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Post by Joe Karlosi on Mar 29, 2012 6:10:57 GMT -5
Comment and/or Vote on this Solo Song
4=Great 3=Good 2=Average 1=Crap
"Aisumasen (I'm Sorry)" - John Lennon, MIND GAMES (1973)
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Mar 29, 2012 6:12:43 GMT -5
4 -- I will make no bones about it, I love this song. It's an apology to Yoko from John, and really heartfelt and touching. I love the lyrics and I especially love that biting lead guitar at the end. I can feel the guilt and pain in John's pleas for forgiveness. The end guitar perfectly accompanies that torment.
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Post by ursamajor on Mar 29, 2012 6:30:00 GMT -5
4 - I love the remastered version, sounds very FM. I'm abit over the apology songs but I never knew it was about Yoko until I read about it. The guitar solo ranks as one of the greatest solo Beatles solo's, a top contender.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2012 6:47:13 GMT -5
Here are the lyrics...
When i'm down, really yin And i don't know what i'm doing Aisumasen, aisumasen yoko All i had to do was call your name All i had to do was call your name
And when i hurt you and cause you pain Darlin i promise i won't do it again Aisumasen, aisumasen yoko It's hard enough i know just to feel your own pain It's hard enough i know to feel, feel your own pain
All that i know is just what you tell me All that i know is just what you show me
When i'm down, real sanpaku And i don't know what to do Aisumasen, aisumasen yoko san All i had to do was call your name Yes, all i had to do was call your name
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Post by John S. Damm on Mar 29, 2012 8:52:04 GMT -5
This is among the best songs on Mind Games. I like the singing, I like the musical backing but yeah, I am tired of John always apologizing but not because he didn't need to.
John Lennon, not Yoko Ono, was about the worst spouse in the history of the world. He always messed up. And he was always apologizing.
Talk is cheap and a guy who is always apologizing is a guy who is making no effort to change his behavior and thus repeating such bad behavior. Repeated apologies become meaningless! John's apologies to Yoko were so many that they are all cashed out in sincerity.
John did the ultimate apology song in "Jealous Guy." But did he learn from whatever caused him to write that song? Obviously not.
Had John not been so selfish, so damn needy and had he matured as a man, he wouldn't need to keep writing apology songs because he would have changed his behavior.
He was a poor husband to Cynthia and he was a poor husband to Yoko. Yoko must be a near saint to have tolerated and loved a spouse like John.
So I am not endeared by his repeated apologies. Repeated apologies are a cop-out. If John had changed his childish, rude, selfish behavior towards Yoko he wouldn't need to write apology songs every other album.
Still, one of the better songs overall on the album so I give it a 3.5, lyrical content bringing it down for me.
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Post by mikev on Mar 29, 2012 10:09:10 GMT -5
this was always a favorite to me 3 +.
I thought it was Beatlesque, as this whole LP was in general. Is that actually John on lead or Spinozza?
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Post by ReturnToPepperland on Mar 29, 2012 11:05:00 GMT -5
In 1974 this track was not one of my favorites on the album. Listening to it now I get a new persective. It is quite heartfelt and moving. You could argue that some of the lyrics are a bit emasculating "All that I know is just what you tell me" but the song itself rises above that. I give it a solid 3. It has some piano licks from God and the guitar solo is top notch.
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Post by theman on Mar 29, 2012 11:24:38 GMT -5
I was going to write a long diatribe on my lack of.....um.....interest in John's confessional songs to Yoko, but JSD summed up my feelings nicely. The only other thing that comes to mind is that I think lyrics, in general, work a lot better if we can place ourselves within them and open things up to our own interpretation. Now, I know that there are lots of songs that are very good that don't do that (specific protest songs, maybe, and John's "God" comes to mind for me), but, in general, I think most timeless songs are ones we can place ourselves into, if that makes sense.
Nevertheless, there is much about "Aisumesen", musically, that is good. I give this a 2.5.
