Neil Young News: Are We A Nation Of Whiners?

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Monday, March 23, 2009

Are We A Nation Of Whiners?

So after 20+ years of Neil Young fans waiting, wondering and watching, we move at last another step closer with this weekend's announcement of The Archives track listing. We'll be having more to say on the specifics in just a bit.

But -- once again -- we are left bewildered by our fellow Neil fans. In some respects it's just plain embarrassing. We have even tried to reason with folks about how their behavior reflects poorly on the entire Neil community. And we've attempted to quantify the angst which led us to conclude that much of the despair and negativity is confined to the 4% Club.

We bring this all up because it's not just us here on this blog that wonders what the heck is going on with Neil fans. It's been picked up by newspapers like the Guardian UK's article about how fans would rather have the Archives than Fork in the Road. Even Neil's management is appalled to a degree by what gets posted here (we understand from reliable sources).

Another example to wit is in today's LA Music Shopping Examiner by Alex Pudlin article "Neil Young Archives Vol 1 finally has a release date... and folks are still furious":

Over at the largest Neil Young fan site, Thrasher's Wheat, the comments re: the Archives tracklist and price include more than a few disappointed whiners who will only be satisfied if the Archives featured a sponge capsule that transforms into 1960's-era Neil Young when dropped in water. The distraught fans who think that the Archives cost too much or feel cheated that its contains a heavy dose of previously released music, need to consider Mr. Young's goal with this project.

In many interviews, Young has described this project as akin to an autobiography (corns, calluses and all). It comes with a 256 page book. The Blu-Ray edition includes a timeline that through BD Live can be updated with new content whenever Neil feels like it. If you ever wanted to learn about Neil Young from 1963-1972, this 10 Blu-Ray (or DVD) set will do the trick. But ask those skeptical fans and many will say that they don't need such a complete picture. They just want the songs they've never heard. Despite hundreds of unreleased photos, hours of video, hi-rez 24/192 sound, and a potential constant stream of future updates through BD Live, some feel like Neil is just selling back music we already have. In this economy, I can understand that impulse.

So here's the question. Should a musical retrospective stick to music and music alone? Luckily, there's an option to just get the CD's for 1/3 of the Blu-Ray price ($99 vs $299) so anyone who wants to do the bare minimum has options. But my "Music Shopper" opinion is this: in 2009, a musician is far more than his/her songs. It's always been that way really (do you think the legends of Hendrix, Joplin and Morrison carry on merely because they had some good tunes?) but now technology has caught up. As media merges into some grand music-interactive-visual hybrid, the inner workings of an artist can be captured like never before. Neil knows this and has embraced it. If the musician as cultural figure wants to survive in the age of instant consumption, he/she must think in multiple layers.

Neil Young got the memo back in '63 and never let up (take one look at the "road-eyes" in the Rust Never Sleeps concert film or his recent viral videos and tell me otherwise). Sure, I'd like to see some more unreleased tracks. But a document that gives you only unreleased songs but shortchanges the artist's true spirit is a waste of your time and money.

At the end of the day, what's a fitting legacy for an important artist? Must it be complete and exhaustive? Or just essential? Must it contain only unreleased songs? Or must it give you an overall picture of the person it's meant to honor? I don't have the Archives. It may never come out. But one look at the scope of what's planned, and you must appreciate the length Mr. Young has gone to tell the story of his musical rise from 1963-1972. We can only hope that his peers and future artists take the whole process as seriously. Then, maybe this industry can be saved after all.

Lots of good questions. We're certainly interested in your perspective on these issues, and would love to hear some sincere comments on them below.

We should also note that -- as Brand New Guy summarizes -- it was in fact fan input on the Archives that played a major part in a number of significant changes:

1. Neil said the Archives would come out on Blu Ray and DVD only...
2. Bunch of folks bitched on Thrasher's Wheat...
3. Neil responded and said that the audio Archives would also come out on CD...
4. Bunch of folks bitched on Thrasher's Wheat about listening to the Archives in
their cars...
5. Neil responded and said that buyers of the Blu Ray or DVD editions would get
free mp3 downloads of the audio.
6. Bunch of folks bitched that Neil's compromising on quality...
etc.

