![\"Yoko-Ono-Issue-No29\"](\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Yoko-Ono-Issue-No29.jpg\")
<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nTo a younger generation, Yoko Ono isn\u2019t the dragon lady who broke up the Beatles. She\u2019s a multitasking, forward-thinking artist who\u2019s scored 10 No. 1 dance hits, collaborated with stars including\u00a0Lady Gaga, the Flaming Lips, and Iggy Pop, and staged cutting-edge art exhibitions\u2014as well as an activist who works relentlessly to raise awareness on issues ranging from natural gas fracking to AIDS, autism and same-sex marriage. She also fronts the Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band.<\/p>\n
Take Me to the Land of Hell<\/i>, produced with son Sean Lennon and\u00a0multi-instrumentalist Yuka Honda, is Ono\u2019s newest release. It is perhaps her most sonically and topically varied recording to date, with songs ranging from tender ballads to raging noise-rock and pounding rhythmic dance blasters. Lenny Kravitz,\u00a0tUnE-yArDs and the Roots\u2019 Questlove are among the guests. While some of the lyrics\u2019 imagery can be construed as violent\u2014like\u00a0lines depicting \u201cstrangling the birds\u201d and \u201cblood river\u201d\u2014Ono says her use of such stark words is not in conflict with her lifelong promotion of world peace. \u201cWhen you hear my records you think, \u2018Oh dear, she\u2019s very negative.\u2019 But the positivity of life is extremely complicated,\u201d she says. \u201cThere are layers to it. It\u2019s about passion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Passion defines Ono\u2019s art and life. \u201cThat\u2019s one thing that\u2019s always been there,\u201d she says. \u201cNot having passion could have\u00a0a serious consequence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ono is 80\u2014a fact that never crosses her mind. \u201cThe future is now,\u201d she says. \u201cInstead of looking at the future we have and appreciating it, we tend to look at the past, at things that are bad. We just don\u2019t have the time or luxury now to be that negative. We have to keep doing things that are positive.\u201d And while she strives to live in the moment, much of Ono\u2019s thoughts are still focused on what she and John created together. She\u2019s filtered out the controversy that made her the target of derision from those who felt her meddling split the legendary band, choosing instead to remember the affirmative outlook the couple maintained. \u201cWhen people would say something negative, that was distant to us,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Ono has high hopes for the world. \u201cI think we are going to finally wake up, and, in the last moment, we will get together and use our incredible intelligence,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re going to survive, even if we have to move to another planet. But it\u2019s a beautiful planet, so why leave? We will heal it and make it beautiful again. In 50 years we\u2019ll have heaven on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013Jeff Tamarkin<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
YOKO ONO At 80, the controversial artist is still full of passion\u2014and surprises \u00a0 To a younger generation, Yoko Ono isn\u2019t the dragon lady who broke up the Beatles. She\u2019s a multitasking, forward-thinking artist who\u2019s scored 10 No. 1 dance hits, collaborated with stars including\u00a0Lady Gaga, the Flaming Lips, and Iggy Pop, and staged cutting-edge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[7093,2335],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11077"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11077"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11080,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11077\/revisions\/11080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}