OK, so it would have been cooler if John Lennon had fronted Nirvana last night. (Actually, it would have been cooler if Kurt Cobain had fronted Nirvana last night, but I digress.)

We gotta admit it: our hopes and expectations were pretty damn low when we heard "the cute Beatle" would be filling in for the late Cobain during Wednesday night's Nirvana "reunion" at the 12/12/12 Concert to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy. Thoughts of Macca wailing "Rape Me" had us a bit nervous, although we could envision a hearty "Helter Skelter."

Surprise! Macca and the Nirvana dudes - drummer Dave Grohl, bassist Krist Novaselic and guitarist Pat Smear - hit it out of the ballpark. They even introduced a brand new song. And it's a good song. Very "Helter Skelter"-ish.

Side note 1: Who would ever have imagined that a member of the pioneering L.A. hardcore band Germs (in this case, Smear) would one day share a stage with a member of the Beatles?

Side note 2: Another quirky Germs/Beatles connection occurred when Germs frontman Darby Crash committed suicide by drug overdose on December 7, 1980. Few remember his death, as our friend and former colleague Scott Becker pointed out on Facebook, because it's been overshadowed in music history by the murder of John Lennon the following day.

Side note 3: All this means that together, the band that played this song last night has been rocked by two suicides and one murder.

Life is strange.

• Photo illustration courtesy of Death and Taxes magazine