The Vista and The Muse

N Y Times
August 17, 2010
To say that things have been a bit surreal of late here at Thrasher’s Wheat would be a bit of an understatement. The thought that a music fan's blog meltdown would reach the pages of Rolling Stone magazine is a bit mind-boggling.

For those just tuning in, our previous post on Neil Young's social networking seems to have hit some sort of deep raw nerve in the Neil Young fan community. The essence of this all began around the issues involving Neil’s upcoming benefit gigs for the Gulf of Mexico oil gusher disaster. What transpired in the comments thread next led to an incredible series of cascading of events which spiraled beyond our control leaving us truly stunned and shaken to our core beings.

As the dust began settle over the whole debacle, none other than Neil Young stepped into the ring to release a statement on his official website:

THRASHER'S WHEAT UNDER FIRE
August 17, 2010
It has come to my attention that the negativity on this site has caused the founders to wonder whether it is worth it to continue. They have been moderating and trying to bring fans the news for nearly two decades. This is the most respected site on the net for this type of activity. Let me take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in what I am doing. There is always negativity with any internet endeavour. Now it has perhaps worn you down. It is alright to say goodbye. You have done some folks a great service for a long long time and I appreciate the effort you have shown. Always someone will be negative. Don't dismay. Whether you choose to continue or just hang it up and get on with your life is up to you. Just know that I have appreciated your efforts, tried to stay out of your business and watched you from afar through other's eyes. As for myself, I still see the vista. I hear the muse. I continue.
Godspeed. Thank you. Mahalo.
Neil

We can’t begin to tell you how we reacted as the words on the screen began to slowly sink in. What followed Neil’s posting was an outpouring of love and support from you -- our dear readers here at TW and the Neil Young fan community.

Here’s a letter from Steve P:

Thrasher,

I've just recently posted on your board. I'm the 55 year old NFFL (Neil Fan for Life) from Texas and I must admit, that's a tough crowd you've got on your hands there. I'm not that good with words and I tend to ramble on but I just wanted to say thanks.

I've visited your site for some time even if I haven't been posting. When I saw the twisted road show, I had to post. I STILL think about that show every day and listen to recordings of it constantly. It was brilliance. Pure genius. I am so lucky to have witnessed that. The most emotional and moving performance I've ever seen in my life. Prior to that I took my then 16 year old to Greendale cause that's the last time Neil came around here.

Anyway, there I go rambling. I just wanted to say thanks. Please keep your site up if you can stand to. Don't let the 4% get you down. You perform an invaluable service and us Rusties appreciate you! We're just all getting cranky in our old age I guess, but Neil is on the start of what appears to be a serious roll. It'd be nice to have you around to help us be along for the ride.

Sincerely,

Steve P. (NFFL)

And one after another, similar messages have flowed into our inboxes and been posted to TW. We haven’t replied to all of our messages as of yet, but we have cherished each one and want each of you to know that we can’t begin to tell you how much all of your support has given us the needed strength to carry on.

In order to continue to keep on bloggin' until the power goes out and our battery's dead, we plan to make some adjustments to our approach going forward. One thing that is an obvious result of all of this is that we’ll no longer allow anonymous comments. Previously, we’ve laid out all of our thinking in our Comments Policy so we really don’t have too much more to add on the subject. But we will say this. That TW has always welcomed all. Always tolerated dissent. Always encouraged healthy, respectful, well toned debate. We have never labeled someone with a negative Neil opinion as a basher or troll. Nor have we ever labeled the loyal, unconditional love for Neil types to be sycophants. That said, we will never, ever tolerate unhinged negativity, disrespect and hate on this blog. Period.

So when we quote things like "spare us the cynicism", it’s not that we’re inviting folks to have a flame war with us. What we’re suggesting is that let’s all step back, think about the issue, and try and understand different perspectives, and tolerate differences of opinion. In other words, celebrate the positive in a world of greed, hate and cynicism.

So thanks to everyone for your support. We love you all. The only thing we’ve ever been trying to do here at TW is just spread the love of Neil’s music. To celebrate the music, preserve the legacy, recognize and honor achievements, and most importantly – respect the art and artist. What we all say and do on these internet web communities is a direct reflection of the artist. So all we are saying is, respect the artist by respecting one another. To coexist, if you will.

And amazing things will happen. It's just true.

As for us? Well, we’ve got our own row left to hoe.

We're trying to see the vista. We're trying to hear the muse. And we will continue.

peace and love,
thrasher & thrashette


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