Neil Young's Prairie Wind

[bearsville0]

I have to second bearsville on the Massey Hall CD.
Neil just shines like gold on this.

I just put the DVD Live at Massey Hall at the top of my Netflix queue. Can't wait.

Indeed which just makes the execrable Living With War that much harder to take. 

I'm balking at getting that album with such obvious political content, (regardless of whether he's right or wrong in his opinions). I tend to think that you severely compromise the musical quality when the priority is about making a political point.

Unless you are the Sex Pistols of course.

[Danny]

I just put the DVD Live at Massey Hall at the top of my Netflix queue. Can't wait.

I'm balking at getting that album with such obvious political content, (regardless of whether he's right or wrong in his opinions). I tend to think that you severely compromise the musical quality when the priority is about making a political point

ditto     

[ducktrapper]

I just put the DVD Live at Massey Hall at the top of my Netflix queue. Can't wait.

I'm balking at getting that album with such obvious political content, (regardless of whether he's right or wrong in his opinions). I tend to think that you severely compromise the musical quality when the priority is about making a political point.

Unless you are the Sex Pistols of course.

That's precisely the problem. Whether you agree or not with the actual position, there's nothing cutting edge or particularly interesting about criticizing the government these days. It's become doctrinaire and quite frankly, boring. Besides the songs on LWW are among his all time weakest. I'd rather listen to Tron.

[Tycho]

Living With War illustrated the problem with feeling like you have something to say and also feeling like it's so important that you have to get it out there as soon as you've recorded it, without giving yourself some time to decide if it really is any good.  Sometimes it works brilliantly ("Ohio", released in, I think, June 1970 about three weeks after Kent State), more often it doesn't.

[Danny]

Living With War illustrated the problem with feeling like you have something to say and also feeling like it's so important that you have to get it out there as soon as you've recorded it, without giving yourself some time to decide if it really is any good.  Sometimes it works brilliantly ("Ohio", released in, I think, June 1970 about three weeks after Kent State), more often it doesn't.

Yea, just the mention of Ohio and I get chills..."Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming, we're finally on our own.."
    The driving guitar licks fit perfect as well.

[bearsville0]

Living With War illustrated the problem with feeling like you have something to say and also feeling like it's so important that you have to get it out there as soon as you've recorded it, without giving yourself some time to decide if it really is any good.  Sometimes it works brilliantly ("Ohio", released in, I think, June 1970 about three weeks after Kent State), more often it doesn't.

                 Yea, just the mention of Ohio and I get chills..."Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming, we're finally on our own.."
    The driving guitar licks fit perfect as well.

That's precisely the problem. Whether you agree or not with the actual position, there's nothing cutting edge or particularly interesting about criticizing the government these days. It's become doctrinaire and quite frankly, boring. Besides the songs on LWW are among his all time weakest. I'd rather listen to Tron.

I think the politics of "Southern Man" is spine tingling too. "Ohio" and "Southern Man" have a spontaneous quality to them (as do "God Save The Queen" and "Anarchy in the U.K."  by the Sex Pistols) but in general I am disinclined to get woody about political music or social commentary. It's too easy for it to turn into propaganda, that is, calculated and uninspiring.

[Tycho]

I saw Bruce Cockburn do a Q&A today at the Humber Songwriting Workshop and he discussed some of the issues in doing political material.  Basically his position seemed to boil down to: I got political when I felt the need to, and if some people found it offensive, too bad.  I had something I wanted to say so I said it. 

He added though, that for years he had stayed away from political stuff because he thought it was unseemly to mix politics and art.  What changed his mind was just having a sense of urgency about what he wanted to say.

I wanted to ask him whether he then found it difficult to move back to personal introspective stuff because he had developed a whole new audience that expected him to be political every time...but instead I chickened out and asked him how he writes instrumentals.

Bringing things back to Neil, Cockburn told a story about his manager Bernie Finkelstein finding himself on a flight beside Elliot Roberts, Neil's manager.  They were discussing the fact that the two of them had been managing their respective artists longer than almost anyone else in the business.  Roberts said he attributed that to the fact that Neil calls him every day.  Bernie replied: "That's funny.  I attribute it to the fact that Bruce never calls me at all."

