John Lennon (1940-1980)
Filed under the name John · August 16, 2026
John Lennon wrote 'Imagine' and it's wild that a song from 1971 still shows up at vigils and protests today like it was written last week — that's a level of staying power most modern songs, or memes if we're honest, never get close to. As a member of The Beatles he already reshaped what pop music could even be, but it's the peace-anthem era of his solo career that keeps circling back into my life specifically, because I've watched that exact song get sung at rallies for refugees, including ones connected to my own family's story out of Iraq. There's something about a really simple, sincere idea — just imagine people not fighting — that cuts through decades of noise in a way a lot of more 'clever' art doesn't. I get self-conscious sometimes about liking something so earnest, but honestly, earnest and simple traveled further than ironic ever will. Lennon knew that. The crowds still singing it, hopeful, decades later, are the proof.