I don’t understand why Yoko Ono is able to get people to pay her for performances. I can see that early on, maybe people thought she was ‘artistic’ and ‘deep’ or maybe they were high, or maybe they just wanted to see a train wreck. But this is stillgoing on? I’ve never seen any who liked her performances and everyone universally thinks they are bad.
Either because people want to pay to see her or she rents the hall and loses money. Understand that even without being the billionaire widow of John Lennon that her family is one of the richest in Japan. I’m not a Yoko hater, but I do dislike her singing, including on Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey. It is just awful. That said, I know how to skip a track. I wouldn’t see a Yoko Ono performance for free.
Personally, I’m torn by Yoko. Sometimes I listen, and I just don’t get it. Other times, it’s beautiful. It seems like my appreciation of her is determined by my own mind set, rather than anything in particular about her performance. She’s not the only artist I feel that way about, but she personifies it best.
I don’t listen to her music, but I did attend a retrospective on her art career at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. I walked in skeptical and left converted to the opinion that she was an interesting and expressive artist, with far more range and wit than those who hadn’t bothered to look credited her with.
Maybe if I spent the proper time and listened correctly I might be converted on her music, too.
Mary Matlin can carry a tune better than Yoko. The songs were fine, but the singing sounded as bad as … Yoko Ono trying to sing. Her songwriting was strong, but she should have had someone else do the performing. Just my opinion. (And that of most of humanity.) And I do want to make clear that I am overall quite grateful to Yoko Ono for keeping John and the Beatles together as long as they did. Her efforts saved everything starting with the White Album to Abbey Road. She did not break the Beatles up. All four of them wanted out, especially John.
He was in love with her and not quite rational on the subject. Linda McCartney was just as bad, if not worse, in Wings, but Paul, despite also being in love with his wife, knew she couldn’t play or sing, and spared us through the magic of mixing.
I saw some of her art at an exhibit in New York (I think the theme was physically small works of art) and your description sums up my reaction as well.