So time after time over the past year, Neil and team have gone back to the well and adjusted the NYA.

In the meantime, here's a comment on Neil Young Archives Track Listing by Anonymous:

Those complaining about partial albums consider this -- one of the great aspects of the BD format is that anything and everything can be filled in later ... the initial investment in the hardware and the archives is a ticket to future DOWNLOADS ... the Archives team has shown amazing responsiveness by listening to fans, despite some nasty posters, and creating a plethora of great choices and options, including mp3 downloads for free for those who buy the better packages. But, forearmed is forewarned - buy the BD if you can, it seems like the key portal for the future ... from here forward it would seem that we might not have to wait 20 years for Archives 2, perhaps it will/can be released in sections on BD ... finally, the diversity of options truly should stop virtually every complainer in their tracks ... allowing everyone to buy/not buy what they choose ... w/ this release Neil's putting out the vast majority of his life's work, giving people the option to enjoy much of it in the highest quality, most technically rich format ever put out ... Neil as only Neil can do has taken the project to the edge of what's possible. Hopefully, with the format and technology in place he and his team will be able to push out the rest of the 70s material in short order... naysayers be damned... its a great time to be a Neil Young fan!

Thanks Archive Guy, Thrasher and all those who have contributed!

So if it's only 4% of all hard-core Neil fans that are having problems with NYA, then Neil and his team have done a fine job getting it to the finish line.

As for us? We'll reserve our opinions until it's in our hands and swirling down our ear canals.

Lastly, we do not mean to insinuate that those with questions about their upcoming purchase are "whiners". We're referring to the clowns who want "Toast" and their ilk.

So, is The Neil Young Nation, a nation of whiners?

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35 Comments:

At 3/23/2009 06:33:00 PM, Anonymous said...: It's just a symptom of the "I want" culture. This is born out of a destructive element in western societies - narcisicism.

Of course it generates a feeling that one is somehow entitled. Thus, it also breeds dissatisfaction when what they desire is not precisely how they desire it.

Consumer culture...Yes
American dream?... Yes
Recession?...

"What recession?"

"I want it and I want it now"

http://davidnottoli.typepad.com/sidewalklife/2007/01/fame_and_narcis.html

It'll take a seismic shift to alter that.
At 3/23/2009 07:19:00 PM, AK said...: it's pretty natural to give a fairly thorough critique of a music set that's been promised for over 20 years. assembling something like the archives is not neil's forte. making the music is where neil excels not in assembling career retrospectives.
At 3/23/2009 07:48:00 PM, Anonymous said...: It's all the same song . . .

there's surely a fair amount of delay-fatigue and the first set's going to cost a half-month's mortgage

but the same sort of commentary can be found in the wine blogs and Red Sox Nation chat rooms so there's nothing that unique about it
_____________________________
just the guy down at the end of the car -
At 3/23/2009 07:50:00 PM, Pinto (or Flounder) said...: "assembling something like the archives is not neil's forte. making the music is where neil excels not in assembling career retrospectives."

I think this opinion does a real disservice to the artist and the people who have spent the last few years assembling a package that is unprecedented in its scope, its future adaptability, and its response to external reactions. I don't remember Coppola soliciting outside opinions when assembling the various versions of the Godfathers; I don't remember Dylan asking for input when he's put together his archive releases, and I know that no one, on any level, has used the very latest technology to provide room for constant expansion of the archival record.

If the first volume of the archives arrives on the shelves this year in the form it appears to have taken, it will be a staggering achievement and the culmination of years of work to produce the deepest picture of the artist's origins. Neil has honored us with his devotion to making this archive a brilliant. moving picture of a life in music that has made our lives infinitely richer.

