NEW NEIL YOUNG ALBUM-- LIFE IN WAR-- WON'T PROVIDE ANY CAMPAIGN DITTIES FOR BUSH AND THE RUBBER-STAMP REPUBLICANS
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I smoked my way through college-- I mean like every single day-- and then I went for a two year drive across Asia and a few months smoking black Mazar-i-Sharif hash in Afghanistan-- the psychedelic stuff that never gets exported-- and... presto... I was cured. All interest in drugs were gone. Forever. It was great while it lasted but it was gone. Years later I washed up on the shores of corporate America and somehow wound up as president of Reprise Records-- Neil Young's label. Every time Neil delivered a new album-- or if I'd go up to his ranch to listen to a work in progress-- I'd take a toke, just one (and one was all I needed), from whatever he was smoking. I'd be high all day.
I'm retired now and Neil won't be delivering his new album to me and I won't be taking any tokes off anyone's joints. But I was thrilled this morning when a small company I work with, JamBase, reported that Neil has a new record, and, apparently, he's as sick of the corrupt, lying Bush Regime as the rest of us are!
Neil made it pretty clear with GREENDALE, a truly incredible but underrated album, that he isn't happy with the direction George Bush has taken the country. He told David Fricke of ROLLING STONE "This is a time, I believe, of great inner turmoil for the majority of the American people. There is a new morality coming out of this administration -- fundamentalist religious views; a holier-than-thou attitude towards the rest of the world -- that is not classically American. I don't think Americans felt holier-than-thou in the twentieth century. We were happy and successful, with a great lifestyle. But something else is going on now. That's what Greendale is about. That's what Grandpa's problem is. He can't understand what's going on. He sees all of these things that the Patriot Act has taken away from what he feels is America."
Just after debuting his new film at SxSW Neil shocked the music world by announcing, kind of off-the-cuff, that he had recorded a brand new album and that it's all ready to go. (The guy introducing him, SxSW director Roland Swenson, had referred to how important Neil's song "Ohio," about the National Guard shooting down college students at Kent State, was to another generation then gearing up to end an earlier unpopular war, and how we needed something like that now. Neil took it seriously.) The new album is called LIVING WITH WAR.
One of Neil's collaborators, filmmaker, Jonathan Demme, describes it as "a brilliant electric assault on Bush and the war in Iraq.” The linchpin track, "Impeach the President," features an edited-together Bush rap set to a 100-voice chorus chanting "flip/flop." The album, with Young on Old Black, Rick Rosas on bass and Chad Cromwell on drums, took three days to finish. Yep; that's Neil. No release date is set yet but... hopefully it'll be before November.
10:30AM UPDATE: HOPEFULLY I WON'T HAVE TO SMOKE UP BUT...
I just got off the phone with Neil's manager and he offered to play me the album. So I'm gonna saddle up and ride WAY out to the middle of nowhere and listen. And then I'll report back. Stay tuned.
3 PM UPDATE: Grrrrrr...
Ok; first: the album is beyond belief. I mean it's so great I was jumping out of my skin. That's the good news. The less good news is that they wouldn't play it for me unless I agreed not to write about it for "a few days." (Not even the label has heard it yet and they felt it would be impolite for me to go blabbing the whole story all over the world until after they get to play it for Reprise and the NY Times.) So what can I tell you before "a few days?" Not much. From the time Neil started writing the songs until he finished recording the whole incredible project: 9 days.
Every song is about... you know what (and who). Musically it is so powerful and emotionally it's even more powerful that that!! Many tears while I sat alone with the headset on. Since I already mentioned "Let's Impeach the President," I'll just say a few things about that. It's this great rocker that ends as a gospel song and reads like an indictment. I mean Neil sounds like he's been reading Daily KOS or FireLakeDog! Someone's gotta get this to Henry Waxman! Neil even lays out some evidence in the form of Bush running his mouth on tape.
Will this go down as Neil's greatest album ever? It will be a contender musically. And the impact lyrically could be profound. I'll talk more about that when my period of musical purdah is up next week. If you're walking down the street and someone comes up to you and offers you the opportunity to hear just one song, ask him to play "Flags of Freedom." (Have kleenex handy.)
SATURDAY MORNING UPDATE: NEIL RELEASES LYRICS FROM THE TITLE TRACK
Neil has a streaming message up on his own website talking about the new album. "I think it is a metal version of Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan... metal folk protest? It's called LIVING WITH WAR." And he promises to release the lyrics on the ticker of the website. Today he has the lyrics to the title track up-- the second song on the record and one of the ones I instantly loved:
I'm living with war everyday
I'm living with war in my heart everyday
I'm living with war right now
And when the dawn breaks I see my fellow man
And on the flat-screen we kill and we're killed again
And when the night falls, I pray for peace
Try to remember peace (visualize)
I join the multitudes
I raise my hand in peace
I never bow to the laws of the thought police
I take a holy vow
To never kill again
To never kill again
I'm living with war in my heart
I'm living with war in my heart and my mind
I'm living with war right now
Don't take no tidal wave
Don't take no mass grave
Don't take no smokin' gun
To show how the west was won
But when the curtain falls, I pray for peace
Try to remember peace (visualize)
In the crowded streets
In the big hotels
In the mosques and the doors of the old museum
I take a holy vow
To never kill again
Try to remember peace
The rocket's red glare
Bombs bursting in air
Give proof through the night,
That Our flag is still there
I'm living with war everyday
I'm living with war in my heart everyday
I'm living with wat right now.
WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE: REVIEW IS POSTED
I finished my review of the album-- after just one listen through. It's right here.
Labels: Impeachment, Iraq War, Neil Young
posted by DownWithTyranny @ 6:19 AM
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One man, with a dream at leisure
Can go out to conquer a crown,
But three, with a new song's measure
Can crumble an Empire down.
From "Ode" by Arthur O'Shaunessy (d. 1889)
It's time to turn the boat around,
That's what the people say.
The course our leader's setting
Is exactly the wrong way.
The compass reads, "disaster,"
He's run us hard aground.
It's time to fire the skipper
And then turn the boat around.
From "Turn the Boat Around" (sung to "Yellow Rose of Texas") by Bob Clayton
I'll be getting the new Neil Young Album, you bet.
Ed
Good for Neil! Harvest takes me back to my early teen years in the 1970s, when it seemed if the darkness was about to lift. It did for a moment or so, then we made a headlong plunge toward the repression we have today. At least we have Neil Young to remind us of the way it could be.
Long may you run.
Interesting stuff on the new album, but you have to be kidding that Greendale deserves anything more than to be filed under "non-essential." It is a silly, silly record. "Prarie Wind" has a much lower cringe-factor (except for that line about always remembering what Chris Rock said. Ha ha!
NEIL YOUNG FOR PRESIDENT!
someone told me that Neil Young was a Reagan supporter in the 80's. If so, it's good to see that he rejoined the human race.
Hm.
My immediate thought is that Neil Young can certainly pull out a stemwinder when he wants to. But also, there's a certain resistance in the press now (and I'd imagine in the audience as well) against bold political statements from him, because over the past couple of decades, since his brief Reaganite period (I think the album was Reactor), he's often seemed to be following the Zeitgeist more than helping to drive it.
He's sort of a weather vane. But that's a good thing as well, because just the word, 'impeach,' has a sound like Justice readying her scales....
We can always count on Neil Young. As a practicing psychoanlyst I am always looking for true models of maturity. After seing his recent movie and readiing the Rolling stone interview Neil fits the bill as well as anyone that comes to mind. Stan Zuckerman.
i got an email forwarded to me from a friend who got it from a sessions singer who was at neil's recording of this new work. i posted it on my blog but the author thought it was unprofessional to have her feelings about an unreleased work published, so i since have removed the post according to her wishes.
nonetheless, she indicated that the whole record is a big "f*ck you to bush." she also indicated how touched and moved she and all the artists particpating were when they worked on it.
it should be a dynamite album!
I recently bought both Greendale and Prairie Wind and frankly I think they're both great records.
My favorite Neil moment is his singing of "Helpless" on The Last Waltz.
Was Neil really a Reagan supporter in the 80's or just a crank who gave contrarian interviews? Here's a quote I found on thrasherwheat.org from a 1989 interview Young gave:
"...I have an opinion that changes because everyday is a different day. I'm not a liberal or a conservative. I'm not like that. With Reagan, some things he did were terrible, some things he did were great. Most people tend to take a president and say you hate...he does one thing you really don't like. Like he builds excessive amounts of warheads or something. So you write him off completely. Which I think is completely stupid. And I think, is very narrow minded.
Anyone can have an opinion and be right, like you don't want warheads on earth. I agree with that, but that is a decision that he made to do that and I disagree with that. On the other hand there are other things that he did that I agreed with. And because I had the ability to say what I feel, people only write part of it, because its news that I would agree with Reagan. So they say Neil Young supports Reagan, so fuck 'em, I don't care what they do.
Everyday is different. Sometimes I like George, sometimes I don't like George Bush."
This sounds less to me like Young's a Reagan or George H. W. Bush supporter and more an independent-minded, cantakerous fellow.
Anyway, I am looking forward to hearing "Impeach the President."
Neil was born in Canada, so unless he's running against Arnold,I don't think he'll be your president any time soon.
Howie
Sometimes I contemplate taking the window pane acid still frozen in my fridge after 30 years. Maybe I could hallucinate a good government.
I LOVE LOVE Grendale. And I just saw the new doc about Neil.One of the best documentaries I have every seen and truly captures the spirit of this very unique man. I took my 16 year daughter who loves Neil Young..
And all his music...in fact my digital daughter just took all his old records that I saved in my garage and converted them to mp3s by way of a $60.device thatI bought from dak...It plugs in the back of your computer and your turnatable plugs into the device. You record from analog cut the tracks and convert to mp3. Very cool.
Neil did indeed back Reagan, but he's never been a partisan. He's been very tough about how Bush has performed since 9/11, and "Greendale" is a sort of long, beautiful allegory about the conduct of the press and the loss of civil liberties and community since 9/11. Knowing his political vacillations makes him all the more persuasive. If there's consistent thread in his work, I think it's a kind of yearning for a lost, pastoral, Jeffersonian America. Reagan might have fit into that vision for Neil, and I won't hold it against him. Part of Neil's greatness is his unpredictability and his contrarian streak.
It seems so long ago that sitting out on the back porch, crikets and evening sounds blended with tunes of Harvest; I thought life was full, and our world unfolding as it should. Now a shudder racks me everyday as more people die in Iraq, and even more will die in Iran, soon. Personally if we go to Iran I am leaving for good. And I am taking my Neil Young with me.
Neil's a genius.
And he's got a heart of gold.
The exact opposite of the lying chicken-hawked war-mongers at Bushco.
---
25% say all polls are pure bullshit.
