Neil Young News: "Fork In the Road" Goes Viral

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Thursday, January 15, 2009

"Fork In the Road" Goes Viral

The hilarious, must see Neil TV of the "Fork In the Road" video appears to be going viral on the 'net. And bloggers have been doing their job judging from the results.

Here's the latest from our trusty source Archives Guy commenting on video for "Fork In the Road":

Shakey Pictures would like to thank everyone for the encouraging feedback and overwhelming support of the first video in a new series, Fork In The Road.

In it's first 2 days, we have seen over 20,000 viewings of this video on YouTube. The Myspace link has over 17,000 views. Thanks to you...a completely grass roots, e-mail, blog, and chat group network this video has become a small sensation in the vast world of the Internet.

As Thrasher mentioned at the top of this post, we urge you to keep sharing this video with others.

It is set for you to link, embed, download and take mobile.

Apart from YouTube, Fork In The Road can also be viewed here:

- http://www.neilyoung.com/forkintheroad/forkintheroadvideo.html

- http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=50295490

"Keep on Bloggin' 'til the power goes out"
"We've still got you....thanks"

-Archives Guy

ps I forgot to thank everyone for all the great comments and subscriptions at the Fork In the Road channel over on YouTube. Remember, if you subscribe to the channel, you will receive alerts every time we put up a new video.

Thanks Archives Guy! Please let Neil know that we'll keep on bloggin' 'til the power goes out. And embeddin'. And mobloggin'. And -- most importantly -- that we've still got Neil....thanks.

But this post on Rust : Message: Neil Young - 2009 by Dave in Newfoundland sums up our thoughts probably much better than we ever could:

I just wanted to make the point that as Rusties we are blessed to have an artist as vibrant as Neil. Discussions on Rust sometimes centre around what he is not doing or what he should be doing.

We all need a good awakening now and then to realize how fortunate we are to have Neil in our lives in 2009 with the amazing amount of activity that we here on Rust have the opportunity to share in and discuss. New albums, new projects, The Archives, Linc Volt, a never ending tour, recent interviews that are more revealing than ever, and on it goes.

Pick another of your favourite artists, maybe one on the other side of 60. Who else offers their fanbase the amount of ongoing activity as Neil and who else has made it so readily available to the world so that we his fans can share in the journey with him.

I've been wanting to throw that out there for a while.

Wishing you all well
Dave in Newfoundland

Thanks Dave! You did justice for many Neil fans.

So it looks like we'll have to update the predictions for Neil Young in 2009 already. Poor us. ;)

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17 Comments:

At 1/16/2009 09:30:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Hello Rusties...I think FITR is a NY classic!..Neil saying just how he feels,(how we all feel) what could be better then that!..Thank you Dave you said it perfectly, Neil Young giving us Rusties so much over the decades.. He just keeps getting better and better..I am so proud that NY is a Canadian just like we are!..Thanks Thrasher Wheat for having this site for us Rusties. Glenn 'When I'm up in TO, keeping jive alive'
At 1/16/2009 02:43:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I love the delusional behavior that I'm seeing about this song and about Neil generally. "Fork in the Road" actually contains the following lyrics:

"Gets in my way when I'm driving my rig;
Driving this country in a big old rig;
Things I see mean a lot"

(Note that the word "rig" is used twice in a row to end a line.)

That's not funny songrwiting; it's not clever; and it's certainly not profound. Its just bad. And, when the lyrics are coupled with music that is repetitive and unoriginal, the resulting song is called "awful". It's not Neil "just following his muse" or Neil "taking a stand and saying FU to people" or Neil "doing what he wants to do." It's Neil writing bad music and then -- because he's Neil -- actually finding an outlet to publish said bad music. I'm not grateful that Neil is still "out there, putting out music." Rather, I'm sad that he's apparently lost his once-astounding songwriting ability and also his sense of perspective.
At 1/16/2009 03:01:00 PM, Thrasher said...: To 1/16/2009 01:43:00 PM:

You know I love your delusional behavior also.

I'd love to debate you on this. But you really need to establish an online identity upon which to debate so I don't have to reply to an anon time/date stamp.

Do you have a blog? A handle? Anything? Day after day you're here being negative anonymously. Why not establish an ID?

How about a Google/Blogger ID like Archives Guy? You can keep your profile public or private.

But since you make the same arguments over & over and we've heard them so often, we're just plain bored.

Like someone suggested the other day on one of your tirades, throw your hatred down dude.

From this point, your comments will be deleted.

Peace out.
At 1/16/2009 03:46:00 PM, Charles said...: As one on this list who has taken Neil to task for writing what I consider to be weak lyrics lately (including the "rig" example given by 1/16/2009 01:43:00 PM:, and the "school" repetition later in FITR), I generally agree with 1/16/2009 01:43:00 PM's comment. (Signing your posts would be a good idea - it would be unfortunate to have your point of view deleted in the future.)

I am trying to look at this issue of lyrics, of quantity, etc. objectively. I'm particularly interested in Neil's work with renewable fuels, an issue that we seriously need to come to grips with in this country. He's got great ideas on energy, and he has the ability to make people think differently about it and even to take action in a progressive direction.

However, Neil's ability to be persuasive about this issue depends on people thinking he is relevant..and not just his hard-core fanbase. Putting out "Ohio" quality songs about the environment could make people - and not only Neil megafans - stand up and think about the issue of energy. I just don't see FITR as making anyone other than very forgiving fans feel this way.

