of course there was and i was sick of that too. the first time someone made a joke about the "cigar" it was funny. the 1 millionth time i was like okay that's enough. comedians, musicians, etc. need to find something else to sing or talk about besides how dumb the president is. it's seems to me like a cop out. there are other more interesting things to sing or talk about.
Yeah, but Bush has done about a Million dumb things.....
Part of a transcript from last night's Neil interview on Showbiz Tonight
VARGAS: Tell me, when do you feel that this album will be released?
YOUNG: Well, they`re talking about that inside right now, and I know that it`s going to be very fast. It`s already at the manufacturing plant. We`re going to use the Internet, in many ways, to roll it out: first, the lyrics; then, music; and then, after we`ve got it out there and downloadable around the planet, we`re going to start releasing the discs as soon as they can be manufactured.
It`s a unique situation to be in, and we can take advantage of all the technology we have to communicate with. And it`s a different age. So I`m glad to be here.
interesting. primussucks, you're really the source for neil info. this stuff isn't on the rust list from what i've seen. i posted your crazy horse thing on the rust list. are you even on the rust list?
ya that is where I got it. On another note, Neil will be on Conan Friday night. And on another note David Gilmour will be on Letterman Thursday night.
neil on conan again! sweet! i didn't realize he was on this friday...thanks for all the info. you rock! i wonder if he might play a tune from the new record?!?! hmmm...
...can't wait to see what neil does to conan's guitars this time
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have the man with me here right now. He just came out of Reprise Records. This is your record company, your label. This music, right, is already causing a stir, actually. You`ve got one song that`s called "Let`s Impeach the President." What is this song about?
NEIL YOUNG, MUSICIAN: Well, it`s a song that pretty well follows the title just with a bunch of reasons. And it`s a long song.
VARGAS: Are you concerned that some might think that you`re unpatriotic?
YOUNG: Oh, no, I`m not concerned about that in the least. I feel like I`m exercising my right of free speech, which is what our boys are fighting for the Iraqi people to have. And I think, if we take it away from the people here in the United States, that we`re taking a step really in the wrong direction.
That`s what is great about this country and about all free countries, is freedom of speech and the ability to express yourself; that makes us different from everybody else. And so I`m not worried about that.
VARGAS: What do you think about cynics who say that, OK, the climate has changed. There are not that many people that are pro-Bush anymore, or his popularity is not as strong. Perhaps you`re using this as a way to sell more records?
YOUNG: You know, I don`t know about the selling more records. I don`t know how many records it`s going to sell. That`s not really a concern of mine.
I just want to communicate. That`s why I`ve been making records for 40 years, and some of them sell a lot, some of them don`t sell any. So this isn`t about selling records. This is about exchanging ideas. It`s about getting a message out. It`s about empowering people by giving them a voice.
I know not everyone believes what I say is what they think, but, like I said before, you know, red and blue is not black and white. We`re altogether; it`s a record about unification.
VARGAS: Surely, though, I mean, you say it`s a record about unification, but with a title like "Let`s Impeach the President"...
YOUNG: That`s not the title of the record.
VARGAS: Not the record, but the song.
YOUNG: Yes, right.
VARGAS: "Let`s Impeach the President," that is pretty strong, strong words.
YOUNG: Yes, yes, I think it is. I think it`s called for, and so do a lot of other people. As a matter of fact, when I played in there for 100 people, they all stood up and gave me a standing ovation. There wasn`t one person that wasn`t standing. And we were looking for that kind of backing.
That`s what happened when I did it with 100 people singing with me at Capitol Records, one of our great, old American record companies, in their great studio, with 100 studio musicians, the best singers in L.A. All of them there, as union members, a union session that lasted 12 hours to sing all of these songs. After that song, they all stood up, and they cheered, and they just went wild. And you can hear it on the record.
VARGAS: Yes, and I hear that -- I spoke to a few people just seconds ago, and they were telling me how it was emotional, very emotional experience. It`s an emotional ride.
YOUNG: Well, it is. Living with war and having a conscience is what we`re doing. If you have a conscience, you can`t go through your day without realizing what`s going on, and questioning it, and going, "Is this right?" You know, we have to be cognizant of the fact that we can make mistakes; that`s how you -- that`s part of freedom.
VARGAS: Right.
YOUNG: We don`t all have to believe in what our president believes to be patriotic. And we also -- you know, this talk about a 9/11 mentality. No one, George Bush or anyone else, owns the 9/11 mentality.
It belongs to the United States of America; it belongs to every one who was sitting there with their family watching TV, watching those buildings get hit by those jets; it belongs to George Bush and his family; it belongs to John Kerry and his family; it belongs to me and my family, my American family.
So I have a post-9/11 mentality. It`s just not the same as George Bush`s.
VARGAS: I know that you`re also a Canadian, so people are going to talk about, well, you`re Canadian. I mean, does that give you less of a platform to say these things?
YOUNG: Maybe. I`m proud to be a Canadian. I`m proud to be living in the United States. I`m proud to be paying taxes here for 40 years. I`m proud of my three American children, my lovely American wife, my American family, and all of the people who have supported me here for 40 years.
It just so happens that I came down here because I`m an artist, and I came down here because, in Los Angeles, I could get things happening and so I could make it so people could hear me. That`s why I came down here. This is a great country, and I believe in this.
But I think there`s a conscience in the country, and I don`t think it`s being spoken. Only part of it is being spoken. It`s a full thing. Everybody needs to get into it; everybody needs a chance to say what they think.
