Now and Then

Nos·tal·gia, /nəˈstaljə/, (noun) - a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past.

Dubbed "the last Beatles song," John Lennon's AI-enhanced single "Now and Then" was released this past week. Fragments of the song were harvested from an old cassette tape Lennon had recorded in 1977. With assists from former bandmates Starr and McCartney, along with a healthy dollop of computer wizardry, the song was seemingly created from the musical ether of our collective memories.

I listened to it just once, while driving down Ventura Boulevard. It was strange to hear those familiar voices sing something I didn't recognize. I had anticipated this new riff would fill my heart with nostalgia, but it did not. Instead, only sadness remained.

When the song was over, I quickly snapped the radio knob to off. The song was a door to my past I no longer wished to open.

I can still remember hearing the news of John Lennon's death, first announced by sports commentator Howard Cosell during a Monday Night Football broadcast. I lived less than a hour from the famed Dakota at the time, a proximity that intensified my distress. Killed on December 8, 1980, Lennon was just 40 years old.

"Think about me now and then, old friend." - purported to be the last words spoken by John Lennon to Paul McCartney