Thank you.
At 3/23/2009 07:56:00 PM, Anonymous said...: pinky brow here...well said well said..i stopped reading the RUST LIST and have almost stopped reading these blogs to..i just dont relate to the whingers and complainers..here in australia i simply got sick of hearing the rubbish spewing outta the keypads and some...i work closely in the cd business and know shitloads of very very obssessed neil lovers..those guys never get on these sites,,but may i say that nearly every neil fan i know and talk to LOVES what neil had been doing for the last 20 years or so..silver and gold..praire wind..chrome 2..broken arrow.neils linc volt preject.greendale ..as well as the incredible live shows he just delivered...and now this amazing labour of love the archives ..looks amazing..im a huge fan of quality sound..shm-cd from japan and sacd,s through a great sound system just blows my head of..im a lover of quality vinyl and have a lovely soda suffer??player..i love the sound and im not interested in all that.ripped..burnt..downloaded shit that everyome else love..yes ITS FREE..but IT SOUNDS LIKE SHIT..CRAP..RUBBISH..so im intensley loooking foward to the reastered sound quality of the archives set...have you heard after the goldrush on shm cd..??anyone??it will knock ya sox off..you will trow ya ripped burnt and downloaded ipod in the bin where it belongs cause the remastering is stunning..so there ya go.....shit what a vital,brilliant few years its been..they are all lp,s from the heart..and neil and bob dylan..are the only 2 still left from the 1960,s who are consistently releasing lp,s that are from their artistic souls..they are the only 2..these people who whine and moan are simply representatives of the sick"i want it all..and now..for free'society we live in these days
At 3/23/2009 08:00:00 PM, Shittyhorse said...: Once again...this is Neil's Box set. I believe he can put whatever the hell he wants on it. It's HIS career, HIS music, HIS life, HIS product. He knows not everyone is going to be happy with it and I'm sure he doesn't give two shits (as he should!) I'm sure we've all heard the old saying "you can't make EVERYONE happy" well, this is simply a case of that. Neil could have released absolutely EVERYTHING all at once...just one big massive thing and people would complain: "oh it's too big" or "its too expensive"
This is just ridiculious!
For once Neil Young has really tried to please his fans with this one....the fantics, the casual fans, everyone. He's compromised, which he NEVER does, by changing it's format etc. because we asked him to. Do you think Sting would listen to your complaints? Or Dylan? I think Dylan would just tell you to go fuck yourself...but Neil? He's taking advantage of this new medium and listening to what his fans are saying..he really listened.
Have you ever thought about what you'd say to Neil if you had his ear for a minute? Would you tell him to his face his new record sucks...even though you hadn't heard it yet? Would you call him greedy for the ticket prices? Even though he ROCked the house till One am? Would you bitch at him for not releasing HIS archives the way YOU want them? I doubt it. Well Neil's been listening and some of you told him he's shit, he's old, washed up and he can't even compile HIS own career the way HE sees fit. I know if I ever got to meet Neil FUCKING Young I'd tell him what his music has meant to me over the years and I admire and respect everything he does...and I'd know I was honest.
Yeah I'd say we're a nation of Whining bitches. GIMME GIMME GIMME...right? We're all slobbish Fat-sos I'd say.
You could hand someone the shirt off your back and they'd ask you for your pants.
ROCK ON NEIL...KEEP DOING WHAT YOU DO!
At 3/23/2009 08:03:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I think the worst deal for your money is to by the cd set. Because then you're really just getting one discs worth of new songs.
You buy the blue ray or even the dvd, and you'll hours upon hours of pure joy exploring.
Cd people should consider the upgrade as this product should prove to be unlike anygthing before it.
My real dream is that it becomes a template for other great artists to release their entire body of work.
Syscrusher
At 3/23/2009 08:57:00 PM, Doonerak said...: It's hard for reality to live up to the Myth, built up over the last 20 years. At this point, most of his biggest fans who have been following the archives, including myself, are essentially totally non-objective. There is a really interesting study in psychology here. A real life "Waiting for Godot". I'll bet that there are NY fans who will be driven into mild depression with the release of NYA because a long standing hope is being replaced by a different reality.

I have my own vision of an "aesthetically beautiful" archive and it's not what we're getting apparently.

Neil clearly has other ideas.