VARGAS: Well, thank you so much for your time.
YOUNG: Thank you.
VARGAS: Tell me, when do you feel that this album will be released?
YOUNG: Well, they`re talking about that inside right now, and I know that it`s going to be very fast. It`s already at the manufacturing plant. We`re going to use the Internet, in many ways, to roll it out: first, the lyrics; then, music; and then, after we`ve got it out there and downloadable around the planet, we`re going to start releasing the discs as soon as they can be manufactured.
It`s a unique situation to be in, and we can take advantage of all the technology we have to communicate with. And it`s a different age. So I`m glad to be here.
VARGAS: Are you concerned, though, with any backlash that you might be...
YOUNG: I`m not in the least bit concerned. I expect it. I respect other people`s opinions. That`s part of what makes the United States and Canada and all free countries great, is the fact that you can differ with your friend and you can still sit down at the same table and break bread with your friend.
VARGAS: Well, thank you so much.
YOUNG: All right. Thank you very much.
VARGAS: I appreciate your time. Thanks a lot.
A.J., back to you.
Charlotte 00 Charlotte 03 Asheville 04 Atlanta 12 Greenville 16, Columbia 16 Seattle 18 Nashville 22
I also am sick of everyone bashing Bush left and right. If so many people are against Bush why did he get voted into office? For this reason, it's hard for me to watch the Daily Show. It's just 15 min of Bush-bashing and then the rest is some funny segment about something not Bush related and the guest is usually ultra liberal. Don't get me wrong, I also dislike Bush and I kind of regret voting for him but the Bush-bashing everywhere I turn is getting a bit annoying.
Definitely Bush bashing on every show. But there's just so much to bash! He also bashes dems, and many of his guests are conservatives. So don't like the show if you want to, but get your reasons straight.
I think this album is a little different though because the music is specifically and blatantly about Bush and the present War Against Iraq. So in a way him talking about bush is talking about the music.
almost the same as if someone asked him to talk about his song long may you run you would hear a story about his numerous cars he has and collects.
When neil was pushing prairie wind and the movie heart of gold most of his interviews did not become political becasue the subject matter of the album was more family oriented and the questions were geared towards that.
Does that make sense of why he would rant about bush in a current interview?
No, you've made a good point man. I would definitely lean away from his political beliefs, myself. But, if that's what the album is about and he's only promoting the album, then I guess I could see your point. But, I don't believe
for a second that it's the only reason he was blasting Bush, to push an album.
I just think that these types of guys, are so much living in a different type of world than we are, that they don't get it some times. They don't put themselves in , say my shoes, turning on the TV and seeing him whine about Bush & Iraq, and wanting to change the channel real fast. I'm a huge fan of his too. But I would never go buy that album now, and that's where these guys miss the point. They have fans because of their musical abililty, not their political babbling. It is a tough situation sometimes for fans of these guys who get all wrapped up in it, is what I'm saying -
Later
I'll keep taking punches
Untill their will grows tired
I see what you are saying. There is a guy locally here who does sports talk radio and i really like his talk radio a lot sometimes though he'll get off subject and start talking politics and he is quite conservitive and since i'm not it annoys me.
I actually listen to him less now because of it and i'm quick to turn the channel if i feel he is getting a bit preachy about the good ole Repulblican party.
I think it is tough for folks like neil to seperate himself and his music though. His lyrics have always been deeply washed in emotion because he puts his heart in it so because of that his lyrics are very pesonal (although he does have that great nack of making it easy for everyone to relate to as well that may be what makes him so incrediable)
I know the subject matter may make it a difficult listen but i hope you do'nt give up on it totally it is supposed to be a rockin barn burner of an album.
Anyway he should have another album coming out later this year with CSN&Y... so like three albums in one year from neil :eek: he is a machine. Maybe that one will have some songs you would dig more on it.
Charlotte 00 Charlotte 03 Asheville 04 Atlanta 12 Greenville 16, Columbia 16 Seattle 18 Nashville 22
Until a few years ago I was president of Reprise Records, a label whose historical roster is really amazing-- from Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell to Green Day, Depeche Mode, The Smiths and... the point of this story, Neil Young. Now I'm retired from business and I live my life as a humble blogger. Last week I wrote a story about Neil's surprise new album, LIVING WITH WAR coming out. Please read that so I don't have to repeat anything I've already written and I can just continue from where I left off.
I left off right after having sat in a room in Elliot Roberts' home (Neil's manager) with earphones on listening to a disc Neil had made for him. After years of always hearing Neil's music on discs personally put together by Neil, I appreciated how much better this listening experience was bound to be compared to hearing the songs on a commercial CD. Before-- and again after-- playing it for me Elliot asked me not to write about it until Wednesday. That's today.
First my biases: I'm prone to love everything Neil records. I feel he's one of the greatest songwriters and musicians of our time. If I listen to a song of his and I don't get it, I have long learned that that is because I haven't spent enough time with it and that when I do, I will eventually see what he was trying to do and appreciate it. A second bias, just as strong-- and one regular DWT readers are already very aware of and probably in sync with-- is my abiding mistrust for the Bush Regime and the alarm with which I view what they have done, and continue to do, to the country I love so much. The nexus of these two biases lead to an incredible hour of listening.