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Mar 29, 2012 13:08:54 GMT -5
I was going to write a long diatribe on my lack of.....um.....interest in John's confessional songs to Yoko, but JSD summed up my feelings nicely. The only other thing that comes to mind is that I think lyrics, in general, work a lot better if we can place ourselves within them and open things up to our own interpretation. Now, I know that there are lots of songs that are very good that don't do that (specific protest songs, maybe, and John's "God" comes to mind for me), but, in general, I think most timeless songs are ones we can place ourselves into, if that makes sense. It makes some sense, but I don't see why a person who feels similarly regretful and wants to apologize cannot relate to AISUMASEN? Just substitute your gal's name in place of Yoko's. Are people able to relate to MICHELLE even though it's about a gal named Michelle and not their own lady?
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Mar 29, 2012 13:11:13 GMT -5
Is that actually John on lead or Spinozza? I'm not positive, but I'd doubt it was John. (For what it's worth, I have an outtake of TIGHT A$ where John yells out: "Spinooozza!" for the lead solo.)
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Mar 29, 2012 13:21:33 GMT -5
John Lennon, not Yoko Ono, was about the worst spouse in the history of the world. He always messed up. And he was always apologizing. Talk is cheap and a guy who is always apologizing is a guy who is making no effort to change his behavior and thus repeating such bad behavior. Repeated apologies become meaningless! John's apologies to Yoko were so many that they are all cashed out in sincerity. John did the ultimate apology song in "Jealous Guy." But did he learn from whatever caused him to write that song? Obviously not. Had John not been so selfish, so damn needy and had he matured as a man, he wouldn't need to keep writing apology songs because he would have changed his behavior. He was a poor husband to Cynthia and he was a poor husband to Yoko. Yoko must be a near saint to have tolerated and loved a spouse like John. So I am not endeared by his repeated apologies. Repeated apologies are a cop-out. If John had changed his childish, rude, selfish behavior towards Yoko he wouldn't need to write apology songs every other album. OK, now it's time for me to go into "RTP Mode". JSD, you were overly brutal to John here, IMO -- but not completely incorrect. I agree that John was a lousy husband to Cynthia, but other than a couple of occasional slip-ups to Yoko, I think that John definitely DID mature as a man with Ms. Ono. I think John came a long, long, long way with feminism and learning to appreciate Women. I don't think anyone can be 100% perfect all of the time, but I do feel Lennon made good strides in this particular area. John was a flawed human being who was bitter and angry a lot and those types of things don't just become straightened out 100%. I also believe "if at first you don't succeed, try try again". So John got right back on the bicycle again after falling off. The question, to be blunt, is not whether or not you forgave John; it's if Yoko forgave him. How many apologies were there to Yoko? Other than JEALOUS GUY and AISUMASEN? Any other references (WOMAN...?) could have been leftover guilt from the same circumstances... or maybe just fitting lyrics to a song.
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Post by coachbk on Mar 29, 2012 14:45:45 GMT -5
2 Has some decent musical parts, but not enough to get me too excited. Goes on a bit long. I like MIND GAMES overall, but this is not one of the standout tracks.
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Post by joshferrell on Mar 29, 2012 15:40:16 GMT -5
Beautiful song..I give it a 3
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Post by ursamajor on Mar 29, 2012 16:53:54 GMT -5
It's Spinozza on lead guitar. He did a great job.
I think I'm Losing You is another apology type song and if you listen to Lennon Anthology I think John first started it before the house-husband years.
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Post by theman on Mar 29, 2012 18:10:54 GMT -5
I was going to write a long diatribe on my lack of.....um.....interest in John's confessional songs to Yoko, but JSD summed up my feelings nicely. The only other thing that comes to mind is that I think lyrics, in general, work a lot better if we can place ourselves within them and open things up to our own interpretation. Now, I know that there are lots of songs that are very good that don't do that (specific protest songs, maybe, and John's "God" comes to mind for me), but, in general, I think most timeless songs are ones we can place ourselves into, if that makes sense. It makes some sense, but I don't see why a person who feels similarly regretful and wants to apologize cannot relate to AISUMASEN? Just substitute your gal's name in place of Yoko's. Are people able to relate to MICHELLE even though it's about a gal named Michelle and not their own lady? Well, in your example, Michelle could be anyone. In Aisumasen, it is a song overtly about, and directed to, a real person, Yoko. And that just kinda spoils it for me. Let's put it this way. I can't imagine John's "Woman" being anywhere near as popular and relatable if you substituted "Yoko" in place of "woman" throughout the song.
