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An unofficial news blog for Neil Young fans from Thrasher's Wheat with concert and album updates, reviews, analysis, and other Rock & Roll ramblings. Separating the wheat from the chaff since 1996.
We see lots of inbound links here at Thrasher's Wheat from all sorts of sites like Dylan's Expecting Rain, or Pearl Jam's Ten Club or Wilco's Via Chicago.
And sometimes we even get the big traffic spike when we have an inbound from a major daily like when the Guardian UK links over and creates a giant uproar amongst Neil fans.
So it's always nice to check our logs and see such a well respected blog like Climate Progress link over to our recent post The Secret is Now Out: We've Got A Job To Do. And we must say it's also gratifying that Climate Progress highlighted one of our boldest observations regarding Greendale's importance.
Sorta makes us feel that we're not wasting our time here.
So, if you're in anyway interested in the future of our world's ecosystem, then you definitely want to be following blogger Joe Romm. We highly recommend the Climate Progress blog.
Thanks Joe! We intend to also keep on blogging ’til the power goes out..
According to Amazon.com's Fork In The Road (CD/DVD) pre-order listing the Fork In The Road (CD/DVD)has the following videos: 1. Fork In The Road (DVD) 2. Just Singing A Song (DVD) 3. Light A Candle (DVD) 4. A Day In The Life live concert video (DVD)
But -- as B.S.M. comments below -- the text that comes along with the album tracks on Amazon states: "The DVD in this CD+DVD package features three live, never-before-seen concert videos, and videos for four songs on the album." So either the Amazon DVD info is wrong or the DVD will have more than is currently known.
It has now become clear what the problem is and it's solution.
For some of our longtime regular readers, you know that Neil Young's album Greendale was responsible for awakening this blog from it's post-9/11 dormancy. In fact, Greendale hit us like a sledgehammer to the anvil of truth.
Greendale called out such obvious problems as "corruption on the highest floor" (Enron scandal), "Hey Mr Clean, you're dirty now too" (environmental movement's cave-in to corporate sponsorship), "Trying to stop the media" (mainstream media manipulation), "Powerco is workin' with the white house to paralyze our state with fear" (California's manufactured blackouts), "Corporate greed and chemicals are killin' the land" (mindless raping and pillaging of the earth's resources), and so on.
And just in case anyone wonders where this is all going, one only needs to take a look at yesterday's New York Times Op-Ed by Thomas Friedman "The Inflection Is Near?" to understand why if one hasn't already figured this all out.
There it is. In black and white. In the New York Times. On a Sunday. On the Op-Ed page. Rip in the matrix style.
"The global economy is a Ponzi scheme".
There you have it. The secret is out now. You can read the full details on this startling obvious conclusion on the blog Climate Progress by Joseph Romm, another of our favorite bloggers.
“We created a way of raising standards of living that we can’t possibly pass on to our children. We have been getting rich by depleting all our natural stocks — water, hydrocarbons, forests, rivers, fish and arable land — and not by generating renewable flows.
You can get this burst of wealth that we have created from this rapacious behavior. But it has to collapse, unless adults stand up and say, ‘This is a Ponzi scheme. We have not generated real wealth, and we are destroying a livable climate …’ Real wealth is something you can pass on in a way that others can enjoy.”
"It has now become evident to a critical mass that the Republican and Democratic parties, along with all three branches of our government, have been bought off by a well-organized Economic Elite who are tactically destroying our way of life.
The harsh truth is that 99% of the US population no longer has political representation. The US economy, government and tax system is now blatantly rigged against us.
Current statistical societal indicators clearly demonstrate that a strategic attack has been launched and an analysis of current governmental policies prove that conditions for 99% of Americans will continue to deteriorate. The Economic Elite have engineered a financial coup and have brought war to our doorstep. . . and make no mistake, they have launched a war to eliminate the US middle class.
So what to do? Well, obviously, it has to be more than singing a song or writing a blog.
"Somewhere on Earth a scientist is alone working. No one knows what he or she is thinking. The secret is just within reach. If I knew that answer I would be singing the song.
This is the age of innovation. Hope matters. But not hope alone. In the age of innovation, the people's fuel must be found. That is the biggest challenge. Who is up to the challenge? Who is searching today? All day. All night. Every hour that goes by. I know I am."
LincVolt is only a single candle. We need more candles before its too late.
"Aleksandr Herzen, speaking a century ago to a group of anarchists about how to overthrow the czar, reminded his listeners that it was not their job to save a dying system but to replace it: “We think we are the doctors. We are the disease.” All resistance must recognize that the body politic and global capitalism are dead. We should stop wasting energy trying to reform or appeal to it."
Neil Young has been performing "Mother Earth" at each of his concerts over the past year or so.
Why?