The specifics of the songs Neil has recorded and the points he raises lyrically should come as no surprise-- not even to people whose consciousnesses have been enveloped in a powerful and mind-numbing haze for the last few years. Conventional wisdom has pretty much made it clear that Bush and his regime are incompetent, venal and corrupt and that his war is one of the most catastrophic foreign policy blunders every made by a U.S. president. What Neil has done with LIVING WITH WAR is made these idess easily digestible for post-literate western society at large. He's managed to create a body of work that will help make it easy for people to talk about the war, Bush's short-comings and how to deal with them. Virtually no one wants the U.S. to start a (nuclear?) war against Iran-- not the citizens of this country and not the professional military. But who's going to stop Bush and the crazed, obsessed fanatics he's surrounded himself with? LIVING WITH WAR will filter up into political policy circles, not with answers but with the questions he's raised from us and for us.
According to his manager, Neil recently flew back from the Nashville premiere of his film, HEART OF GOLD, with Steve Bing, a film producer friend who is also one of the most consistently generous supporters of progressive causes in the U.S. (Bing, 41 and one of the richest men in America, who at 6'4" likes to wear jeans and T-shirts, has donated mightily to the Democratic Party, to Stanford University and gave $10 million to the National Resources Defense Council's study of global warming, among many other things.) He and Neil had a long talk about Bush's war in Iraq and what the Bush Regime has been doing to the U.S. The discussion helped Neil flesh out an idea that was germinating in his mind, a concept album about Bush's America, something he started getting at when he wrote and performed GREENDALE. From the time he started writing the songs until the album was recorded, 9 days passed. Neil can be fast, but that is really fast.
The first track is called "After the Garden" and, obviously, its first lines are the first lines of the album:
Won't need no shadow man
Runnin' the government
A nice optimistic beginning for a collection of songs that could have been a big downer. Neil chose a different road though-- one that is inspiring and positive, both musically and lyrically.
The second song, Living With War, is something I've already covered in the first post and I included all the lyrics there. Neil's use of part of the "Star Spangled Banner" towards the end is chilling and a great reminder that this is our country, not just Bush's and Cheney's and Rumsfeld's and the reactionaries' who are behind the immensely unpopular and tottering, incompetent regime.
The next song starts out dark and ominous, "The Restless Consumer," a song as destined to be called "Don't Need No More Lies," as Green Day's classic "Good Riddance" is always called "Time Of Your Life." This is a heavy song that weaves together several threads which have shown up in Neil's work for many years. Just from my one listen I took from it an anger at the power of "Madison Avenue" to create absurd demands-- from needless consumerism to... needless wars. The song questions how a society-- ours-- sets priorities. Why wars instead of curing diseases, for example? This'll be a good one for college professors to discuss with their students for decades to come.
"Shock And Awe" is the fourth song on the record. Neil doesn't have planes and tanks and bombs. He has words and, ultimately, his "Shock and Awe" will be long remembered after Bush and his shock and awe are nothing but an unfortunate footnote in history books.
Back in the days of shock and awe
We came to liberate them all
History was the cruel judge of overconfidence
Back in the days of shock and awe.
Thousands of children scarred for life
Millions of tears for a soldier's wife
Both sides are losing now...
I remember thinking that right around this point in my listening experience, and especially with the next song, "Families," came the realization that I was listening to a classic Neil album that will go down as one of his greatest. The sixth song, "Flags of Freedom," made me glad I was sitting alone so I could let me tears flow freely without embarrassing myself or anyone else. The first 2 lines give it all away:
"Today is the day our younger son/Is going off to war..."
The blurb Neil wrote on his website, "I think it is a metal version of Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan... metal folk protest?" has a lot to do with this song. There's even a shout out to Dylan in the lyrics!
The next song is the one that really lays it on the line, the one all his accumulated moral authority allows him to write, the one everyone wants to know about, "Let's Impeach the President." Maybe his pal Steve Bing should send the lyrics to all the wet-finger-in-the-wind Democratic senators who refuse to back Russ Feingold's moderate censure resolution. Instinctively, Neil must have known the song is going to cause an uproar and become the focus of the album. So he crafted an absolute masterpiece, immune from the barbs and arrows that will surely come.
Let's impeach the president for lying
Misleading our country into war
Abusing all the power that we gave him
And shipping all our money out the door
He then goes on to lay out a case as strong as anything Henry Waxman is going to do-- maybe not as specific-- but a lot more poetic. The song discusses the Regime's criminality, spying, the mess they made of post-Katrina New Orleans, hijacking "our religion" for partisan purposes, as well as how they have used divisiveness and racism to further their political agenda. Neil backs up his lyrics with Bush's own words, turning his inspid/Orwellian words on tape against him as the song is transformed from a hard rocker into a soaring gospel inspirational.
He follows it with a more forward-looking "Lookin' For A Leader," which has the musical potential to be a single. It's a song crying out to "re-unite the red, white and blue," and to "clean up the corruption." Neil sings that "We're lookin' for a leader/With the Great Spirit on his side." He even includes an interesting couple of shout outs to Colin Powell and to Barack Obama, with whom he spent some time at Farm Aid. (I won't give them away; you'll want to hear how he approaches this himself. He even almost mentions the Hillary word... but doesn't-- thank God.) This song is a really good rocker that radio programmers are probably going to gravitate to; it won't get the raving, vicious right wing fanatics calling in and threatening to kill djs.
