neil young

reading tylerw's Hitchhiker piece reminded me how good that 92 version is. It's super dark and haunting and always makes me imagine Neil as an old hermit warning people from a mountaintop. There was a version of Revolution Blues from the solo Trans tour on youtube a while ago that had that same vibe. I've often thought about making a compilation of stuff that carries that feeling (Pushed It Over from the Bitter End show would be another).

Also, found some innaresting youtube clips I hadn't seen before:

I read about this in Shakey but never saw it until today - it's a French interview circa 82 where he discusses his love of the Human League and Flock Of Seagulls among others, while sitting at home with a Hagstrom II in his lap:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frSgDeNjfgo

Here's a psa video he did for the National Academy of Child Development, with a one-off version of I Am A Child:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMrIRPp47dA

and a promo spot from MTV where they give away the Shocking Pinks' Cadillac:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu_0X0dLkPs

thanks for the 1992 hitchhiker tip. i hadn't heard it before and it's really really good!

aw shit, sorry, realized that was in reference to tyler's piece on the song (http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2017/09/11/neil-young-a-hitchhiker-on-the-road/), which i somehow missed above! looking forward to going through that tonight :)

that 82 French Trans era interview has a lot of Cocaine Thoughts from Neil

Slated for Archives 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=66&v=oHebRiT5Vmw

whoops

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHebRiT5Vmw

Finally getting to Hitchhiker and it is indeed a very mighty thing to behold.

New Neil & Promise-O-The Real: https://pitchfork.com/news/neil-young-announces-new-album-the-visitor-shares-already-great-listen/

Also this: https://pitchfork.com/news/neil-young-auctioning-hundreds-of-his-model-trains/

hooboy those song titles...

was listening to daniel johnston performing live on kcrw this morning and never noticed before how ridiculously much this sounds like neil young:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWwCWG7ANok

We should totes pool our money and buy one of Neil's cars at that auction.

I've had the growing realization that Promise of the Real sucks* and are a terrible influence on Neil

* by sucks I mean their boring professionalism does Neil no favors

strong disasgree

Monsanto Years rules fuiud

I streamed a bit of P-Of Da Real (also, that is 100% a better band name) at some fest recently (was waiting for Prime Time to start) but so beyond their amazingly bland chopsy bar rock every single member of the band dresses like they are on the Rigs of Dad instagram account.

rigs of dad insta is a treasure, thank u for bringing this to my attention

as a shitty guitarist rapidly approaching middle-age, it's also worryingly close to home

OK I can support critiques of their fashion sense for sure

"i'm canadian by the way ..." lol. Piano sounds good here.

PotR sounds fine on the live stuff I've heard. Bongo guy is pretty questionable (unfounded conspiracy theory is that he's willie and neil's weed dealer). Never really got into Monsanto Years, but I don't know if that's the band's fault exactly.

In reference to middle aged blues-rock acts I believe this statement "Bongo guy is pretty questionable" is universal

i've listened to several Manassas and Stills-Young Band bootlegs and you sir are no Joe Lala
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Lala1972.jpg

matthew mcconaughey pls join the promise of the real thx

I guess I should give them more time but I really haven’t liked anything he’s done with PotR. :( Hopefully someday something will click.

In other PotT news, it appears that they landed a spot on the My Little Pony movie soundtrack from this year

Oh gross are they Bronies too?

wtf i'm a brony now

PotR is going to be extra pissed when Neil hooks up with Crazy Horse again

neil's selling his trains to get a complete set of OG little ponies

xp LOL

i've been digging into early to mid 80s stuff over on doom & gloom recently — we all know it, but it is still kind of astonishing how many directions he was going in at once between 1982 and 1987. Trans, The Trans Band tour, the Solo Trans tour, the Shocking Pinks, the Catalyst Crazy Horse stuff, the International Harvesters, Landing on Water, Rusted Out Garage tour, Life, the Bluenotes .... it really is a crazy five-year stretch.

Maybe the only comparable stretch
would be Le Noise (2010) to the present?

between 66 and 71 you've got buffalo springfield, his solo career, csn&y, picking up with crazy horse... then the five years after that are crammed too i guess? he's always been going in a million directions at once

yeah, true

trans aside, i've def explored 82-87 much less intensively than most of the rest of neil's career tho

it's pretty wild stuff. would definitely recommend checking this show out, if you haven't heard it: https://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/167050336972/neil-young-crazy-horse-the-catalyst-santa

awesome, thx tyler!

I love Bluenote Cafe probably way more that I should

I listen to Bluenote so much when people ask me if I like Neil Young now I say "The horn guy? Yeah he's cool"

hahaha

A Treasure, from his mid-80s tour with the International Harvesters, is really good: astutely chosen material,suitable for reveries and arenas. also, the Harvesters were A-list Nashville Cats, but/and no prob getting away from the hit factory. Bluenote Cafe is more uneven, since some of the horn arrangements were already dated, but still mostly good-to-terrific performances, incl. of songs I had't heard elsewhere (and yeah as I think was said upthread, both of these go back to/redeem turns that didn't go as well in the studio).
Ye olde Live In Berlin videotape and various boots indicate the Trans band tour is worth legit excavation as well.

yeah, i'm all for neil re-writing his 80s history with those performance series releases. the catalyst 84 stuff would actually be a good idea for an official release too. hell, i bet one of the shocking pinks shows would make an argument for that period. the video that was on youtube a while back smoked.

seeing him live during that mid-'80s stretch was way, way better than listening to his records.

This is good.

https://youtu.be/oZHf3dDVcmg

https://pitchfork.com/news/dram-and-neil-young-announce-new-song-together/

haha, can't wait

holy shit yeah that is REAL good

(referring to "Already Great" btw)

the lyrics are so terrible

it's hilarious though the whole "i was one of the lucky ones who came to freedom land" lol you'd think neil escape from soviet era czechloslovakia or something

like dude you were in a band signed to motown with rick james

winnipeg in the mid-60s was no joke dude