[omozom]

Politics and the arts will always be intwined. Some of our best art through the ages has been politically inspired.
Thank God for people who feel it is their social duty to speak out about the important issues.

[Danny]

  Well .... let's see what was this thread about?

[bearsville0]

He added though, that for years he had stayed away from political stuff because he thought it was unseemly to mix politics and art.  What changed his mind was just having a sense of urgency about what he wanted to say.

"Urgency" to me is the key word there. Perhaps ducktrapper would agree with me, I don't think there is any urgency in trashing Bush these days. He's already toast.

Politics and the arts will always be intwined. Some of our best art through the ages has been politically inspired.
Thank God for people who feel it is their social duty to speak out about the important issues.

I would rather people did their social duty through an op-ed column or a public demonstration or by just recycling after themselves.

Call me selfish but I want my art to be more about being emotionally moved to either dance or to cry. Speaking out through music about important social issues sounds great but I would guess it rarely makes any difference. Look at  that "We are the world" event in the 80s to help Africa. The best thing that came out of that was that they had a good rehearsal for when they had to do it again 20 years later. Sorry to be so cynical but I'm just too jaded about art having any real political wallop.

[bearsville0]

  Well .... let's see what was this thread about?

I think it's okay to take a little diversion. 

Plus I think I could make a case (in keeping with the original topic) about how tough it must be to be Neil Young and other big stars when you know you just can't please everyone. They must hate us sometimes.

[Danny]

 Neil almost said as much, He doesn't do autographs or talk to many fans etc.  Yea your right a little diversions fine.
       So what do ya think about those ping tuners, eh?

[bearsville0]

Neil almost said as much, He doesn't do autographs or talk to many fans etc.  Yea your right a little diversions fine.
       So what do ya think about those ping tuners, eh?

I wouldn't have anything else on my guitar!!!!         But then, WTF do I know about tuners?     Just tell me what Neil Young uses on Hank Williams' old Martin and I'll go buy a set of those.

[Caleb]

I've seen this film and really enjoyed it.  Oddly enough I thought it was a bit long.  I really liked the old Martin that he was playing.  Really cool that it used to be Hank's. 

[bearsville0]

I just put the DVD Live at Massey Hall at the top of my Netflix queue. Can't wait.

Saw the Massey Hall DVD. 

What a voice eh? That's some gift. He looks like a Neanderthal, but that voice!

[ducktrapper]

Politics and the arts will always be intwined. Some of our best art through the ages has been politically inspired.
Thank God for people who feel it is their social duty to speak out about the important issues.

IMO, it's one thing to have breaking news, a new, or at least, a not totally echo chambered opinion and another to just parrot the party line. The politics of piling on are not that interesting. Ohio worked because it was fresh and it was factual. Living With War's and other's attempts to force the square peg of Iraq into the round hole of Viet Nam is neither fresh nor particularly honest.   

[Danny]

    Yea, I was not thinking politics as much as bone chilling reality. Like a cold rain soaking you and making you alert and in a little pain. 

                                          "Ohio worked because it was fresh and it was factual." ducktrapper

[omozom]

[
                                          "Ohio worked because it was fresh and it was factual." ducktrapper
[/quote]

If only our leaders would have set the same criteria for the so called intelligence information used to lead our nation into war.

[ducktrapper]

Unlike the Viet Nam war, where the Viet Namese never were a direct danger to the USA (except perhaps existentially, ha ha), you just can't quite say that this time around, can you? It seems to me, as well, that the thing about peace is, that it takes two. War, on the other hand, only takes one. Now ... who started what and when? 

[bearsville0]

Unlike the Viet Nam war, where the Viet Namese never were a direct danger to the USA (except perhaps existentially, ha ha), you just can't quite say that this time around, can you? It seems to me, as well, that the thing about peace is, that it takes two. War, on the other hand, only takes one. Now ... who started what and when? 

Uh-Oh!   Don't go there folks. Don't you think we've done that dance and tripped up enough?