The album ends with a song about somebody's buddy who went to Iraq, "Roger and Out" and it goes into a stirring rendition of "America the Beautiful" sung by a 100 piece choir. Elliot assured me it was comprised of the best voices in L.A. It sounded that way. And they're singing all over the album. In fact one of them, Alicia Morgan, an articulate and idealistic blogger, as well as a wonderful singer, was interviewed the other day in THE INDEPENDENT, a U.K. newspaper.
I spoke to some of my old comrades at Reprise today. They're still getting their heads around a marketing strategy for the album, although it looks like an early summer release, perhaps with songs streaming on the internet early and probably a single to radio "very soon."
Charlotte 00 Charlotte 03 Asheville 04 Atlanta 12 Greenville 16, Columbia 16 Seattle 18 Nashville 22
No, you've made a good point man. I would definitely lean away from his political beliefs, myself. But, if that's what the album is about and he's only promoting the album, then I guess I could see your point. But, I don't believe
for a second that it's the only reason he was blasting Bush, to push an album.
I just think that these types of guys, are so much living in a different type of world than we are, that they don't get it some times. They don't put themselves in , say my shoes, turning on the TV and seeing him whine about Bush & Iraq, and wanting to change the channel real fast. I'm a huge fan of his too. But I would never go buy that album now, and that's where these guys miss the point. They have fans because of their musical abililty, not their political babbling. It is a tough situation sometimes for fans of these guys who get all wrapped up in it, is what I'm saying -
Later
it's really hard to get away from neil's political, social, and historical beliefs really. he's always written that way...ohio, campaigner, cortez the killer, alabama, southern man, the needle and the damage done, rockin' in the free world, the whole greeendale album, let's roll, war of man....and it goes on and on. even "this note's for you" was banned for a while! a lot of people are fans of neil not only because of the music but because of the subject matter he presents. i can understand, though, that some people don't like to think about what they're listening to.
if you were to put yourself in the shoes of neil, the artist, you could see how he feels about seeing war and death everyday on the tv and wanting to "change the channel"...in other words to put an end to it, and bring about peace.
the true artists like neil "get" a lot more than most people do and that's why they have a passion for spreading their messages, their thoughts, and their music. he doesn't live in a different world than we do, he just sees it for what it could be and tries to present his vision as an artist.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have the man with me here right now. He just came out of Reprise Records. This is your record company, your label. This music, right, is already causing a stir, actually. You`ve got one song that`s called "Let`s Impeach the President." What is this song about?
NEIL YOUNG, MUSICIAN: Well, it`s a song that pretty well follows the title just with a bunch of reasons. And it`s a long song.
VARGAS: Are you concerned that some might think that you`re unpatriotic?
YOUNG: Oh, no, I`m not concerned about that in the least. I feel like I`m exercising my right of free speech, which is what our boys are fighting for the Iraqi people to have. And I think, if we take it away from the people here in the United States, that we`re taking a step really in the wrong direction.
That`s what is great about this country and about all free countries, is freedom of speech and the ability to express yourself; that makes us different from everybody else. And so I`m not worried about that.
VARGAS: What do you think about cynics who say that, OK, the climate has changed. There are not that many people that are pro-Bush anymore, or his popularity is not as strong. Perhaps you`re using this as a way to sell more records?
YOUNG: You know, I don`t know about the selling more records. I don`t know how many records it`s going to sell. That`s not really a concern of mine.
I just want to communicate. That`s why I`ve been making records for 40 years, and some of them sell a lot, some of them don`t sell any. So this isn`t about selling records. This is about exchanging ideas. It`s about getting a message out. It`s about empowering people by giving them a voice.
I know not everyone believes what I say is what they think, but, like I said before, you know, red and blue is not black and white. We`re altogether; it`s a record about unification.
VARGAS: Surely, though, I mean, you say it`s a record about unification, but with a title like "Let`s Impeach the President"...
YOUNG: That`s not the title of the record.
VARGAS: Not the record, but the song.
YOUNG: Yes, right.
VARGAS: "Let`s Impeach the President," that is pretty strong, strong words.
YOUNG: Yes, yes, I think it is. I think it`s called for, and so do a lot of other people. As a matter of fact, when I played in there for 100 people, they all stood up and gave me a standing ovation. There wasn`t one person that wasn`t standing. And we were looking for that kind of backing.
That`s what happened when I did it with 100 people singing with me at Capitol Records, one of our great, old American record companies, in their great studio, with 100 studio musicians, the best singers in L.A. All of them there, as union members, a union session that lasted 12 hours to sing all of these songs. After that song, they all stood up, and they cheered, and they just went wild. And you can hear it on the record.
VARGAS: Yes, and I hear that -- I spoke to a few people just seconds ago, and they were telling me how it was emotional, very emotional experience. It`s an emotional ride.
YOUNG: Well, it is. Living with war and having a conscience is what we`re doing. If you have a conscience, you can`t go through your day without realizing what`s going on, and questioning it, and going, "Is this right?" You know, we have to be cognizant of the fact that we can make mistakes; that`s how you -- that`s part of freedom.
VARGAS: Right.
YOUNG: We don`t all have to believe in what our president believes to be patriotic. And we also -- you know, this talk about a 9/11 mentality. No one, George Bush or anyone else, owns the 9/11 mentality.
It belongs to the United States of America; it belongs to every one who was sitting there with their family watching TV, watching those buildings get hit by those jets; it belongs to George Bush and his family; it belongs to John Kerry and his family; it belongs to me and my family, my American family.
