Solely about garnering publicity now - witness the amount of celebrity photographers involved. Getting headlines in the mainstream press etc mentioning your magazine is the key; who gives a $%&£ing toss about the music involved? A 'why oh why oh why?'-type Daily Mail story on Yoko Ono is still all good publicity as far as the likes of Mojo are concerned. The day a similar high-profile Word awards ceremony starts - leading to spreads of 'you're my best mate, you are'-type chummy photos - is when they and I will go our separate ways.

Come on Steve - it's not serious - it's only a way of Bauer getting column inches, and broadcast minutes in/on other media.
Could well be part of a bigger deal to get someone they really wanted who happens to have the same PR person.
Whatever the plot it worked - they got coverage on 5 live earlier.

Lifetime Achievement award to Courtney Love?

Sings (Badly)
Was married to now dead rock star
Loathed by the rest of the band
Rabid self-publicist
Dubious sanity

She ticks all the boxes.

Wasn't half bad , was it ?

She's had 40 years of ridicule, so why stop now, eh? But have you actually listened to any of her records? For years I took the easy route, dismissing her as a Beatle appendage, a whacko conceptualist and all the other cliches that have been aimed at her. But partly in response to Fraser's recent mention of 'Mind Train' on the Fly album, I decided to dip my toe. And frankly, I've been blown away. Yes, okay, her voice is an acquired taste, and her screaming can sometimes wear you down. But her stuff is far more varied and interesting than Lennon's solo work. I've only listened to four of her albums so far (Fly, Rising, Plastic Ono Band and the Yes, I'm a Witch tribute album), but it's all good stuff. There's a fearless, instinctive quality to much of work that I find rather moving. Can I suggest you give it a listen before rushing to judgement?

They get more desperate each year, I reckon they must just hang around Heathrow for a few days to see if they recognise anybody well known and ask them if they're free.
I don't have a problem with Mojo as a magazine, but you are right in saying that their credibility is nosediving.

i have had to listen to any of her cd's to question why she has been awarded the lifetime achievement award. It is not really that relevant to the question I asked. As it happens I have Double Fantasy and agree that her contributions to that disc elevate it above bland rubbish. I also really like walking on thin ice. I confess however that I have not listened to any of her solo cd's but would also hazard a guess that anyone who owns them has not listened to them more than a handful of times. On that basis I believe I am right in asking why she has 'earned' a lifetime achievement award. If MOJO are saying that there are not far more deserving candidates then they are seriously deluded and shouldnt be producing music magazines. If it was done to cynically gain column inches then fine but let us not raise her reputation beyond what it should remain as. That of a woman who was married to one of the most famous musical celebrities in recent years and who made some interesting solo material that failed to trouble the music charts.

and thought it was one of the best interviews with anyone I'd ever heard - honest, intelligent, gracious and very interesting. It is well worth a listen and made me think of her in a different light.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/desertislanddiscs_20070610.shtml

... although, actually, sort of ... well never really listened to her. Great to see we're sticking with the same level of objective debate and informed opinion as always when Yoko Ono's name comes up. It's hardly worthwhile cross-posting but I hadn't picked up on the earlier thread so ...

http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/yoko-wins-mojo-lifetime-achievemen...

P.S. Ever hear the one about the dog with Wings ...? It's hilarious ...

You are right and I am wrong. Yoko Ono has made several indespensible albums of outstanding quality and almost every reader on this site has some of her catalogue of masterpieces. She is the darling of the media and has always been endearing to everyone she has ever met. As part of her wide ranging skills she has also created fantastically popular artwork and is a poet of some stature. Clearly she is most deserving of a lifetime achievement award and beat off less deserving competition from the likes of Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello, Richard Thompson and numerous other luminaries who couldnt match her eclectic style.

Sarcasm aside, I have heard her voice but not on any of her solo albums in their entirety. Some of her work is described as screeching over a wall of feedback. I do not feel the need to trawl through her releases to find something with a tune in it. However if you are prepared to tell me which of her work deserves serious merit I am prepared to give it a go and report back with a more balanced point of view.The remixes cd actually sounds very interesting but there again if her voice is on every track maybe not.

that people generally, and in this case you in particular, seem quite happy to make judgments on her voice, her place in popular music/culture, and even her sanity without taking the time to listen to her work or to go see an exhibition. You don't have to like it, and you're free to hate it but don't generalise and dismiss something without hearing it. It's lazy. The irony of course is that you seem to like the half a dozen or so tracks that you actually have heard, despite thinking she has the worst voice in rock.

There are plenty of listening recommendations across the two threads on this topic. I would have said start with the remix album but that last sentence seems to suggest you've made your mind up already, again.

Peace & love etc. ;-)

and,I am serious here, reading about the remix album does make me want to go and check it out. I wasnt trying to slag her off without knowing too much about her work. The more relevant point I was trying to make is that there are umpteen artists that,to me, are far more deserving of the award yet apparently are not even considered. It is very similar to the Mercury awards where the judges appear to be courting controversy be selecting the most obscure of artists (last year being an exception). Now lets be honest apart from her personality and the associated fame of being married to a Beatle then i think I can accurately describe her work as being in the second division (or lower) of popular music.
Incidentally I am sure there are many artists that you don't like but whose whole canon you have not listened to - if we have made a decision that we don't like an artist surely we don't seek out their whole output to inflict misery upon ourselves? Occasionally I have revised my judgement a recent case in point being PJ Harvey who i had initially considered as not being to my taste. I am open minded and when I get to hear the Yoko Ono remixes project I will let you know what I think (if you are interested). No offence meant by the way.

No early work on Spotify but many of the remixes are there. I'd say 'I'm Dying' is not too far from the early riff-tastic stuff. Knock youself out ... I'll be interested to hear what you think.

http://open.spotify.com/user/stevenccc/playlist/7InGGv9ds3LmUthTqiutFe

And remember it's probably not too late to get a ticket for her Festival Hall show on Sunday night!

is the best Xmas song. Ever. John wrote it and Yoko's performance is wonderful.

like seemingly unshakeable self assurance, influence, connections, time, money… my aunty Mary could have come up with something pretty ‘challenging’. And she could sing.

I have just spent the last hour listening to Yoko Ono on Spotify and have to say I am in awe. I really didnt know that she had made so much good stuff. I now accept that my judgement was misguided. However still not sure she merits the lifetime achievement award but thanks for getting me to listen.

Open your box plop onto my doormat. Considering my ill judged comments I am happy to report I was completely wrong. The music on this whilst technically not Ono alone is very good and I am more than happy to revise my opinion.