PollThis.org
A small smile of memories where this country has always counted on its wake up call to arms from the musicians. Rather it be Woodie Guthrie, Arlo, Kingston Trio "If God meant for us to have a democracy he would have given us candidates", Peter, Paul & Mary, Dylan, Springsteen and thankfully the list goes on and on. I hope he is but the first of many to come.
Neil Young is certainly in the top 10 of my favorite musicians. I think he is cyclically a genius on political and emotional undercurrents, but like a little boy when it comes to surface of things sometimes. It doesn't suprise me that he would have naively responded to Regans faux-populist rhetoric and morning in America imagery. With "Rockin'in the Free World" he left that behind him with a vengence. I find that album way under appreciated and Harvest Moon way over rated.
Looking forward to new Neil. I'm kind of missing the hard driving quirky electric stuff. Maybe this will be one of those. Or does hard driving electric just not feel appropriate as you get old?
Neil not only will never become Pres.,
he can't even vote in US elections, because, although he's made California his primary home for decades, I believe he remains a Canadian citizen, and has never applied for American citizenship!
Presumably he's got a Green Card by now (I've read that in the early Buffalo Springfield days, he worked in the US illegally), which now puts him at least a notch up from the millions of Latino illegals working in the US!
As a bit of an aside, there was a nice piece in Editor & Publisher last week about how Neil Young's father was a famous Canadian journalist and sportswriter.
Neil is on beam with his sentiments for sure, we're all lost in this country now, Bush and his New World Order Corporate Mo FO's are selling us all down the river, leading us all to slaughter.
But, who is really standing strong and making a differece? Who is leading the resistance? I doubt some musical diddies will do much to change anything now.
Better yet, Suggest Neil Challenge George To a Joust, a mudpit wrestling match, a fist fight, where each man shows his true colors, to the victor goes the kingdom. This is a time for spectacle in a malaise of confusion, deceit, propoganda. Kick his arse Neil!!!!!!
Famous people around the globe should rail bush to the junkyard dogs. The price we've paid for this "ignorant and juvenile" administration is large and bush's ship of fools need to feel the pain. They should be mocked, ridiculed, impeached and written off as the biggest failure of American voters.
Neil Young, once again, speaks out for justice. With the Dixie Chicks, that brings the total of music makers to two who dissent publicly and show they have the guts to express an opinion in America, without fear of retaliation.
Roll It soldier(s)!
We can always count on Neil Young.As a practicing psychoanalyst I am always looking for models of maturity. After seeing the After The Gold Rush movie and reading the Rolling Stone Interview Neil truly fits the bill. He is a man of true morality and genuine authority. Stan Zuckerman
Don't forget others in the Vote for Change tour: James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Bright Eyes, John Fogerty, REM, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Bonnie Raitt, John Mellencamp and Jackson Browne.
In less than two weeks Bruce will release We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions. He covers 15 Seeger Songs. He's going on the road with a 17 piece band of some of the greatest folk music musicians starting at the New Orleans Jazz Festival April 29th and then to Europe for 10 sold out concerts. The NeoCons will be flocking to this one this summer!!!!
And surely Steve Earle also.
Bob Dylan should be releasing a new album soon and hopefully he will put a protest song or two on the record. We need the old time icons like Young and Dylan to spread the message that this administration is the worst in American history.
Thank you for sharing.
The news of this disc excite me beyond anything rationale.
Beyond the obvious musical genious, Neil is a brave and great man for going out on this limb. Heck, Drudge and FoxTV are already making snarky comments.
Next time time you're invited to the ranch, don't forget to pass off the opinion from one up in the nose-bleed section. Love him.
-Chicago
ps.
Please encourage him to go out on tour with this--it will be a massive!
Isn't it awesome, DWT? I can't tell ou how psyched I was. All I knew before going in was that it was a Neil Young record - cool enough! But when that first song came up - dang! Talk about 'Shock and Awe'!
So, I see you are not only a Katherine Harris fan like me, but we have a Neil Young connection as well!
three years of war
with nobody sore
let the guitars roar
what are we fighting for
my mama don't cry
my daddy don't buy
we quiet to the lie
innocent people die
impeach bush
Kerry was a push
impeach bush
he got no blow job
he's giving snow jobs
impeach bush
he's a mistake
nawlins a lake
rum's a snake
osama's a fake
bombs against a rake
impeach bush
Kerry was a push
impeach bush
impeach bush
impeach bush
...and you're right about "Flags of Freedom" - the bridge had us all in tears.
Been a fan forever and whatever he does in his music or film,or charitable work is important, whether it be dealing with life threatening events of his own or commenting on world events, his observations of life always rings true to the heart and mind.......may he continue to enlighten us through his words and music.....peace
I love Neil Young and I am glad that a well-known musician is coming out against the policies of the Administration. I want to share with you the work of an UN-known musician who has written several scathingly critical songs about the state of our country. His name is Joel Moore. His song "Talkin' America tis of thee Blues" is a blistering 28 verse critique. I hope that you check it out. The lyrics are poetic and challenging and brilliant. His site is www.joelmoore.org. You can hear his songs under the "Audio" part. Also, there is "Eternal War at Your Door", and "Class of '05" about the Katrina disaster. I think that these songs are amazing and capture alot of people's feelings about this difficult time.
Neil Young rules! Howie, I know you might not be a fan of Pink (the singer - don't get the wrong idea!)...You REALLY gotta check out her track "Dear Mr. President" (sung with the Indigo Girls)...Seriously great lyrics, emotional, powerful, and SPOT ON.