So I have a post-9/11 mentality. It`s just not the same as George Bush`s.
VARGAS: I know that you`re also a Canadian, so people are going to talk about, well, you`re Canadian. I mean, does that give you less of a platform to say these things?
YOUNG: Maybe. I`m proud to be a Canadian. I`m proud to be living in the United States. I`m proud to be paying taxes here for 40 years. I`m proud of my three American children, my lovely American wife, my American family, and all of the people who have supported me here for 40 years.
It just so happens that I came down here because I`m an artist, and I came down here because, in Los Angeles, I could get things happening and so I could make it so people could hear me. That`s why I came down here. This is a great country, and I believe in this.
But I think there`s a conscience in the country, and I don`t think it`s being spoken. Only part of it is being spoken. It`s a full thing. Everybody needs to get into it; everybody needs a chance to say what they think.
VARGAS: Well, thank you so much for your time.
YOUNG: Thank you.
VARGAS: Tell me, when do you feel that this album will be released?
YOUNG: Well, they`re talking about that inside right now, and I know that it`s going to be very fast. It`s already at the manufacturing plant. We`re going to use the Internet, in many ways, to roll it out: first, the lyrics; then, music; and then, after we`ve got it out there and downloadable around the planet, we`re going to start releasing the discs as soon as they can be manufactured.
It`s a unique situation to be in, and we can take advantage of all the technology we have to communicate with. And it`s a different age. So I`m glad to be here.
VARGAS: Are you concerned, though, with any backlash that you might be...
YOUNG: I`m not in the least bit concerned. I expect it. I respect other people`s opinions. That`s part of what makes the United States and Canada and all free countries great, is the fact that you can differ with your friend and you can still sit down at the same table and break bread with your friend.
VARGAS: Well, thank you so much.
YOUNG: All right. Thank you very much.
VARGAS: I appreciate your time. Thanks a lot.
A.J., back to you.
awesome intodeep! i wish i'd seen the interview. thanks for sharing the whole transcript with us here.
Thanks for posting that interview. Doesn't seem like Neil was really bashing the president at all but rather just saying he doesn't necessarily agree with him and that it's not unpatriotic to disagree with the president. I for one, can't stand the president, think the bashing is warranted, and should continue, and now I really want to hear the Neil Young song they were talking about. In fact, I've never been this jazzed up about a Neil Young song.
"The Wild is chasing after me. Hot on my trail won't leave me alone. All I can see is your blood right in front of me, and I can't kill The Wild." Me
You are very much entitled to your opinion, but be aware this is not new for neil young. through out his entire career he has made a point to write about things he is passionate about and that includes politics.
For instance
Ohio
Campaigner
those were very obvious ones and there are tons more that are not as openly against a particular person but very political. For instance the entire greendale album, RITFW, and many more.
ARtist write about things they are passonate about. Pop singers and entertainers write about fun things to entertain people. Neil Young has never said he is an entertainer he is an artist. He follow's his muse and if his muse has him fired up about politics that is what he will write about.
Just as he has every right to make an album about any topic you have that same write not to listen.
I get upset when people say musicians should not talk about politics.... i don't understand that. The good ones write about politics because it is important to them.
Anyway I missed the interview what did neil say??
Goddamn right. No one complains when gospel singers sing about God. Singers sing about what inspires them.
There is patriotism and there is something such as a collective, blind patriotism. Why is the argument always that someone should go back to where he or she comes from if they make a point that actually hits home and makes someone look at what would make our country better? Who better than an outsider looking in to have a more objective point of view? Canadian, Irish, Martian, whomever...I think we need to take a long, hard look at why there HAVEN'T been more politically fired-up musical releases in these heinous times we are all witness to right now. As a college instructor the apathy and lack of protests I see is what sickens me...to think that the next generation of "leaders" are complacent enough to not question our so-called leadership is beyond me. Just food for thought--
Especially when the person is canadian and not from our country. This is The number one reason why i think Bono should stick it up his ass and go back to Ireland if he wants to complain.
THANK YOU! it's good to see, as you can catch the sarcasm a little more than reading the words...like neil saying "let's impeach the president" is mostly about the reasons why, then saying "it's a long song"...
...and kudos to the guy at the end saying that for people to say neil is looking for publicity, that's absolutely ridiculous. of course, vargas didn't respond to him saying that except with a fake smile and a "hmm", but it's fairly obvious.
There is patriotism and there is something such as a collective, blind patriotism. Why is the argument always that someone should go back to where he or she comes from if they make a point that actually hits home and makes someone look at what would make our country better? Who better than an outsider looking in to have a more objective point of view? Canadian, Irish, Martian, whomever...I think we need to take a long, hard look at why there HAVEN'T been more politically fired-up musical releases in these heinous times we are all witness to right now. As a college instructor the apathy and lack of protests I see is what sickens me...to think that the next generation of "leaders" are complacent enough to not question our so-called leadership is beyond me. Just food for thought--
Yeah I agree with Mookie Blaylock. There's a reason why there's so much Bush-bashing: its completely warranted. He's the figurehead of a dishonest, deceptive administration that has taken us to war for questionable motives. What the hell do you expect? The thing is, today's music fan doesn't want to hear about artists' opinions anymore. Back in the day, that was all there was to write about really, but now there's so much bullshit subject matter we can use to dance around issues. People view music now as an escape from reality or background noise. Escape from reality is cool and all (spoken like a true pot smoker), but the arts are such a powerful way of getting across a message to people, so why waste that?
well said mantis. ...especially your last point about artists not wasting their gift when they have an opportunity to convey a message they feel is important and should be heard.
