind Games’ with the science of Lumenate. I really hope people enjoy the results as much as I have.”

Source: Angie Martoccio/rollingstone.com

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