Dear Mr. President
Come take a walk with me
Let's pretend we're just two people and
You're not better than me
I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly
What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep
What do you feel when you look in the mirror
Are you proud
How do you sleep while the rest of us cry
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye
How do you walk with your head held high
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why
Dear Mr. President
Were you a lonely boy
Are you a lonely boy
Are you a lonely boy
How can you say
No child is left behind
We're not dumb and we're not blind
They're all sitting in your cells
While you pay the road to hell
What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine
How do you sleep while the rest of us cry
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye
How do you walk with your head held high
Can you even look me in the eye
Let me tell you bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you bout hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box
Let me tell you bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
You don't know nothing bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
Oh
How do you sleep at night
How do you walk with your head held high
Dear Mr. President
You'd never take a walk with me
Would you
Excitimng stuff. I love Neil. Thanks for telling us about this because whether it changes the world or not, it's good to commiserate with a great soul like Neil's through his awesome music.
I can remember coming out of Communications school, being blocked from reporting about the Cheney/Rumsfeld-Bechtel/KBR wing of foreign policy, James Baker and the Bush family oil interests with Kuwait...
Got a C for a paper that said an online community would emerge to cut through the bullshit filter. The only way to counter it would be for the press to compromise further.
Things would bend towards co-opted outlets in terms of media function.
That was '91 and '92. Neil Young was one of the true artists whose words reached across eras and generations and still ring true to those few who did oppose the way things were going.
In later times, harder times than that, near the end of dreams and relationships I came across something to send his way, but didn't make the purchase. It was a collector's train. You placed baking soda and seltzer in the smokestack and it would puff smoke as it traveled. Think the regret over that decision matches the same feeling over other choices made at the time...
Was down to my last cent, had barely enough money to my name for its purchase to send, so other needs took priority...
To know more about Neil, you know what those trains mean to his family. It was a way of thanking him for laying the track and coaling the engine of dreams, even if they end up nowhere and the steam evaporates into the dulled down days of routine for some of the engines. Neil stoked it as best he could.
Wished I could send it now more than ever, the second hand warehouse it was in went to an auction and sold it before I could come back and send it for Christmas that year.
Friend and I ran a music store at the time, he was indy and really had to hustle to beat local retail pros like wal-mart. We kept a loyal local folowing of fans for all styles of music. Learning the customer and how to dig what they'd like was a big part of that. Russ had mouths to feed as well and downloads coupled with another chain mall next to the wal-mart did us in. They could undersell(until they found out it didn't change business it just hurt their returns). Our regs kept things running.
It was the Bush economy that eventually did things in, it literally got too tight to spend extra money on music. The disposable income purchase is a big part of maintaining overhead. Arguably the marketers in music lost grasp too, got into the hype driven stuff, let the tail wag the dog so the music product was hurt.
There's still the music for those who love it. My friend does jazz music now, combines it with some inspirational themes.(His dad is a minister at a county facility that holds a lot of state transfers and holdover/work release).
So the Yes fans, the Neil Young fans, the Hendrix or Crimson fans, don't have a spot to hang out, spin tunes, swap stories and plan outings to concerts and festivals.
It was a place worth more than gold to us. Music and ideas being part of every conversation. Blue collars, college students, old schoolers all shared insight and found more in common than differences, even across genres. He had to stay on top of the new heavy music and hip-hop, etc. Got quite a pulse for what the next vibe would be.
A retired teacher here was kind of a mindset icon in his teaching days. He grew up marching with King, running out from under billy clubs at times to get a right to vote. Kids never got why he took that sense of duty towards civic participation so urgently. He hated to see America giving up its obligation to be involved in its own political fortunes and the new(and old) generations lose light of that sense of purpose.
The teacher's dad was a town dentist, the only other black dentist this side of the Mississippi(into the next state at St.Louis) was Miles Davis' dad. Their parent took turn watching the kids so they could enjoy some of their nice lifestyle.
He used to have a wonderful laugh to find our bass player, store owner, and jazz fan named his son Miles, after a "rude black man" as he put it.
Music is something that can connect with anyone.
This is the south we know- Neil Young's south for Southern Man, the Black Crow's Southern Harmony and Musical Companion(the cover more so than the actual themes of music)... ditches, alleys, stray dogs, people making theirs in the same and developing a sense of community and olbigations towards other's well being. The Allman Bros. standing as staues in a NOLA cemetary...
Sorry to go for so long a post, but Neil was always about that. A kind of long winded poetic soul breath. As much detailed in the parlance of everyman as it was sublime.
One of the highlights of that exiled time was a lady who had a house styled as a log cabin and loved to play Neil Young music from records with a brass post bed beside it; next to this an old Mills/Gin store...
He always covers the spectrum of time, as you note Neil's a weathervane. You can spin those sounds and go back to those times or listen attentively and see what weather lies in store.
All of Neil's music contains a longing for that feeling. To capture that sense of content, to hold anew those feelings. For a moment all is well. America is about the myth of contentment.
This is not such a time, this is the darker duality, a shadowed side of Americana that Neil Young and Crazyhorse delve into. The underlying reasons why contentment is not attainable...
Look forward to this, he always speaks to the point.
-Mr.M
Since the days of Ohio, Neil has been one of my favorite artists. I grew up just down the road from Kent State, and I know what that song meant to the folks around at that time. It was real as the day is long, and it gave us something to hold on to.
I was very frustrated to hear Let's Roll, and what Neil said about Homeland Security at the time. I'm glad he sees through the facade now, and I applaud his willingness to call Bush out.