Comments
Yeah, but Bush has done about a Million dumb things.....
The First Casualties Of WorldWideSuicide.....Viva La Pearl Jam!
interesting. primussucks, you're really the source for neil info. this stuff isn't on the rust list from what i've seen. i posted your crazy horse thing on the rust list. are you even on the rust list?
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/18/sbt.01.html
Missoula 6/20/98
Alpine Valley 6/26/98 & 6/27/98
Alpine Valley 10/8/00
Champaign 4/23/03
Alpine Valley 6/21/03
Missoula 8/29/05
Chicago 5/16 & 17/06
Grand Rapids 5/19/06
Summerfest 6/29/06 & 6/30/06
Tampa 6/12/08
Chicago 8/23/09
Indy 5/7/10
Alpine Valley x2 2011
Wrigley 2013
Milwaukee 14
Telluride 16
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
seconded, abook!
neil on conan again! sweet! i didn't realize he was on this friday...thanks for all the info. you rock! i wonder if he might play a tune from the new record?!?! hmmm...
...can't wait to see what neil does to conan's guitars this time
... unless Susie Essman, Brian Williams and Neil Young are ALL going to be guests again.
d'oh! oh well, i'll still watch again, it's neil!
NEIL YOUNG, MUSICIAN: Well, it`s a song that pretty well follows the title just with a bunch of reasons. And it`s a long song.
VARGAS: Are you concerned that some might think that you`re unpatriotic?
YOUNG: Oh, no, I`m not concerned about that in the least. I feel like I`m exercising my right of free speech, which is what our boys are fighting for the Iraqi people to have. And I think, if we take it away from the people here in the United States, that we`re taking a step really in the wrong direction.
That`s what is great about this country and about all free countries, is freedom of speech and the ability to express yourself; that makes us different from everybody else. And so I`m not worried about that.
VARGAS: What do you think about cynics who say that, OK, the climate has changed. There are not that many people that are pro-Bush anymore, or his popularity is not as strong. Perhaps you`re using this as a way to sell more records?
YOUNG: You know, I don`t know about the selling more records. I don`t know how many records it`s going to sell. That`s not really a concern of mine.
I just want to communicate. That`s why I`ve been making records for 40 years, and some of them sell a lot, some of them don`t sell any. So this isn`t about selling records. This is about exchanging ideas. It`s about getting a message out. It`s about empowering people by giving them a voice.
I know not everyone believes what I say is what they think, but, like I said before, you know, red and blue is not black and white. We`re altogether; it`s a record about unification.
VARGAS: Surely, though, I mean, you say it`s a record about unification, but with a title like "Let`s Impeach the President"...
YOUNG: That`s not the title of the record.
VARGAS: Not the record, but the song.
YOUNG: Yes, right.
VARGAS: "Let`s Impeach the President," that is pretty strong, strong words.
YOUNG: Yes, yes, I think it is. I think it`s called for, and so do a lot of other people. As a matter of fact, when I played in there for 100 people, they all stood up and gave me a standing ovation. There wasn`t one person that wasn`t standing. And we were looking for that kind of backing.
That`s what happened when I did it with 100 people singing with me at Capitol Records, one of our great, old American record companies, in their great studio, with 100 studio musicians, the best singers in L.A. All of them there, as union members, a union session that lasted 12 hours to sing all of these songs. After that song, they all stood up, and they cheered, and they just went wild. And you can hear it on the record.
VARGAS: Yes, and I hear that -- I spoke to a few people just seconds ago, and they were telling me how it was emotional, very emotional experience. It`s an emotional ride.
YOUNG: Well, it is. Living with war and having a conscience is what we`re doing. If you have a conscience, you can`t go through your day without realizing what`s going on, and questioning it, and going, "Is this right?" You know, we have to be cognizant of the fact that we can make mistakes; that`s how you -- that`s part of freedom.
VARGAS: Right.
YOUNG: We don`t all have to believe in what our president believes to be patriotic. And we also -- you know, this talk about a 9/11 mentality. No one, George Bush or anyone else, owns the 9/11 mentality.
It belongs to the United States of America; it belongs to every one who was sitting there with their family watching TV, watching those buildings get hit by those jets; it belongs to George Bush and his family; it belongs to John Kerry and his family; it belongs to me and my family, my American family.
So I have a post-9/11 mentality. It`s just not the same as George Bush`s.
VARGAS: I know that you`re also a Canadian, so people are going to talk about, well, you`re Canadian. I mean, does that give you less of a platform to say these things?
YOUNG: Maybe. I`m proud to be a Canadian. I`m proud to be living in the United States. I`m proud to be paying taxes here for 40 years. I`m proud of my three American children, my lovely American wife, my American family, and all of the people who have supported me here for 40 years.
It just so happens that I came down here because I`m an artist, and I came down here because, in Los Angeles, I could get things happening and so I could make it so people could hear me. That`s why I came down here. This is a great country, and I believe in this.
But I think there`s a conscience in the country, and I don`t think it`s being spoken. Only part of it is being spoken. It`s a full thing. Everybody needs to get into it; everybody needs a chance to say what they think.
VARGAS: Well, thank you so much for your time.
YOUNG: Thank you.
