The Ragland Project

We've written extensively before about how Neil Young has been ahead of the curve regarding environmental issues. The Inconvenient Truth of Greendale examined the album's themes which served as a warning of the consequences of environmental degradation.

Which brings us back to the Ragland Project. In 2002, Neil's boat The Ragland set sail to save the world's ocean and climate from the effects of global warming.

Neil loaned his 100 yr old wooden schooner Ragland and crew to the Planktos Foundation and began a series of innovative ocean/climate experiments by adding natural iron mineral dust to a small forest sized patch of ocean. The Ragland was used to deliver a cargo of "rust" (the natural iron mineral dust) to help fight global warming. Natural iron mineral dust used in the experiment supplements a scarce iron nutrient in the ocean. When added to the ocean in minute quantities iron is known to stimulate growth of ocean plants, phyto-plankton. The plants, in turn, absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, CO2.

For more details, see The Ragland Project.

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SONGS OF THE TIMES: Our Friends

A few of our friends have posted songs on Neil's LIVING WITH WAR TODAY: SONGS OF THE TIMES page. Check out:

• "Virtual War" - Karen Barry
• "Echoes of War" - Francesco Lucarelli
• "A Christmas Wish From Iraq" - Bill Laing
• "When Did Jesus Become A Republican" - Cindy Lee Berryhill
• “A Traitor’s Death”- Josh Hisle
• “Shine A Light” - Jenny Yates
• “Bring ‘Em On” - John Hughes
• "Letters Home" - Gale Mead

All are great, heartfelt efforts and worthy of a listen.

Also, don't forget the upcoming Los Angeles concert Songs of Protest featuring artists on the SONGS OF THE TIMES page.

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Randomly Blogged - Buffalo Springfield Discography

The Runout Groove: Neil Young Discography Part One - Buffalo Springfield / Buffalo Springfield (1966)

The Runout Groove: Neil Young Discography Part Two - Buffalo Springfield / Buffalo Springfield Again (1967)

The Runout Groove: Neil Young Discography Part Three - Buffalo Springfield / Last Time Around (1968)

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Comment of the Moment: "Vampire Blues" Video

The recent posting of the "Vampire Blues" video seems to have touched a few nerves.

"What is it with all of this left wing-right wing crap out there in the blogger world? I bought On the Beach when it first came out and when I heard Vampire Blues, I saw it as Neil being self-deprecating, flippant, and more than a little sarcastic. It was a tongue in cheek observation of the oil crisis and the long lines at the pumps(those of you who were driving at the time, as I was, with my gas guzzling 318 engine). It fit well within the context of the record, and the times. The decision by Neil to politicize this with the release of the video was surely done with the same playful attitude he has so amply demonstrated over the years. Despite my own personal reservations about Living With War(I liked it in much the same way that I liked Tonights the Night or time Fades Away). Neil had something to say and he said it in his own inimitable way...with his music. "

And that was one of the more polite comments. More comments and to view "Vampire Blues" video.

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It's All One Song

"It's all one song," Neil says into the microphone before Crazy Horse launches into Year of the Horse's opening track, "When You Dance You Can Really Love."

A reader of Thrasher's Wheat, Trip Niven of Monroe, North Carolina, license plate.

Thanks Trip!

More on the story behind "all one song" and the Year of The Horse Tour and film.

And some more Neil license plates and other signs of all things Neil.

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TRANS Revisited: When New Wave happens to Baby Boomer rockers

An interesting analysis of TRANS over on CultureCloud by Bob Cook. Cook looks at what happens when artists from the '60's meet up with New Wave and examines Neil Young's TRANS.

"In the late 1970s, established Baby-Boomer rockers -- the kind now the target audience of Dennis Hopper's rebellious retirement plan TV ads -- got jolted by the double-barrelled commercial attack of disco and New Wave. The results of rockers' sudden, survival-instinct embrace of disco (from artistic and commercial successes as the Rolling Stones, to commercial successes and artistic failures such as Rod Stewart and Kiss, to failures all around such as Aretha Franklin) has been well-chronicled.

But what of those rockers who succumbed to New Wave? In North America, punk was slow to break out commercially, but the edgy, choppy, synth-driven, skinny-tie sounds of New Wave caught fire, making many veteran artists sound like dinosaurs. Which many of them, thanks to a combination of substance abuse, aging and general torpor, indeed were. While bands like the Allman Brothers (at least for a while) were lost in New Wave's wake, other acts decided they had better start sounding more like Gary Numan."

Cook goes on to describe the painful backstory in detail and the resulting TRANS sessions. While Thrasher would have to disagree with the overall assessment, as flawed as TRANS might be, it is still an essential component of Neil's discography.

Also see review Trans - Neil Young Albums In Order and Neil Young Interview - Village Voice Rock and Roll Quarterly, Winter 1989.

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Comment of the Moment: Documentary Film of CSNY Freedom of Speech Tour

A Comment of the Moment on Documentary Film of CSNY Freedom of Speech Tour. Simpson said...

"I don't know about the rest of you guys...but I'm rather disappointed in learning that the CSNY movie will be a documentary and not a straight concert film...which I had been hoping for.

I know this was a very controversial tour and all...but the very first official movie with all four members in it is going to be a documentary?

I do have to admit that I am political...and on the Republican side...but I still have both versions of Young's 'Living With War' album and saw the guys at their last stop of the '06 tour in Burgettstown.

Here's what I have to say. Each concert was about 3 1/2 hours long. I loved every single song they played at my concert. I was hoping to get just a straight concert film with concert footage of most of the songs they played.

With a documentary we're gonna get less concert footage for more interviews and opinionated stuff which I probably won't want to watch after the first or second viewings. I understand the meaning of this tour and all...but I was mainly hoping to get a concert film.

I honestly don't care about the documentary aspect of it...that's fine with me...but a documentary means less concert footage."

Hopefully, a DVD release will have a full concert recording.

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