Posted on 04/01/2005 7:12:05 PM PST by satchmodog9
Maybe Neil should have gone to one of our many plastic surgeons as well.
Good musician,but his political philosophy is in the garbage.I've read he's a very strange individual.
Blame Canada.
"I've read he's a very strange individual".
Among his peers he probably doesn't even stand out, but strange in what way?
You better be able to swallow on your own, old buddy, cause I have two words for ya: Pinellas County.
For me, it was Joni Mitchell...the great one of our generation. I played guitar when I was in my teens and early twenties. I miss those days. I think they should have an American Idol for middle-aged people! Wouldn't that be a hoot!
He put out a lot of good music including Zuma Beach, After The Gold Rush, Harvest, Long May You Run, (With Stephen Stills)and On The Beach.
My son just started playing guitar about a year ago, and has gravitated to Neil Young, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, CCR, etc. He finally got out of the hip-hop stage as he now appreciates good guitar music.
Songs and songwriting are far more simple "wordplay" than some reflection of the singer's real life for the most part. Sometimes I wonder if people really believe that Johnny Cash actually "shot a man in Reno just to watch him die". Singers and songwriters get into a role just as an actor does for the purpose of presenting a point of view that isn't always their own. Young, for example, also wrote one of Waylon's great hits, "Are You Ready for the Country?", so these guys can be all over the map.
I also understand that Young and his long-term wife have an autistic child to whom they are devoted and caring. "Long-term wife" and "devoted to his children" (as well as loyal to his friends) are enough for me to be inclined to look at this guy more positively than the content of all his songs.
"Strange in what way?"Over the years i've read a number of articles about Neil Young.People who have known him(in the music business)have said he's very eccentric.Nothing specific(nothing of a sexual nature)Just odd.Another tid bit,he doesn't use drugs or alcohol.I'd always assumed these 60's counter cultural types were prolific drug users(a liberal's Ted Nugent?).Worked with musicians in the 90's.Remember Seattle Grunge??He's drug free,but worked with musicians who used,became addicted,and died from heroin use.Kind of ironic?
Wouldn't surprise me of the majority of his audience in Folsom State prison believed it. .....for no other reason than to make themselves feel better. (But I don't think many people believed that Cash's dad named him "Sue" ;)
Similarly, many folks appear to have personal investments in this non-existent bitter rivalry between Young and Skynyrd. ....to feed their self-righteousness, probably. If a situation isn't black and white - good guy / bad guy - they have a difficult time comprehending it.
Young, for example, also wrote one of Waylon's great hits, "Are You Ready for the Country?",
A song on the same album (Harvest) as "Alabama," in fact. ....and another gem.
Multimillions of dollars afford one the luxury of becoming eccentric, would love to have a whack at that.
Doesn't it frustrate you when someone doesn't do drugs and alcohol but still ends up with a brain aneurism.
Do love his music, too. Too bad about his political stances. When will these guys realize the reason they got to go where they did is because this is a great country.
As far as brain aneurysm is concerned,it can happen to anyone at any age.I'm all for living a "clean" life,but unfortunately it's no guarantee.A friend at work(non smoker,non drinker)had one in her mid-thirties,no warning signs,nothing.At one time i was a fan of Young(Rust Never Sleeps,etc),but his anti-US beliefs kind of overwhelmed the music for me personally.Same applies to CSNY(loved the harmonies).I go to a lot of concerts,but i won't pay to see NY or CSNY.A lot of groups from 60's and 70's exploited(and encouraged)anti-US sentiment for commercial success.
"Blame Canada"Are you sure about that?The music biz seems to attract a lot of liberal nut cases from both sides of the border:)
I meant the comment as more of a South Park joke than anything. While I agree the nuts are on both sides of the border, I have to say Canada actively promotes his type of insanity.
That would be great. Maybe 'The Unknown Comic' could make an appearance.
Although he had a lot of comedy work under his belt before then, Murray Langston's career hit a critical mass when he appeared on the Gong Show. He needed the money and didn't want his friends to know, so he put a bag over his head, became "The Unknown Comic" and it took off, resulting in over 150 subsequent appearances on the show and a cult following."
Anymore. He was a huge druggie in the 60s and 70s. And I hate to say this, but his music has suffered since he quit.
Really no need to "hate to say it", it's true. Many musical artists were much more creative on certain drugs. Many writers too. It's very understandable.
I can still air guitar every note from that long, long song.
Me too!
I had heard rumor that the [then] obscure song with which he opened many a concert, but wasn't on any album, was the flip side of the little sold 45 "Cinnamon Girl".
I lit out for Atlanta and finally found it in a used book/record store near the Wren's Nest. (Joel Chandler Harris' home)
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