VARGAS: Tell me, when do you feel that this album will be released?
YOUNG: Well, they`re talking about that inside right now, and I know that it`s going to be very fast. It`s already at the manufacturing plant. We`re going to use the Internet, in many ways, to roll it out: first, the lyrics; then, music; and then, after we`ve got it out there and downloadable around the planet, we`re going to start releasing the discs as soon as they can be manufactured.
It`s a unique situation to be in, and we can take advantage of all the technology we have to communicate with. And it`s a different age. So I`m glad to be here.
VARGAS: Are you concerned, though, with any backlash that you might be...
YOUNG: I`m not in the least bit concerned. I expect it. I respect other people`s opinions. That`s part of what makes the United States and Canada and all free countries great, is the fact that you can differ with your friend and you can still sit down at the same table and break bread with your friend.
VARGAS: Well, thank you so much.
YOUNG: All right. Thank you very much.
VARGAS: I appreciate your time. Thanks a lot.
A.J., back to you.
Charlotte 03
Asheville 04
Atlanta 12
Greenville 16, Columbia 16
Seattle 18
Nashville 22
Definitely Bush bashing on every show. But there's just so much to bash! He also bashes dems, and many of his guests are conservatives. So don't like the show if you want to, but get your reasons straight.
Untill their will grows tired
I actually listen to him less now because of it and i'm quick to turn the channel if i feel he is getting a bit preachy about the good ole Repulblican party.
I think it is tough for folks like neil to seperate himself and his music though. His lyrics have always been deeply washed in emotion because he puts his heart in it so because of that his lyrics are very pesonal (although he does have that great nack of making it easy for everyone to relate to as well that may be what makes him so incrediable)
I know the subject matter may make it a difficult listen but i hope you do'nt give up on it totally it is supposed to be a rockin barn burner of an album.
Anyway he should have another album coming out later this year with CSN&Y... so like three albums in one year from neil :eek: he is a machine. Maybe that one will have some songs you would dig more on it.
Charlotte 03
Asheville 04
Atlanta 12
Greenville 16, Columbia 16
Seattle 18
Nashville 22
Until a few years ago I was president of Reprise Records, a label whose historical roster is really amazing-- from Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell to Green Day, Depeche Mode, The Smiths and... the point of this story, Neil Young. Now I'm retired from business and I live my life as a humble blogger. Last week I wrote a story about Neil's surprise new album, LIVING WITH WAR coming out. Please read that so I don't have to repeat anything I've already written and I can just continue from where I left off.
I left off right after having sat in a room in Elliot Roberts' home (Neil's manager) with earphones on listening to a disc Neil had made for him. After years of always hearing Neil's music on discs personally put together by Neil, I appreciated how much better this listening experience was bound to be compared to hearing the songs on a commercial CD. Before-- and again after-- playing it for me Elliot asked me not to write about it until Wednesday. That's today.
First my biases: I'm prone to love everything Neil records. I feel he's one of the greatest songwriters and musicians of our time. If I listen to a song of his and I don't get it, I have long learned that that is because I haven't spent enough time with it and that when I do, I will eventually see what he was trying to do and appreciate it. A second bias, just as strong-- and one regular DWT readers are already very aware of and probably in sync with-- is my abiding mistrust for the Bush Regime and the alarm with which I view what they have done, and continue to do, to the country I love so much. The nexus of these two biases lead to an incredible hour of listening.
The specifics of the songs Neil has recorded and the points he raises lyrically should come as no surprise-- not even to people whose consciousnesses have been enveloped in a powerful and mind-numbing haze for the last few years. Conventional wisdom has pretty much made it clear that Bush and his regime are incompetent, venal and corrupt and that his war is one of the most catastrophic foreign policy blunders every made by a U.S. president. What Neil has done with LIVING WITH WAR is made these idess easily digestible for post-literate western society at large. He's managed to create a body of work that will help make it easy for people to talk about the war, Bush's short-comings and how to deal with them. Virtually no one wants the U.S. to start a (nuclear?) war against Iran-- not the citizens of this country and not the professional military. But who's going to stop Bush and the crazed, obsessed fanatics he's surrounded himself with? LIVING WITH WAR will filter up into political policy circles, not with answers but with the questions he's raised from us and for us.
According to his manager, Neil recently flew back from the Nashville premiere of his film, HEART OF GOLD, with Steve Bing, a film producer friend who is also one of the most consistently generous supporters of progressive causes in the U.S. (Bing, 41 and one of the richest men in America, who at 6'4" likes to wear jeans and T-shirts, has donated mightily to the Democratic Party, to Stanford University and gave $10 million to the National Resources Defense Council's study of global warming, among many other things.) He and Neil had a long talk about Bush's war in Iraq and what the Bush Regime has been doing to the U.S. The discussion helped Neil flesh out an idea that was germinating in his mind, a concept album about Bush's America, something he started getting at when he wrote and performed GREENDALE. From the time he started writing the songs until the album was recorded, 9 days passed. Neil can be fast, but that is really fast.
The first track is called "After the Garden" and, obviously, its first lines are the first lines of the album:
Won't need no shadow man
Runnin' the government
A nice optimistic beginning for a collection of songs that could have been a big downer. Neil chose a different road though-- one that is inspiring and positive, both musically and lyrically.
