Hey John, What's on Your iPod?

John Lennon would have turned 70 this past weekend and while that's hard enough to wrap one's brain around, there's the bigger question looming: "What would John have created these past 30 years had he not been killed so tragically at age 40?"

Would he have recorded more songs with Yoko? Might he have branched out into other musical styles, genres, techniques? It's hard to imagine John attempting a reggae song or album, but who knows... perhaps Bob Marley's death would have inspired him to try reggae? Would he have been at Farm Aid? Live Aid? Lolapalooza? Would he have collaborated with his musically-inclined sons? Would he have won an MTV Video Award at some point? Would John have let Michael Jackson buy the whole stinkin' Beatles catalog?

How would John have adapted to the advent of digital music, online downloads, etc.? What would be on John Lennon's iPod? What would he listen to as he jogged in Central Park or flew across the Atlantic?

Questions, questions, questions...

One concept that has always fascinated me is what artists of years, decades, even centuries past would think of the artists, music, etc., that came much later. What would John Lennon have thought of Madonna, Radiohead, U2, Bjork, Jay Z? What would he have thought of Julian Lennon's beautiful "Valotte?" Or Sean Lennon's excellent "Into the Sun?" Who would he have wanted to collaborate with?

What would John Lennon have said about the death of Kurt Cobain? Or Elliott Smith? Or Jeff Buckley?

In this vein, I often wonder what Beethoven would have thought of Pink Floyd or what Bach would have made of Sigur Ros or whether Mozart would have appreciated Stevie Wonder. How would these titans of artistry feel about how their "golden age" of classical music is used in contemporary music? How would they perceive their influence being used? What would they think of today's movie scores--John Williams, James Horner, Carter Burwell, et al? What would Strauss think of "2001: A Space Odyssey?" What would they think of orchestrations in rock music?

Seriously... I imagine Mozart, Beethoven, et al being fucking FLOORED by a listen to "Comfortably Numb" or "A Day in the Life" or "Staralfur" or even the brooding synth-pop of Depeche Mode or New Order.

It's almost a shame that brilliant artists--in any genre or subject--can't live to see how they influence the works of artists many, many years after them. It's a concept I find endlessly fascinating, so much so that I often, while lost in the beauty of a song on my iPod, fantasize about throwing some headphones on old Wolfgang or Ludwig and watching their faces change as they hear "The Long and Winding Road" or "All You Need Is Love" for the first time.

Then, just for shits and giggles, let's see how they like "The Real Slim Shady."