Neil was just on the cover of Time, and this music is going to be heard.
They can't black-list a star this big. I hope Bush gets a chance to hear it.
Too bad the Democrats couldn't find a decent candidate.
Southern Man Don't need Him Around Anyhow
OR
Neil Young Gets Old
Neil Young is s dam Canadium. When he dyes he will go to Heck. Along with His Libboral Commonyst Basturds.
When Jesus returnS he will rescue me and Falwel and Hitler and our beloved Presidint and his ancestries and we want have to lissen to Neil Young and all his needleneck notions regarding the neurocataleptic origins, and paleontological-taxonomical evolution of our highly selected residency, without whose guidance, we would be rendered blubbering barnowls, blind to the night that encircles us. Therefore I proclaim today NEIL YOUNG DAY, and will ensure that every biped in the land of the space of today perform her/his Being-Partkdolg Duty in hypomixolydian harmony with the universalisable pleroma.
May we all become such Neil Youngs.
At 11:11 AM, Vaughn Amerling said...
Not a Bush fan (impeach him) and not a Neil Young fan (little talent). We'd be better off without both of them. Young has written some good songs, he just can't sing or play the guitar. Maybe the Dixie Chicks will pick up the song.
neil can't play the guitar.
right.
it might be time to lay off whatever you are ingesting or smoking.
here is a suugestion: try listening. neil is a remarkably talented musician.
this is great stuff...neil a rock'n'roller standing up to asshole bush and his hi-tech police state which is a far cry beyond the days of "for what its worth" and the sunset strip riots which was my first riot!!!!
we the people have an obligation to fight for freedom against the oppressive monolithic monster which has got to go!!!!
we who still remember many struggles owe it to our children
Keep on Rockin' in the "free world"
lets roll all the Neo-Cons out of here and fight for our constitution!Thanks Neil,Peace out Johnny Hempseed
luddite@smokesignal.talkingdrum
I am very excited that Neil is singing out against this sick, corrupt Administration, and I know that he will not cave to the kind of pressure BushCo put on the Stones to not release their anti-Bush anthem last year!!
I have loved Neil Young and his music since I first tried to learn guitar in 1972, and my long-haired teacher bought me both the Harvest album and songbook, and we used to sing as we "played". Recently saw "Heart of Gold", and though it is beautiful and the music outstanding, I swore I wouldn't ever see it again, because it seems like his farewell. It seemed so Neil, to make a beautiful, loving farewell movie to sum up his life and passion for his devoted fans.
I am overjoyed to see that his passion will speak out once again, not just to the devoted fans, but to the world.
Long live Neil Young!!
Styve
I,ve been a Neil Young fan for 30+ yrs . Yes he has made some questionable statements over the years ,but anyone who has the power, and attention of a mass audience has their comments recorded and avaliable . I think of "Lets Roll" as something written in a hurry , mostly as a tribute to Todd Beemer.
There are whole web sites devoted to the idiotic comments made by george w
bush.I dont know if Neil could whip georges ass in a mud pit but I'm sure he could ko first round in a battle of words. Neils doing all right keep on rocking
The west is so right wing now it's it's so scarey.We all know what a madman Bush is,but look at Britain under Tony Blair,a so called socialist party backing every lunatic decision Bush makes.
Good on you Neil for speaking out.Let's hope the album is in the shops soon.
Will Bush bomb Iran next ?????????
Interesting theory that "Let's Roll" was a mainly a well-meaning, but misguided tribute to Todd Beamer.
Is that what Neil now claims the Bush Doctrine is?
This could really confuse President Bush (or is he already confused? ha ha). I heard he settled on the Bush Doctrine after being charged up by "Let's Roll." Now Neil pulls the rug out. A policy shift can't be far behind.
C,S,N&Y will be touring this summer, and will no doubt be blasting some of these songs at their shows. I, for one, intend to see it.
Those guys helped to push one president over the side, and now, 35 years later, they have the chance to do it again. Only this time, they serve as elder statesmen, and speak to multiple generations, rather than just one. My dad did not listen to Neil Young. But now, someone's dad does.
Glad to hear the good news! Gotta respect that man for his work and his message.
best wishes marie
Great.
If u or I say no it don't mean nothin ! If enough People like Niel say it maybe it will turn the Tide and restore something like Sanity to our public discourse because we all know the Media and the Machine are complisent in the awful state that exists at present!!
Greendale isn't a concert album. It isn't a "Harvest". And when I watched the DVD and listened to the CD a couple of times at home - I thought - "well, ok - Neil - you have some long repetitive songs here..." But then, in the midst of packing for a major move, I let the CD play continuously....and then since my job requires some fairly long 2-3 hour drives, I listened to Greendale again and again...and that't the type of CD it is. It's a long story with some very interesting moments. In short - I like it. A lot.
The way I listen to music has changed. In the past - it was an event...the lyric sheet in hand, good quality headphones on and then you listened to the message, the subtle nuances of the lyric, a mournful hanging note....now everyone listens to music on the run - too many distractions. Everything is a sound bite. MTH did it....with it's 1-2 second video scene cuts. Most have the attention span of a gnat. So I have found that "listening" to music on long trips to be somewhat of a throwback to the "old days" of listening. There is little to do when driving except watch the road and listen....at volume.
Methinks that the new Neil Young album will deserve some relaxing earphone reflective time...at night...when the kids are asleep. Yep...