Mother Earth by Neil Young
Oh, Mother Earth,
With your fields of green
Once more laid down
by the hungry hand
How long can you
give and not receive
And feed this world
ruled by greed
And feed this world
ruled by greed.
Oh, ball of fire
In the summer sky
Your healing light,
your parade of days
Are they betrayed
by the men of power
Who hold this world
in their changing hands
They hold the world
in their changing hands.
Oh, freedom land
Can you let this go
Down to the streets
where the numbers grow
Respect Mother Earth
and her giving ways
Or trade away
our children's days
Or trade away
our children's days.
Respect Mother Earth
and her giving ways
Or trade away
our children's days.
In its simplest form, bright green environmentalism is a belief that sustainable innovation is the best path to lasting prosperity, and that any vision of sustainability which does not offer prosperity and well-being will not succeed. In short, it's the belief that for the future to be green, it must also be bright. Bright green environmentalism is a call to use innovation, design, urban revitalization and entrepreneurial zeal to transform the systems that support our lives.
So, if you never really figured out what 2003's Greendale was all about -- or if you missed the stageplay concert -- then take a few moments and watch this video of "Be The Rain".
Be the Rain. Be the Change. Be the Wheat.
“Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents; it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
From a review of Neil Young's "Fork In The Road", The Album on Uncut.co.uk by John Mulvey:
There are many odd things here, of course, including the first single, “Johnny Magic”, with clipped, cutesy backing vox that – aligned with the song title – remind me terrifyingly of Jonathan King’s “Johnny Reggae” (big caveat: I haven’t heard that record in years and years, so could be completely wrong there). Two tracks slow down the chug: “Off The Road” is a ballad so exhausted and damaged, it almost seems to collapse, rather pleasingly; “Light A Candle” is more delicate and finessed and, with Ben Keith in evidence, might temporarily placate “Prairie Wind” fans.
But then “Fork In The Road” trundles off again, and provides us all with an, albeit snarky, mission statement: “Keep on blogging ‘til the power goes out. . .”
This is a song about people and heroes and change. Life in America. I hope you enjoy it as much as my dog. He is usually very camera shy but not in this video. Featuring Shakey Pictures' new 'economy look' to go with the times!
Lots of positive reaction comments on Huffington Post. (And could someone explain to us why HuffPo comments would be more positive than those of hardcore Neil Young fans?)
It's not everyday that a world-renowned musician and social activist pulls into Best Radiator.
But when you've got a "leaky radiator," there are priorities, and Scott Simpson's reputation for custom-building radiators is well known -- all over Kansas.
Still, Friday was a big day, not to mention long, for Scott and Denise Simpson, as musician Neil Young and crew pulled in with a 1959 Lincoln Continental that had been stripped out and fitted with electrical generation and hydrogen-producing capabilities to push the car along at more than 100 miles per gallon at speeds of up to 140 mph.
... Scott Simpson was impressed, but he pushed hard to complete the task at hand Friday, custom building a two-stage radiator for the behemoth.
The aluminum radiator took more than 12 hours to build, splicing together two stock radiators that were on hand.
And yes, Simpson said, even electrical driven vehicles need cooling systems, about a third of it cooling the electrical system.
Simpson said the engine compartment had been stripped, replaced with a single rotor Mazda engine to run the generator to produce the electricity. About a third of the fuel consumption is gas, while the rest is hydrogen, which the car makes.
"It's got like a half a million dollars worth of Google software in it," Simpson said of the car.
That electrical equipment, he said, is located virtually everywhere, under the hood, under the back seat and on the dash.
"It's a pretty involved little car," he said.
Simpson was pretty impressed with Young as well.
"He just kind of hung out on the bus, coming in to check things out and shoot the bull," Simpson said of the Young's day at the shop. "He was just a real laid-back guy with a leaky radiator. Just a nice guy."
The story continues as Neil and crew go out to eat at a local Wichita spot on The Hays Daily News.
"Chrissie Hynde commented on playing on the same bill as Neil Young at Hard Rock Calling:
“We would play a garden shed to be on a bill with Neil Young but Hyde Park – summer – with ‘The Loner’? This is what makes a thousand hours on tour buses all worthwhile. This is why people get in bands.”"
Neil Young recently shot two videos for the single "Johnny Magic" off his upcoming album, "Fork In The Road," and they're both premiering this week.
Here's the first version, which was shot entirely in Neil's Lincvolt (which you can check out at lincvolt.com). (Sorry, but commercial pre-roll).
The video is rather extraordinary. The four minute video was filmed as a single take while Neil drives LincVolt on the streets of Wichita, KS
Another amazing part of the video is that the filming was streamed live on lincvolt.com while fans watched the stream and chatted real time. It was all pretty cool.