My point is that Neil's message about urgent issues in energy would be much stronger, would reach more people, and would be less likely to be dismissed if the music he were issuing in support of those messages were as strong as possible. I just don't see this song as meeting those criteria, and I find that unfortunate. Not that the song doesn't have a certain drive to it, and have a cool, tossed-off quality. But is THAT the type of thing you can rally a movement behind? I just don't think so...except to the very devoted fans.

My plea to Neil: slow down the product stream, tighten up the focus and message in the music, and have a bigger impact on the country.

Charlie
At 1/16/2009 04:07:00 PM, Thrasher said...: Charlie,
Thank you for your well considered comment.

just to be clear here. We have no problem with a negative observation whatsoever. Only a problem with repetitive, unenlightening, "lyrics suck" type comments which do not move discussion fwd.

In addition, we have a big problem when this repetitive argument continues to come from someone who is unable to stand behind their comments with an established online identity.

Thrasher
At 1/16/2009 04:12:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I've been reading this blog for a quite a while and forthe first time I want to come out of lurkdom to say:
1. Fork In The Road is a GREAT song IMHO... I love bit!!! Haven't been this excited Neilwise for a long time. Forget about the Archives, long live the new album! Being a Neil-fan isreally rewarding these days

2.Thanks Trasher... you're colossal!

Keep on rockin'

Bregt aka The Belgian Bad Boy of Rock...
At 1/16/2009 04:15:00 PM, BBQ.Master said...: I think that Neil has got more songs for his upcoming album which are still unknown. The new songs played on tour (and "Fork In The Road") are just previews, appetizers if you want to call it that way. So, we still have to wait for the whole new album as Shakey surely got something big which will satisfy the worried fans.
If not, well, it'll still be something like "Living With LincVolt", a kind of ass-kicking protest album.
At 1/16/2009 10:57:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Thrasher - I'm the dude who posted the 1:43 pm comment on this thread. I've posted maybe 3 times on this site total, so not doing anything "day after day". That may be a larger chorus of nay-sayers than you think. Anyways, your site rocks and I do regret the "delusional" quip (as its personal and not an appropriate thing to say). Your statement about deleting my emails, or cutting them off, smacks a bit of censorship, since I'm just stating my opinion and not really doing so in an offensive way. Though, admittedly, my comments are very direct and aggressive. Query whether you would start deleting effusively positive emails about Neil simply because they are "Anonymous". I doubt it. Anyways, it's your site and your prerogative of course. I have no idea how to set up a Blogger ID or a handle or anything like that, but I will sign my emails as follows if they are accepted in the future:

Big Old Rig
At 1/17/2009 12:27:00 AM, Anonymous said...: I am really liking it...reminds me of something Greendale (which is brilliant). Maybe we'll get to see something like that again. Sometimes with all of these big scary issues goin on around us (war, financial scandles,bs bailouts, catastrophic failure of gov't, oil was about 2 hunge a barrel and now its like forty...gee I wonder how that happens, The Wiggles, etc. etc. etc.) eventually we're comming to a fork in the road...KORITFW!!
TomCrac
At 1/17/2009 07:15:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Big Old Rig - I think you have missed the whole point. Dylan once said that he didn't want the lyrics printed on his records, because you can't read the lyrics separate from the melody, music and singing. A song is a piece of art. The lyrics are just one part of this. That's why Van Morrison can sing "blah, blah, blah, blah" and make it great music. So maybe you should buy yourself a book of written poetry instead.

Martin
At 1/17/2009 10:35:00 AM, Espen said...: You're on point, Martin. A work of art should not be cut down to letters and analyzed in fragments, but seen upon as a whole. The fact that Neil's later lyrics are pretty loose is just a natural part of the way he expresses himself. Neil Young is free to express himself in whatever way he wants, he is not bound to rules of ryhmes or rythms or whatever.

And on this occation he hits it just right!
At 1/17/2009 11:50:00 AM, Thrasher said...: Hi Big old Rig,

Thanks for starting the identity process with your handle.

It'll be easier to engage with you. i'm all for a healthy debate on this.

We just need some ground rules.

Also, here's how to establish a Google Accounts. This will give you a valid signature for posts.

Your move, buddy.
At 1/17/2009 08:17:00 PM, Slowpoke said...: Great song! Any fool can complicate things, it takes genius to simplify.
At 1/18/2009 01:21:00 PM, bandit53 said...: Thanks Thrasher, for sending us the link for 'Google accounts' I am new to your site but I am a lifelong fan of Neil's. I commend you for your response to 'Big Old Rig'. 'Peace and Love' Glenn in TO PS i am testing my new blogger account
At 1/18/2009 09:29:00 PM, ShittyHorse said...: Thrasher is Wise and Just.
At 1/19/2009 09:26:00 AM, any said...: Hi everybody out there! I simply can't understand all this discussions about the new material! The new songs are just GREAT! why are you trying to make someone do what YOU want? I believe Neil Young as a musician and artist has the right to choose himself what he wants to release, and when. now, that he's writing new songs, it's clear that those are more important for him to be released than the archives... I think he's been doin a great job for the last decades, so be respectful! If all of you know what "good" or "profound" songwriting is, why don't you go write your own songs? and then put them on youtube and let the people in the blog discuss them. For me, the new songs especially "fork" are great and do have very good lyrics and nice raw sounds that i miss in a lot of music! the lyrics cover a lot of ideas. maybe they are too radical for some people to understand. but that's rock'n'roll. you can't satisfy everyone. I'm waiting for the new album, and i'm really happy about it!
peace,
kleon
At 2/22/2009 03:19:00 AM, old man emu said...: I've even heard there is a great t-shirt to accompany the new song.

http://photobucket.com/Neil-In-Sydney

Gary
and I fell into a dream