John Lennon- Amnesty International's Greatest Hits

Much as I loved Lennon for who/what he was, what he wrote and what he sang, isn't it kind of morbid to have all these celebrations about his death? Other than Kennedy, who do we do this for? At the very least, it's a time to remember his genius and his work so that's not a bad thing.

One good way that he's being memorialized now is through a series of downloads at Amnesty International. At their Make Some Noise website, they're offering downloads of Lennon covers for $1/each. Listening to the selections, they go 3-for-4, which is a pretty good ratio. Black Eyed Peas' take on "Power to the People" is appropriately uplifting while Snow Patrol's "Isolation" and Postal Service's "Grow Old With Me" are sweet tributes. The Cure's "Love" is a little too goth for me though.

Since the U.S. government seems to keep forgetting what basic human rights mean and carelessly cede any moral ground in terms of prisoner treatment, a group like AI is needed more than ever now. By gobbling up these Lennon goodies, you can do something about it too by supporting them.