Great lyrics on the Motorhead Messiah "Johnny Magic". Maybe not Neil's most poetic but a heartfelt sincere paean to his new best friend. (Lyrics for "Johnny Magic" -- Neil's homage to his LincVolt mechanic Johnathan Goodwin.)
The video doesn't seem to pickup the background too well tho.
****
Then on Wednesday the 11th, huffingtonpost.com, will premiere the second version of "Johnny Magic," which was shot in another car along with a very special travel companion.
Also, here are lyrics for "Johnny Magic" -- Neil's homage to his LincVolt mechanic Johnathan Goodwin.
"'The one constant is not to let yourself get distracted when a song is trying to find you. Once you have an idea with music, nothing else matters but that idea. Your responsibility to the muse is to follow it.... There's nothing more important ... Commitments are one of the worst things for music making - they're annoying.'"
During Young's address on artistic creativity, he went on to explain the muse:
"I'm proudest of my work when it comes really fast [and] I don't edit it. It's the purest form of creativity ... you just have to be there.
You can't worry about the result while you're in the midst of creating. Afterwards, you can scrap it, record it or dump it in the editing bin. But, when you're terrified, you know you're on the right track.
Now, there are big breaks and [then] it's just like a dam bursting. I used to write a song every day.
People want to know why you don't make your most famous record over and over again. Because it's death."
So what it seems to have come down recently with the latest batch of new songs from the upcoming "Fork In the Road" (Pre-order on Amazon.com. Thanks! You'll also be supporting Thrasher's Wheat) is that there seems to be a huge divide between fans who are comfortable with Neil following his muse and those who steadfastly refuse to allow Neil's creativity to deviate from their own desires.
It has all been quite fascinating. Here's a brief rundown on some recent posts which have generated hundreds and hundreds of comments between impassioned Neil fans around the world:
Here's my perspective. Neil's recent albums have not excited me as much as much of his earlier work.
Using 10 years and looking at his out put since the CSNY Looking Forward, I'd be hard pressed to put any the albums containing "new" material in my favorites category and I'd have to put LF, AYP and LWW close to the very bottom of any albums Neil has done solo or in a group. I also agree that the general antipathy toward those albums is unlikely to be subject to revisionist appraisals as was the case with TFA, TTN and OTB.
CDII is probably my favorite of the albums. It does contain some old material and it still would probably be somewhere in the middle of my ranking of all his albums. I like S&G, Greendale and PW but I'd probably put them all in the lower half of a ranking.
So, to that extent I am in agreement with those who state Neil's recent work is not on a par with much of his earlier work. I'd be more inclined to say he hasn't delivered the "great" albums that he produced, if not consistently, frequently in the past.
Of course, he and I are both much older now. Honestly, I don't think anything, music or otherwise, can excite and move me as much today as it could when I was young.
I also think that Neil is using the latter portion of his career and the almost unique luxury he has in terms of his relationship with the recording industry to release whatever strikes his fancy at a given moment without regard for any of the factors usually considered. This is not really something new for Neil but in the past even his "challenging" albums seemed more internally diverse musically and topically. now, to an extent, you do get "here's 10 songs one after another that all reflect this attitude and feeling that occupied my thoughts the last month or so." there is an element of unrelenting self-indulgence present, and it's likely that factor which accounts for wide variance in opinions.
Some people (not surprisingly from almost exclusively the cadre of his biggest fans) are closely attuned to Neil's "self." Probably because: (a) they are extremely interested in what Neil is feeling and thinking and the songs and albums provide clues that they value in an "extra-musical" sense; and (b) those people just happen to have "selves" that are more similar to Neil.
That's not being sycophantic, which connotes a sense of uncritical adoration and often insincerity. Neil might just be the last person allowed to "narrowcast" from a major record label.
I think some of today's critics just don't know what to make of someone who is allowed to break all the rules and isn't relegated to the underground of obscure corners of the internet and self-published CDs.
Criticizing Neil for failing to deliver things with broad appeal might be accurate but is similar to criticizing health food stores for not delivering sugary treats.
-- Not Above Suspicion
In keeping with some of our recent analysis, what do you think? Should Neil follow his muse?
So why did you vote the way you did? Comment below.
The best way to find song is to click through the acts in the box below video frame and look for Paul Kelly about half way. If someone sees a better way to locate, drop a comment below.
the Fork In The Road (CD/DVD)has the following videos:
Thanks! You'll also be 
>> Pre-Order on Amazon.com << 
Human Highway
Concert Review of the Moment
This Land is My Land
FREEDOM In A New Year
*Thanks Neil!*
![[EFC Blue Ribbon - Free Speech Online]](http://www.thrasherswheat.org/gifs/free-speech.gif)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Neil Young
Pardon My Heart
"We're The Ones 
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