People want it to be some kind of Game of Thrones thing, but it never has been with us. I always loved [Julian’s mom] Cynthia too. She was always ver
People want it to be some kind of Game of Thrones thing, but it never has been with us. I always loved [Julian’s mom] Cynthia too. She was always very, very lovely to me. Frankly, even when Julian and my mom were fighting, they were still nice. They still loved each other. He still came into the house. He stayed in ‘71—my mom’s apartment. It is just like the Beatles Get Back film: You watch it and you realize they weren’t fighting in the way that everyone imagined. There was some tension. That’s as far as you could say.
I assume you have a good relationship with Paul McCartney too.
Sure. He’s been very kind to me over the years, and he and [his wife] Nancy especially have been very kind. And I’m very close with [Paul’s children] Stella and James. James and I did a song together. Mary I love very much as well. Obviously in the ’80s, maybe, there was a bit of tension, but not with me. With me, he’s my hero, man.
Johm lennon and Yoko Ono in New York during the 70sCourtesy of Magnolia Pictures.
Can I ask you how your mom is doing these days? I know your family is private, but is there anything you can tell us?
Well, I would say that she’s very fit for a 92-year-old.
It was wild to see the cast for the four Beatles movies that Sam Mendes is making. Did you get to talk to him or to Harris Dickinson, who will play your father? Are you excited or nervous or both?
We are all in touch with Sam (the Beatles gang). I told him I am not interested in second-guessing his casting choices as a director. Would anyone have expected Christian Bale to be a good Dick Cheney? I think that’s the filmmaker’s choice. My interest has more to do with the scripts, and how they intertwine. I have every confidence in Sam and Harris and the rest of the team.
Okay, one last thing. I’m aware that this is weird, but I’d like to read you a few sentences I wrote about you after meeting you 30 years ago, and then have you tell me how it sounds to you. Can you stand this?
Sure, go ahead.
“In person, Lennon is phosphorescent with love and awe for his mother, whom he compares to Miles Davis. But he’s dismissive of his own gifts: ‘I suck, basically. Well, I’m okay.’ Lennon, who’s on leave from Columbia University, seems enormously sweet and jittery, insisting he’s introspective, neurotic, and intimidated by everything. ‘Life is frightening,’ he says. ‘You know what I mean?’” Does that sound like an exact reflection of you at 20, and how does it sound to you now?
Wow, that’s captivating. It sounds like exactly the inner voice that I have to this day. It is actually shocking how little I’ve changed. When I look back, I think of myself then as being a lot more arrogant. I didn’t realize how self-aware I was at the time. I guess I was self-aware.
You definitely didn’t strike me as arrogant.
Well, yeah, I wasn’t an arrogant person, but I had this kind of confidence. I remember making my first record—and making Rising—and just thinking everyone was going to love it. Now that I’m older, I’m more realistic about things.
Before I let you go, tell me what you’re personally working on these days.
Les Claypool and I are trying to finish up this third Delirium album, which I’m very excited about. I feel very lucky in terms of the scope of projects I get to work on. I got to do this film, War Is Over!, which won an Oscar. It’s an animated CGI thing, which is a whole up-to-date medium for me. Then I got to do this box set for my dad that got a Grammy. And I still get to have my own bands and my own studio and make music. I feel very fortunate that I get to expose my brain to so many different things. I think I have a good chance of keeping my neurons working.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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