We should realize this and have a bit of compassion for our fellow Neil Fan (It's not a symptom of an "I want" culture).....and then move on with life....
At 3/23/2009 09:13:00 PM, AK said...: pinto-- coppola is a film maker. the godfather is a film. i doubt dylan has quite the iron grip over the bootleg series you think he does. other than ppicking the songs he probably just lets the record company lackeys do the packaging and reserves final say over the product.

neil is a master musician not a master marketer. the archives are a package not the result of a transcendent studio session. they aren't even what he intended them to be originally. "warts and all".

had neil kept his mouth shut and quietly worked on them and then released them then you could take them at face value. but too much has been said over the years about the archives from neil and his people, from release dates, content, format...you name it, it's changed dozens of times. it is what it is.....and it's not as good as it should have been but it's not bad either.
At 3/23/2009 09:15:00 PM, dr dip said...: "I've been waiting for you
and you've been coming to me
For such a long time now"

Thanks shakey!
At 3/23/2009 10:39:00 PM, Shadow said...: I have bought a lot of box sets started with "Woodstock " and " 4way street" and yes people complained then .I will be upfront my own complaint not for me i taped it but the BBC 1971 concert is beautifull and would have been a nice inclusion .I been listening to Neil for 42 years i am in my mid 50s. My friend Ron called me to come listen this new album thats cool i might want called "Buffalo Springfield" this new LA band .Or for my 17th birthday i got a copy of ATGR and a year later at xmas a copy of 4WS . My wife just got me a copy of LACH . When she was in the hospital i called her and we sang "Harvest Moon " to her .The archives are like Neil said the good and the bad . That is what he done . In a way i appreciate as an old fan . The book offers a better look into Meil at that time . Probably much better then we got in "Creem " ," Datebook" and that new magazine "Rolling Stone ".

Theese complaints are read for every boxset , every large size complitation . Enjoy what Neil gives you and appreciate it is from him .

For Neil and his folks that read this from one old hippie to another . Keep on rocking in the free world brother . Still a fan over 40 years later since first i heard you.
At 3/23/2009 11:11:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I'm pretty sure that BBC 1971 IS going to be on the archives. Remember it's a video, and they havn't released the official video content. It's on the timeline for massey hall. Plus lots of other videos like finjan club and at the ranch etc.
At 3/23/2009 11:36:00 PM, sugarmtn said...: Without getting into the details of the Archives, I think one of the reasons for the amount of whining is the nature of the blog and forums on the internet in general. People who post and comment are frequently those who feel one of the extremes - I love it, I hate it. Those folks in the middle likely don't post at all. Just my .02.
At 3/24/2009 01:50:00 AM, punkdavid said...: It's taken me literally all day to catch up on my reading at various Neil sites about this huge announcement. I wish I could have been in the discussions here yesterday, or maybe not. I probably would have made an ass of myself tearing apart some of the comments.

It's one thing to have complaints and criticisms, but in this case, the complaints were mostly just plain idiotic. For virtually every negative I've read, there is a perfectly logical counterargument that should end with "and STFU".

Too expensive? Buy the CD version.

Don't want Fillmore and Massey? Buy the discs individually.

Didn't live up to your personal dream of what The Archives might have been because you once read about a track that might or might not actually exist that you don't see listed on the tracklisting? As the Buddha said, "Expectations are a motherfucker." Or something like that.

Personally, I'm completely floored that Neil and his team not only solicited feedback from us on this project, but actually made significant changes to accommodate our most reasonable requests. Free mp3 downloads? Individual disc purchases? Shit, they even lowered the MSRP, for Christ's sake! What the hell else do you want, a peppermint blowjob?

OK, I'm a little itchy and on a roll now, so I will respond to one specific comment made in this thread.

AK said...
making the music is where neil excels not in assembling career retrospectives.

Doesn't excel at creating career retrospectives? Who are you to judge, especially being that you haven't seen or heard a thing on the set yet. I'll take the word of Jim DeRogatison over yours, being that he actually was at the SXSW demo and called the set "not only ... absolutely amazing, it quite possibly is a model for the only kind of recorded product that independent and chain stores alike will still be selling in the post-CD future."

Seems like Neil is ACTUALLY pretty fucking good at putting together career retrospectives, and have the utmost confidence that everyone who gets to spend some time with the BD version will eat their words in the end.