The second song, Living With War, is something I've already covered in the first post and I included all the lyrics there. Neil's use of part of the "Star Spangled Banner" towards the end is chilling and a great reminder that this is our country, not just Bush's and Cheney's and Rumsfeld's and the reactionaries' who are behind the immensely unpopular and tottering, incompetent regime.
The next song starts out dark and ominous, "The Restless Consumer," a song as destined to be called "Don't Need No More Lies," as Green Day's classic "Good Riddance" is always called "Time Of Your Life." This is a heavy song that weaves together several threads which have shown up in Neil's work for many years. Just from my one listen I took from it an anger at the power of "Madison Avenue" to create absurd demands-- from needless consumerism to... needless wars. The song questions how a society-- ours-- sets priorities. Why wars instead of curing diseases, for example? This'll be a good one for college professors to discuss with their students for decades to come.
"Shock And Awe" is the fourth song on the record. Neil doesn't have planes and tanks and bombs. He has words and, ultimately, his "Shock and Awe" will be long remembered after Bush and his shock and awe are nothing but an unfortunate footnote in history books.
Back in the days of shock and awe
We came to liberate them all
History was the cruel judge of overconfidence
Back in the days of shock and awe.
Thousands of children scarred for life
Millions of tears for a soldier's wife
Both sides are losing now...
I remember thinking that right around this point in my listening experience, and especially with the next song, "Families," came the realization that I was listening to a classic Neil album that will go down as one of his greatest. The sixth song, "Flags of Freedom," made me glad I was sitting alone so I could let me tears flow freely without embarrassing myself or anyone else. The first 2 lines give it all away:
"Today is the day our younger son/Is going off to war..."
The blurb Neil wrote on his website, "I think it is a metal version of Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan... metal folk protest?" has a lot to do with this song. There's even a shout out to Dylan in the lyrics!
The next song is the one that really lays it on the line, the one all his accumulated moral authority allows him to write, the one everyone wants to know about, "Let's Impeach the President." Maybe his pal Steve Bing should send the lyrics to all the wet-finger-in-the-wind Democratic senators who refuse to back Russ Feingold's moderate censure resolution. Instinctively, Neil must have known the song is going to cause an uproar and become the focus of the album. So he crafted an absolute masterpiece, immune from the barbs and arrows that will surely come.
Let's impeach the president for lying
Misleading our country into war
Abusing all the power that we gave him
And shipping all our money out the door
He then goes on to lay out a case as strong as anything Henry Waxman is going to do-- maybe not as specific-- but a lot more poetic. The song discusses the Regime's criminality, spying, the mess they made of post-Katrina New Orleans, hijacking "our religion" for partisan purposes, as well as how they have used divisiveness and racism to further their political agenda. Neil backs up his lyrics with Bush's own words, turning his inspid/Orwellian words on tape against him as the song is transformed from a hard rocker into a soaring gospel inspirational.
He follows it with a more forward-looking "Lookin' For A Leader," which has the musical potential to be a single. It's a song crying out to "re-unite the red, white and blue," and to "clean up the corruption." Neil sings that "We're lookin' for a leader/With the Great Spirit on his side." He even includes an interesting couple of shout outs to Colin Powell and to Barack Obama, with whom he spent some time at Farm Aid. (I won't give them away; you'll want to hear how he approaches this himself. He even almost mentions the Hillary word... but doesn't-- thank God.) This song is a really good rocker that radio programmers are probably going to gravitate to; it won't get the raving, vicious right wing fanatics calling in and threatening to kill djs.
The album ends with a song about somebody's buddy who went to Iraq, "Roger and Out" and it goes into a stirring rendition of "America the Beautiful" sung by a 100 piece choir. Elliot assured me it was comprised of the best voices in L.A. It sounded that way. And they're singing all over the album. In fact one of them, Alicia Morgan, an articulate and idealistic blogger, as well as a wonderful singer, was interviewed the other day in THE INDEPENDENT, a U.K. newspaper.
I spoke to some of my old comrades at Reprise today. They're still getting their heads around a marketing strategy for the album, although it looks like an early summer release, perhaps with songs streaming on the internet early and probably a single to radio "very soon."
Charlotte 03
Asheville 04
Atlanta 12
Greenville 16, Columbia 16
Seattle 18
Nashville 22
it's really hard to get away from neil's political, social, and historical beliefs really. he's always written that way...ohio, campaigner, cortez the killer, alabama, southern man, the needle and the damage done, rockin' in the free world, the whole greeendale album, let's roll, war of man....and it goes on and on. even "this note's for you" was banned for a while! a lot of people are fans of neil not only because of the music but because of the subject matter he presents. i can understand, though, that some people don't like to think about what they're listening to.
if you were to put yourself in the shoes of neil, the artist, you could see how he feels about seeing war and death everyday on the tv and wanting to "change the channel"...in other words to put an end to it, and bring about peace.
the true artists like neil "get" a lot more than most people do and that's why they have a passion for spreading their messages, their thoughts, and their music. he doesn't live in a different world than we do, he just sees it for what it could be and tries to present his vision as an artist.
awesome intodeep! i wish i'd seen the interview. thanks for sharing the whole transcript with us here.
Goddamn right. No one complains when gospel singers sing about God. Singers sing about what inspires them.
THANK YOU!
...and kudos to the guy at the end saying that for people to say neil is looking for publicity, that's absolutely ridiculous. of course, vargas didn't respond to him saying that except with a fake smile and a "hmm", but it's fairly obvious.
excellent post
http://mediamatters.org/items/200604180008