ARCHIVE: Talking to Yoko Ono
I was very nervous.
It was late summer, 2004. She had re-recorded "Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him," a song she wrote and sang on the Double Fantasy album with her husband John Lennon. The new version was called "Everyman... Everywoman" and it was updated to address same-sex relationships. My memory is that it was a benefit single for a queer organization. It was also built for clubs with about a dozen remixes included on the CD single. Basement Jaxx, Murk,* Ralphi Rosario.
I was writing for a gay men's pop culture magazine at the time and my editor said, "They're offering us a short phone interview with Yoko Ono. You'll ask her about the single. You'll have 10 to 15 minutes. Do you want to do it?"
I said yes, and immediately panicked. I'd interviewed lots of actors and musicians, sometimes on the phone, sometimes in person. They were easy. Yoko Ono, though, that's a legend. That's Fluxus. That's wild, stupid people hating her irrationally.**
I had enough time for about six questions. Four of them made it to print in the October issue. It was like an extended red carpet moment, really, but I spent hours thinking of what to say and how to say it. I knew I also wanted to ask about the upcoming election. When the publicist put the phone connection through I became fluttery and thought I would be sick to my stomach.
Turns out: Yoko Ono is extremely chill with nervous interviewers on a landline. She does not enter your world. You enter hers. She handles it. She was thoughtful and kind. After about 60 seconds of freaking out over how I was talking to actual Yoko Ono, I calmed down.
Here's what wound up in print:
Headline: YOKO ONO DOES NOT HAVE THE LUXURY OF WORRY
Question: Hi, Yoko, the new single is great. What inspired it?
Yoko Ono: When people began fighting against same-sex marriage, I thought, "This is crazy, it's a human rights issue," and I became very angry about it. Everyone should have the right to get married if they want. No one is being hurt by it. So I said, "Okay, let's do this."
Q: The fight over same-sex marriage suddenly seems very serious, as though the people against us are really going to get their way, at least for the moment.
YO: There's always a moment. But that moment, hopefully, will be very short.
Q: Why do you think so many people still fear love between two men or two women?
YO: Because it's different. That I'm a Japanese woman made people fear me, to the point where they created all sorts of names for me, for over 30 years. I didn't fit into their "dream girl" idea. So I understand how those things happen. Even more surprisingly, after remaking this song, some of my straight acquaintances came to me, and instead of saying, "Hey, that's cool, that's great," asked me why I had done it.
Q: Oh wow. On a somewhat unrelated note, are you worried about what will happen in the world if George W. Bush is re-elected?
YO: I don't think we have the luxury to be worried. Worry does nothing. But when you're doing something [to make the world better], you're not worried. You have to simply stand up, speak out, and really try to change the situation. I think doubting, or giving up, there's just no time for it. We have to make sure we either do something about it together or we're all going to blow up together. So we hope for the day to come soon when we can all laugh together. Right now it may not be a good moment, but the future will come soon.
**A year later, at 2005's ArthurFest, at which Yoko Ono appeared alongside bands like Sonic Youth and Sleater-Kinney, a handful of idiotic teenagers outside the venue held up homemade protest signs – "something something the Beatles something." They had little chants for the occasion. To no one's surprise, this amusing attempt to yell her out of existence was unsuccessful.