Most of the negative comments posted yesterday are just too irretrievably stupid to warrant intelligent responses, but as a whole they shock me as being basically nothing new since the complaints a few months back, except that they don't acknowledge all that Neil & Co. have done since then to make this set as accessible to all as possible without significantly compromising his artistic vision, thereby making them all that more ignorant.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Thrasher, I really think you need to limit comments on this blog to those who are willing to sign their names (or at least their internet pseudonyms) to their posts. I may seriously disagree with AK in calling him out in this post, but at least he has the balls to sign his posts and defend his opinions. These anonymous clowns should have no right to post if they won't stand behind their words, even in the most minimal of anonymous internet ways.

--PunkDavid
At 3/24/2009 02:20:00 AM, punkdavid said...: I probably should also just give a formal thank you to The Archives Guy and Neil (assuming they're different people) for this set and all of the time that they've taken in accounting for the desires of the fans when it comes to this collection. Neil is not a man who compromises much, so I consider this to be a huge deal.
At 3/24/2009 03:04:00 AM, Judd said...: Why would anyone bitch and moan about what is on the menu or the daily specials board for what Ol' Neil is serving up. WTF.

Have you been to Jimi's or Janis' or Morisson's Cafe lately. No...they are closed for business.

If you don't like what is on the menu, go eat at another joint.

Bring it on Neil. It's all one meal.
At 3/24/2009 03:58:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Hmm... following this from the side-line is just amazing... how about sending the 4% whining clowns on a delegation to a 3rd world country (say... Ethiopia?) to tell the people there about the problems WE are facing... "Neil who? Blu-ray what? DVD? Too much material that's already been released?" After a month there, maybe they would actually appreciate being at home listening to whatever song by any artist. And to Neil: What an effort. Where do you find the time for all this? Let alone the extensive touring and writing and Linc-Volt... My God, I always bring you up when my dad (who just turned 60) starts complaining about not having the time or energy to do what he wants... and he works 8-16. It IS a privilege being alive at the same time as u Neil and being able to see u in concert, following your muse as you keep making new music, staying not just alive - but always relevant. When friends complain about not being young in the Beatles era, I grin just thinking about all the wonderful moments with ur music - from discovering After the goldrush when I was 16-17, and now eagerly awaiting Fork in the road. Ken, Norway. kenrune@hotmail.com
At 3/24/2009 04:54:00 AM, Nicolas Spilmont said...: I think that for some (most ?) of us, the Archives are like a fantasy that should never be satisfied ! When you have been dreaming of something for years (decades in our specific case...), you are obviously disappointed when your dream comes true...
I have been listening to Neil for about 15 years now (I'm 31) and have always been hearing about the Archives project. I will buy the Archives (most probably the DVD's) because I love Neil's music and also respect him as an artist: there must be a good reason for the track-listing to be as it is. Of course, we all would have liked to get more "unrealeased" tracks, but we already have them (in ABD, bootlegs, etc...) !
Finally, my opinion is that, even with more unrealeased tracks, even with ALL kown-to-date unrealeased tracks included in the Archives, there would have been people (should I write "fans" ?) to complain. These people are bitter, when they could just ENJOY !

Thank you Thrasher, Archives Guy, Neil + management.
Looking forward to listening to the Archives and seing Neil in Antwerpen on June 6 !

Nicolas, from France
At 3/24/2009 06:46:00 AM, pnosquare said...: As one poster in the thread stated, this is a great time to be fan of anything. Today, there is unprecedented access to artists who use technology to break down the walls that have existed. All the middlemen are going to the sidelines. Neil Young is doing this like so few other artists. I would much rather see an artist present their own videos and put out their music (and archives) in new and creative ways than simply play 5 nights on David Letterman to promote themselves to college kids who really don't care about the acts that their parents like.

We live in a time of choice and tremendous selection. The downside of this fact is that it becomes increasingly difficult for an artist to make a statement at all. There is a reason why we see nothing like "Pink Floyd's The Wall" these days...in an age when artist's truly can be artists, so few are actually taking the challenge to produce unprecedented content in unprecedented mediums. Neil Young is at least trying to do this.