They are the morons shouting "Judas" at Dylan in 1965 whose hopeless anonymity is a fitting fate.
Absolutely.
In fact, they were the people who, when I saw Greendale live at Concord Pavillion, were shouting "Cinnamon Girl! Cinnamon Girl!" with absolutely no clue that Neil and company were unfolding a new masterpiece.
I CAN WAIT!!!!!!! I WANT IT NOW!!!!!!!! put a dvd with it please!
what did neil say about Homeland Security?
What album is "Let's Roll" on?
are you guys gonna' smoke out while you listen to your new neil young cd? i was just wondering. it would kind of make more sense that way i guess.
i wonder, how much profit do you think neil will make from the war? more than cindy sheehan? less than michael moore? somewhere inbetween?
i'm gonna' weld all of my neil young cd's together with my propane torch and make a handsome little snot rag basket for the guest bathroom. i've been collecting them since the 70's - all the way up to greendale - so i should have plenty.
enjoy the money neil.
"...I have an opinion that changes because everyday is a different day. I'm not a liberal or a conservative. I'm not like that. With Reagan, some things he did were terrible, some things he did were great."
Good quote. I feel exactly the same way about Bush. Felt exactly the same way about Clinton. No President... EVER... will do everything right. They are human (duh!), but -- depending on our leanings -- we ONLY want to see the bad or the good. Not the whole picture.
I'm looking forward to Neil's album. Not because it's anti-Bush per-se, but because he's alway been a man of integrity, and has never feared speaking his mind (This Note's for You!). Unlike, say Pink, this I'm sure this isn't a "bandwagon protest," it's coming from the heart. And that's where music is at its best.
-Pie
From the very beginning, Down By The River, I listened to Neil Young, for two reasons. I wanted to support Canadian artists; and I thought, hey, hey I can sing as good as this guy – so I could relate! I loved that guy, but my friends seldom gave him a listen – so it was headphones for me. “Harvest” changed their minds, and I could play ‘that’ album in the open.
Looking forward to Neil’s new adventure and, who is to say, maybe someday I’ll meet him. Or even better, maybe he’ll show me his car collection, first hand. I’ve only seen it on a little television set, but I was, like, super impressed.
Neil’s beauty, eh? He’s like, I don’t give a damn, but we all know that he does.
One last note, when I learned, very early on, who Scott Young was, it made me sad. And Neil’s music didn’t help.
Tommy Discool
aka Tommy D
Professor of Smozology
From the very beginning, Down By The River, I listened to Neil Young, for two reasons. I wanted to support Canadian artists; and I thought, hey, hey I can sing as good as this guy – so I could relate! I loved that guy, but my friends seldom gave him a listen – so it was headphones for me. “Harvest” changed their minds, and I could play ‘that’ album in the open.
Looking forward to Neil’s new adventure and, who is to say, maybe someday I’ll meet him. Or even better, maybe he’ll show me his car collection, first hand. I’ve only seen it on a little television set, but I was, like, super impressed.
Neil’s beauty, eh? He’s like, I don’t give a damn, but we all know he does.
One last note, when I learned, very early on, who Scott Young was, it made me sad. And Neil’s music didn’t help.
Tommy Discool
aka Tommy D
Professor of Smozology
Looking at it from a different perspective. Unless he needs the money, 1. all proceeds should go to people or groups who could actually get this monkey out of office. 2. Release the song to the public. Radio stations won't play it, not everyone who you want to reach has broadband, some people can't afford CD's. 3. Release just this one song for "free" so it can be heard by millions. Remember there is strength in numbers. Just my opinon.
Reading all these comments makes me smile. Neil's always been good at pissin' some folks off and thrilling others...even among his long time fans (see Greendale comments). Truth is he is God. New albumn will be unbelievable. It and Greendale will make 2 of the last 3 important pieces in his legacy.
Paradoxically, Neil Young the aging
hippy balladeer and icons like Bob Dylan represent the very kind of figure shown standing bravely alone
in the Norman Rockwell "Freedom of
Speech" painting. This is supposed
to personify AMERICA. However, just
ask former Attorney General of the
the U.S. Ramsay Clark...as SOON as
you defy the far right wing and speak for truth and world compassion, the staunchest ,wealthiest flag wavers and lobbyists in Washington start HATING YOUR GUTS WITH A PASSION! Sadly, gone, gone are the days when
a relatively poor man like Abraham
Lincoln could WIN based on true virtue and incisive wisdom!
Greendale is one of Neil's best ever. The live concerts were just great!
Neil Rocks.
and now he's rocking the white house.
rumsfeld is cracking jokes while our kids are dying.
President bush? is it nuclear or nucular?
I thought you went to a University?
must of been some great cocaine for YOU the leader to pronounce nucular instead of nuclear. especialy when you hold that nuke key in your hand.