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Post by acebackwords on Mar 29, 2012 19:41:22 GMT -5
Can anybody count up how many songs John wrote where he's apologizing to Yoko and asking for forgiveness, like he's in a permanent state of seeking atonement? It must be at least a dozen.
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Post by nicole21290 on Mar 29, 2012 21:32:58 GMT -5
LOVE this song but briefly, thought I'd put this quote here. Maybe Jealous Guy (which has been mentioned in this thread a few times) isn't JUST (solely) a song to Yoko/Cyn/whomever-books-usually-attribute-it-for?
McCartney said this in a 1985 Playgirl interview: "It was a weird time. The people who were managing us were whispering in our ears and trying to turn us against each other, and in the end, I think John had some tough breaks. He used to say, 'Everyone is on the McCartney bandwagon.' He wrote 'I'm Just a Jealous Guy,' and he said that the song was about me. So I think it was just some kind of jealousy. I had to try and forgive John because I sort of knew where he was coming from. I knew he was trying to get rid of the Beatles in order to say to Yoko, 'Look, I've even given that up for you. I'm ready to devote myself to you and to the avant-garde.' I don't know if its true. One thing that I'm really glad about is that I didn't answer him back. It's very difficult to do that when someone is attacking you. But I would have felt sick as a dog now if I had."
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2012 3:30:27 GMT -5
This song is OK but it's not up there with my favourite John songs..
I'll give it a 2 Aisumasen John
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Post by Joe Karlosi on Mar 30, 2012 5:41:18 GMT -5
Well, in your example, Michelle could be anyone. In Aisumasen, it is a song overtly about, and directed to, a real person, Yoko. And that just kinda spoils it for me. Let's put it this way. I can't imagine John's "Woman" being anywhere near as popular and relatable if you substituted "Yoko" in place of "woman" throughout the song. Good analogy with WOMAN, but not with MICHELLE. I think fans give MICHELLE a free pass because it's a Beatles song. MICHELLE is a song saying the girl's name over and over, and it's even the name of the song, fer cryin' out loud! As I've said, you could sing the song to your girl and use her name instead. With AISUMASEN, Yoko's name doesn't appear in the title at least. And her name as we hear it sung in the song is not very intrusive, and kind of sneaked in. Still, if I did my girl wrong and sought forgiveness, I could easily relate to AISUMASEN and just substitute her name for "Yoko" - just like the whole world does with MICHELLE.
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Post by ReturnToPepperland on Mar 30, 2012 12:15:06 GMT -5
I remember that quote about Jealous Guy being about Paul. If you look at the lyrics it is startling the way they fit-- 'I began to lose control..." "I was dreaming of the past..." and "I was trying to catch your eye. Thought that you was trying to hide" and "I was feeling insecure. You might not love me anymore."
After all when was John ever jealous of Yoko and when did John ever try to catch Yoko's eye. It was the other way around--Yoko was trying to catch John's eye. I was dreaming of the past--they had only been married for two years at that time. I don't think they had that much of a past. Certainly at that stage Yoko wasn't falling out of love with him.
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kc
Beatle Freak
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Post by kc on Mar 30, 2012 23:27:49 GMT -5
It sounds nice enough. I agree that the guitar solo at the end is good and that the lyrics are touching. Wait for the "but"!
But, there is nothing remarkable, or salient here to my ears. John had done better love songs and ballads in the past and this is not one of the stand out tracks on the Mind Games album when I listen to it. I much prefer the title track, Out Of The Blue, Bring On The Lucie (Freda People) and Tight As. But that's just me.
2 (average).
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Post by debjorgo on Apr 3, 2012 19:14:50 GMT -5
This song definitely benefits from the remix. It's a pity, if you get the Lennon Signature box set with all the albums in it, you get the original mix. That was the problem with the original release. It sounded awful.
Still, I liked a lot of the songs. Mind Games, Tight A$, Bring on the Lucy, and the quite, peaceful sounding I Know and You Are Here really set up the over the top loud Meat City, my favorite on the album.
You may have noticed I didn't include this song. It sounds better now, but it's still too slow for me. At least there was no sax on it.
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