I'm not sure if I will make the investment in Blue Ray just for the Neil Young Archives, but I might....simply as a choice to experience the project in a way that is new and probably enlightening and how the artist has intended it.
At 3/24/2009 08:49:00 AM, karen/streamland said...: Okay, I have to just say that I agree with what SugarMtn said, that only the extremists tend to post a lot (haha, takes one to know one, we all know which side of the extreme I fall on, sigh), and that is a really good point, SugarMtn. So Thrasher, and Archives Guy, and NY camp in general, keep that in mind. Most people DON'T POST. And most people are probably in the middle. Not that you CARE, I'm just saying. Because being an extremist I have to post. : )

But also I have to agree wholeheartedly with Punk David on pretty much everything he said (less the, peppermint comment ?). I am still laughing about most of it, especially the Buddha paraphrase. And really that is probably what this all comes down to. NY is SO loved, that all of this matters WAY TOO MUCH to, well, a lot of the folks who are the target audience. Or at least the ones who post. : ) Expectations are indeed a motherfucker, but NY is not in the business of meeting anyone's expectations but his owns. And to me, the content of The Archives is fascinating in its own right for that alone! What does NEIL YOUNG think should be included in this epic release? If you think about it, that alone is fascinating, truly. You think he's trying to gouge you? Seriously? Look, you may feel gouged but there is no way that I can believe that is NY's motivation here. Forty plus years, his entire freaking LIFE, and it's going to come down to how he can squeeze the most out of you? No. Come on. If you think you know him at all, you can't really think that.
love karen/streamland
At 3/24/2009 09:22:00 AM, Craig said...: Thrasher, your blog makes your point completely. Stop whining and just post the news. Your weekly random blogs are getting a bit ridiculous.
At 3/24/2009 09:52:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Interesting comments and I had pondered the same thing: why are people bitching about a mythic thing, that for once, seems eminent?

I, too, agree with PunkDavid & Karen. Why does this matter so much, all of it--from FITR, NYA-- on and on.

Because we LOVE the guy so much! As my mother used to (and STILL) says: if I didn't love you, I wouldn't care (and consequently wouldn't bitch about...my hair... my dates... my complexion as a teen.... etc).

Neil, you are stuck: we love you and NOTHING will change it. And as a result, some will bitch, moan, and whine.

Thanks for 40 years of music and, with regards to the Archives, thanks for listening to legitimate fan/costs concerns. Many of your fans really do have real concerns rather than what version of CG is missing from some collection.

-Chicago
At 3/24/2009 10:45:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Whew, it takes an artist to create a bashing. The Bigger the Artist, the Bigger the Bashing.
Why must all idols be smothered? Is it because Rust Never Sleeps?

At times, this blog resembles the mob in Human Highway at the Devo concert chanting "Neil Dung" - but that's what Neil accepts -- that the mob will be the mob - but that the "mob" is the minority.

I await the Archives with great relish. I want to hear and see as much as I can, to get the feel of 1971 all over again.

I can hope for "everything" but if I don't get it, I can always anticipate the next BD live download - which can conteract the "Waiting for Godot" effect.

One of things that has been released that I find the most interesting is that little "interview" video in the Harvest DVD where Neil is lounging on the ground at the ranch, high as a kite, expounding on his "band", newfound fame and when he buys things, like land...all the while the sound of "words" wafts into the canyon. It is really somethign special - and something that the Archives is all about. Savoring those precious moments in time.

Rock On
-jim
At 3/24/2009 11:13:00 AM, karen/streamland said...: I love that video/interview from Harvest, too, Jim, truly, it is something else. A rare, intimate-feeling moment with the artist we love so much. Special indeed.

I want to add ... About the Blu-Ray ... um ... how could anyone possibly pass up the Blu-Ray edition when Neil is promising to send you sticky notes? : )

lovekaren/streamland
At 3/24/2009 12:20:00 PM, Chris Burns said...: I completely agree with this post. Over the past few months, the comments from a select few of our fellow Neil devotees, regarding the archives, has been disappointing. No, it's not a majority, but it's enough to make an impression! It's shameful not to respect Neil's attempt to satisfy all his fans by releasing a product in a variety of ways.

It's a shame that people can't be satisfied that the archives are simply being released. Plus, it's fairly self-explanatory that the set would have always contained previously released material, as any decade-spanning collection should do.