FREEWHEELING FRANKLIN AGAIN,
TO SAY THAT ANYONE WHO CAN APPEAL TO DECADES OF SUCCESIVE FANS
OF ALL AGES AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS HAS NO TALENT IS ABSURD BY DEFINITION! BOTH NEIL YOUNG AND BOB DYLAN ARE FAR BETTER GUITAR PLAYERS NOW THAN THEY WERE 30 YEARS PLUS AGO. NEITHER ARE PAUL ROBESON OR DAVID FOSTER, NOR JIMI
HENDRIX; BUT BOTH ARE NOW DAMN FINE
AND EXPERIENCED GUITARISTS AND SONG WRITERS, SOCIALLY UNAFFECTED BY THE CORPORATE MANIPULATION THAT SADLY ABUSED THE
"GENERATION X" ARTISTS! IN ADDITION, BOTH MEN HAVE SUCH INSIGHT! I JUST LOVE THE WAY NEIL TOTALLY DISARMED THAT LADY CNN REPORTER! HER AGENDA WAS TO SLAG MR.YOUNG WHILE PRETENDING TO BE MARGINALLY INTERESTED IN THE CAUSE. NEIL WAS NOTHING BUT POLITE
TO HER AND KIND IN HIS DEMEANOUR. HE COMPORTED HIMSELF WITH RARE PUBLIC DIGNITY AND I THINK THAT CNN
INTERVIEWER WAS SURPRISED SHE
HAD TO END UP LIKING HIM IN SPITE OF THE FAR, FAR RIGHT AGENDA OF CNN.(I CONSIDER THAT THE MOST RIGHT WING ETHNO-CENTRIC MANTRA NEWS MANUFACTURER EVER TO WAVE THE AMERICAN REPUBLICAN PARTY FLAG. THEY MIGHT AS WELL BROADCAST RIGHT OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE ITSELF AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED! I DON'T THINK LARRY KING WOULD EVER HAVE NOAM CHOMSKY ON HIS SHOW, AND YET
DEVOTED ONE EPISODE TO HIS OWN BIRTHDAY; AND ONE TO DICK CLARK HAVING NOW DEVELOPED DIABETES IN HIS 8TH DECADE OF BLESSED LIFE ON THIS TROUBLED PLANET!
GEORGE BUSH, WITH HIS HARVARD
DIPLOMA MILL DEGREE MAY HAVE BEEN
INCISIVE IN AT LEAST ONE OF HIS PUBLIC QUESTIONS?..."IS OUR CHILDREN LEARNING ANYTHING?" PERHAPS NEIL'S RECORDING CAN HELP MAKE SURE THAT THEY "IS" LEARNING;
AND ARE READY TO FINALLY "SMOKE EM
ALL OUT!" OF THIS PRESENT WHITE HOUSE ADMINISTION. (VIA THAT THAR THING THEY CALL IMPEEEECHMINT!!)
TAKE CARE, ONE AND ALL,.......FREEWHEELING FRANKLIN !!! (P.S., I SURE HOPE J.STEWART GETS NEIL ON THE TODAY COMEDY SHOW, REAL SOON ALONG WITH HIS GOOD FRIEND, WILLIE NELSON !! IT'D BE A CLASSIC!!) CHEERS!!
When I first read the lyrics of "Let's Impeach the President," my first thought was of Shakespeare and his sonnets.
Neil Young is a genius; his stuff is so good, the way he rhymes stuff.
Snoop Dogg of the Heathrow Airport riots has nothing on Old Neil. Too bad old Neil has become nothing but a rubber stamp for stupid Leftist thought and propaganda.
If Neil had half a brain left he would be embarrassed with this crap,
it being so far beneath him. (And I'm speaking as a fan!) Unfortunately, at this stage of his life Neil has virtually no critical thinking skills left; he accepts absurd arguments like an OJ juror. How sad.
Like you, I was blown away from the first listen. A totally unexpected masterpiece that comes at exactly the right time. Unfortunately, I feel that it falls on deaf ears which is why we have this regime in the first place. He's preaching to the choir. People in red states will not be tuning in. Only when we have a real movement, will these voices be heard. That's going to take a whole lot more brave people like Neil. A commodity that is in extremely short supply these days other than our young men and women in iraq that have been forced to support this lie.
You can listen to the album for free at Rollingstone's website:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10113260/neil_young_impeach_the_president
When Neil Young's father passed away, I wrote him this song:
Father's Day Song of Sympathy for Neil Young
words and music by Dr. BLT (c)2005
http://www.drblt.com/music/FathersDayYoung.
mp3
When Neil Young wrote Impeach the President, I wrote this in protest:
Neil Young (Have You Forgotten)
words and music by Dr. BLT (c)2006
http://www.drblt.com/music/neilyoung.mp3
There's a time for sympathy, and a time for protest.
Neil Young comes through again! I dig Neil Young, and I dig Living With War. I just wrote a review on my blog.
Peace,
FreeThinker
Great songs, Dr. BLT. I have a couple of questions for you. First, has having a cameo on a top hit music video nominated for Groundbreaking Music Video of the Year in 2002, and having one of your own original songs place on the top 30 among download hits back in December changed you?
Also, I understand that you also write songs for other artists. Who is the artist singing on this one?
Home
words and music by Dr. BLT (c)2006
http://www.drblt.com/music/homeone.mp3
I'm a Canadian and have Neil Young's new album. It's amazing and it's got a good message. For those Americans who don't support Neil Young is not attacking you guys. He is attacking the Bush administration for actually the better good of you guys. Did you know now 30% go to the war and the military, Bush is shipping your money out the door and Neil Young is helping you so don't call him unpatriotic (he's Canadian so calling him unpatriotic would be untrue anyways) and why does going against the American governement some how make you anti-American? Neil Young is an amazing musician and he's released one of the greatest albums of the last 6 years. I love the U.S and don't like it's government but I am Canadian and Canada in my home and my favourite country and I think this is what Neil Young says too.
You're damn fuckin' lucky to be associated with, and better still in the presence of, an artist for the ages like Neil Young. Pay homage dude.
NEIL YOUNG FOR PRESIDENT!!! I WOULD NEVER LOWER MYSELF AGAIN TO CHASE THE BONE THIS GOV THROWS! THE BARE BONE OF FREEDOM, AND FOR MOST OF AMERICANS TO TAKE PART IN VOTING FOR UNEDUCATED OIL MONGORS WITH A GRUDGE AND ACTORS WITH NOTHING LEFT TO DO. ITS DOWN RIGHT EMBARRASING. GEORGIE IS THE FIRST OF ALL PRES TO SAY HE COULDNT BE PRES UNLESS HIS PAY TRIPLED TO 300,000 WHILE WE STRUGGLE TO GET MINIMUM WAGE TO GO HIT 6 BUCKS, TO EARN 12 YOU MUST HAVE BACHELORS. BUT STILL BE DUMB ENOUGH TO DONATE 1/3 TO SUPPORT THINGS YOU DONT BELIEVE IN. TO A GOV THAT KILLS MORE THAN TERRORISTS FOR NOTHINHG MORE THAN EXCUSE TO KILL MORE.. I AM PROUDEST TO HAVE BEEN PART OF THE LAST OF THE BEST GENERATIONS! WOW WE HAVE SEEN CHANGES. MOSTLY IN LAWS. BACK TO BONES, HARD TO TEACH OLD DOG NEW, AH PANAMA,,,, PONY KEG IN CAR,, AH 1973,, NOW WE HAVE GROUPS MADD, ALLOWED TO CONDEMN AND BLAME AND HELP GOV CONVICT FOR A MERE 25% OF DEATHS. WHY NOT PROHIBITION??? AH, NOT GOOD FOR GOV.. 23 BARS WITH IN 1\3 OF MY HOUSE NO WHERE TO PARK? AH THAN THERES KENO? AND THE THE BANKS GIVING TO MUCH ALL TO WELL KNOWING, AND DOCTORS HELPING GOV KILL AND COVER PREVENTABLE DEATHS FAR MORE THAN 25%, FROM PREVENTABLE INFECTIOUS DISEASES EMERGING SUCH AS C-DIFF, SSHHH WILL KILL MORE THAN AIDS, BUT AAHH THE MONEYS IN BOTOX.. WHAT A LUCKY GENERATION WE WERE, I SAY WERE, WHERE DID EVERYONE GO, IM ALONE WITH NEIL ITS A HEAVY BURDON TO BE WAITED DOWN WITH THOUGHT. AND NOT JUST WITH CABLE BILL, I JUST WANT OUR GOV TO LIKE US AGAIN, 1966 JET FORMATIONS FLYING OVER HEAD, FELT SAFE..1974 PREG LUCKILY? BECAUSE WLD HAVE OD'D PROB. I MADE A DECISION, STUCK WITH IT, HUSB AND I WAITED A YEAR TO MARRY, HELL NO ONE WENT TO SCHOOL THEN. PARENTS EDUCATORS, GOV. HAD NO IDEA OF DRUGS? TO MANY TO MENTION..NEVER ON WELFARE, AND MADE A CONCIOUS DESCION 11 YEARS LATER TO ANOTHER CHILD. SEEMED SAFE THEN, NOT.. MY ANNCESTORS KISSED THE GROUND UPON ARRIVING TO AMERICA, DIDNT BRING THIER OWN FLAGS, THEY BUILT THIS COUNTRY, AND YET OUR LETS US GO WITHOUT, MAKE DO, TO GIVE MORE TO PEOPLE WE LET CLAIM OWNERSHIP TO OUR COUNTRY AS THEY WAIVE THIER FLAGS OF PAST..THEY ARE EDUCATED HERE TO KILL, AND PAID TO DO IT, STILL MILLIONS SAY NOTHING.. EVERY 4 ARE JUST HAPPYTY FOR THIER BONE, AND LOSS OF THIER JOB IF THEY MISCOUNT. BUT ENOUGH,, TO YOUNG... TO BE THIS OLD, EMPTY NESTERS. 30 YEARS AND FOR FIRST TIME LOST.. AND TO TIRED FOR THIS TALK,CANT TALK TO MUCH WOULD HATE TO BE NAMED TIM! INSTEAD OF STRESS WE AT 46 RETIRING AND A BOX IN WARM CLIMATE MIGHT BE MOST FREEDOM WE EVER GOT,,,INVISABILITY... WE LIVE TO GOOD IN GHETTO, SAYS GOV AND ARE AUDITED YEARLY, GOV HATES NOT KNOWING WHAT WE SPEND OUR 60K ON, HOW ABOUT IN BABIES 30K YR COLLEGE. BUT IF AMERICANS WAKE UP SPEAK OUT AND IF NEIL YOUNG IS ON BALLOT I WILL BE BACK,, TO STAND PROUD AGAIN.. THANK YOU NEIL FOR YOUR UNBELIEVABLE STAMINA & INSIGHT, A GIFT TO ALL...AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT. R.K. LEAVING MI
Press Release
For Immediate Release: Feb. 5, 2007
From: Dr BLT Music/Right-wing Records
An anti-Republican-bashing song (written in response to Neil Young's song, Impeach the President) by an outspoken conservative singer/songwriter, Dr. Bruce L. Thiessen was recently named the number 8 best song in a well-respected music critic's (Al Barger, Blogcritics Magazine) list of the 40 best records of 2006. For more information, visit this link:
http://www.morethings.com/music/best_songs_2006.htm
DR. BLT MUSIC
The song appears on this USA Today chart at #115:
http://www.neilyoung.com/lwwtoday/lwwsongspage.html
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