People have got to take a step back and appreciate the mere fact that Neil wishes to share such important material with us, while also attempting to ensure that we put our money into the best product (Blu-Ray). It's as clear as day that Neil has put his heart and soul into this work. I don't even care if it doesn't come out in June, as I'm sure Neil will have a valid reason for doing so. All this business about Neil following his muse couldn't be more true. Let the man do what he wants to do! He is the artist and we are the consumers, we are fortunate enough to follow the works of a genuine musician who CARES about his fans. But yeah, I'm 17 so what do I know...
At 3/24/2009 12:49:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Really need an Amazon.co.uk listing for Archives now. Great job on the set, looks amazing. But seriously, need European Amazon coverage in order to maximise potential for orders from over here. Also, as another poster mentioned, it would also help us avoid some pretty heavy tax punishment which would result from an order submitted to the NY.COM website.
At 3/24/2009 01:00:00 PM, horsewifnoname said...: YES

FTA
peace,y'all
At 3/24/2009 03:18:00 PM, Anonymous said...: I'd like to know where is the Horse. Will we see him again ? I miss the Horse, I miss this sound, I'd like to see these guys again before I'll die.
Great job Trasher, anyway, and thanks to be here.

JOHN.
At 3/24/2009 07:49:00 PM, Rink's Ramblings said...: First of all, this website is a God send. I really appreciate all of the information about NYA to help me make the right buying decision. At first I wasn't sure but if BD was a such a good deal but the more I read the more I can see that it's just the fact that I'm a technological dinosaur. I'm going to invest in a quality Blue Ray machine and buy the set. I believe the horizon with this technology is potentially limitless. Thanks for all of the information!
At 3/24/2009 10:50:00 PM, Anonymous said...: AK said...
making the music is where neil excels not in assembling career retrospectives.

I have a one word response:

Decade
At 3/25/2009 11:27:00 AM, AK said...: decade?

uh....o.k. i think that supports what i said about neil's retrospective skills. decade is o.k. that's about it.
At 3/25/2009 03:26:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Is this what rock and roll has turned into? I sure miss the days where we could just buy a product and take it home and listen to it. Easy as that. Now we're faced with all this technical mumbo jumbo, talking about 2.0 BD Live USB 24 bit/ 192 kHz blah blah blah. I miss the old days...
-Izzy
At 3/25/2009 03:43:00 PM, pieceofcrap said...: I don't know about all this weird techno-scepticism amnog Young-fans..
Really guys, plugged into a mega 1240 kb/bd/diskray/i-tune/podcast/3000 mw/blu-ray/heaven-knows-why-i-ever-bought-this-stuff-station, lines like:

"got a pot bell"/ not too big.."

sound sooooo much better!!!! ;-)
At 3/25/2009 03:45:00 PM, pieceofcrap said...: I don't know about all this weird techno-scepticism amnog Young-fans..
Really guys, plugged into a mega 1240 kb/bd/diskray/i-tune/podcast/3000 mw/blu-ray/heaven-knows-why-i-ever-bought-this-stuff-station, the line:
"got a pot belly"/ not too big.."

sounds sooooo much better!!!! ;-)
At 3/25/2009 09:05:00 PM, Anonymous said...: The ironic thing about the complaints from self-proclaimed "real fans" who feel they are being ripped off over the price, is that if you really are a devotee, you'll have downloaded hundreds of NY concerts, both as audio and as DVD, for nothing more than the cost of blank discs.

They're easily available on Bittorrent sites like Dime, and anyone should have noticed by now that NY is one of the dominant artists on those sites (and, by the way, NY could, if he wished, have the whole lot yanked with one word to the site owners - no lawyers necessary. He has not exercised that option. Is that "Thanks Neil" I heard you mumbling?).

So, "real" fan, you're in the position of either already owning hundreds of concerts that you paid nothing for, or there's a whole bunch of material out there that you don't yet own or know about. It's waiting for you, it's basically legal, and it's free (and yes, you should have them. It's musical gold).

Those concerts cost you nothing, but what are they really worth? You know that you're sitting on hundreds or thousands of dollars' worth of music.

You are now complaining about the formatting, or track listing, or demand or price of the official archive set that someone has been trying for years to produce and release.

They're being sold at an appropriate price for the content, and there is a wide range of alternative choices for you if you don't like that price or don't want it on Bluray. So make one.

You are not a victim.

There is no ripoff.