Neil Young News: Comment of the Moment: A Neil Young Critic Drifts Into Self-parody

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Saturday, June 23, 2012

Comment of the Moment: A Neil Young Critic Drifts Into Self-parody

Neil Young
Illustration by Mike Faille, from Kiim Kong photo
(Click photo to enlarge)

Americana, Neil Young's first album with Crazy Horse in nine years, seems to have really struck some chords -- both consonant and dissonant.

Once again, we seem to be in one of those phases of Neil's career where many are applauding his prolifically, awesome creativity with new albums, songs, tours, books, films and even a high tech car production. Lucky for us fans, it would seem.

And others -- naturally -- see this as a tremendous opportunity to find fault, belittle and castigate Neil Young's creativity and artistic freedom to follow his muse wherever it takes him. Even down the proverbial rabbit hole. What we call The Unbearable Lightness of Being Neil Young if you will.

sigh.

Yesterday, we decontructed a rather harsh review of Americana on The Herald-Review by Tim Cain. Some agreed with our take take on it and others did not. And in the interest of equal opportunity of dissenting opinions (which we do indeed welcome), here's a thoughtful, well considered rebuttal from Babbo B.:

Where to begin, indeed ...

First off, Thrasher, this critic is not comparing music to TV or magazines, or calling "Family Guy" or the Lampoon self-parodies. He begins by discussing musical parody in various mediums, what works and doesn't, what's fair and isn't. ("Southern California Brings Me Down" is, by the way, a minor masterpiece.)

From there, he uses the musical parody concept as a way to express his feelings about "Americana." He seems to have a very clear grasp of what Neil is trying to accomplish with the album, he simply doesn't care for the execution (not that the review is perfectly executed itself). Indeed, for better or worse, the rawness and sloppiness of the Horse is on primo display here (which isn't surprising since these are essentially warm-up sessions for the "real" album to come). Some people enjoy that approach, some don't - all are entitled to their opinions.

You seem to argue that any reviews of Neil's work are invalid on their face, since the albums can't be evaluated for many years and the recordings are superseded by the live performances. While there is truth to both of those points, the fact remains that "Americana" is being marketed right now, independent of live performances, to a mass audience (not just the Neil faithful), people who simply want to listen to the music, not watch videos or analyze historical context or sociopolitical implications. Those are the folks who the critics are writing for, and many of them will be interested in hearing what other people have to say (particularly critics whose tastes match theirs, based on previous experience) before they cough up their bucks.

While I personally enjoy "Americana," I can see how many people might not, and they deserve some fair warning about what to expect. Neil has every right to follow his muse, and those in the listening public - including critics - have every right to decide whether they want to follow him or not.

p.s. - It's Shepard Fairey, not Fairy.

First, thank you Babbo B. for the comment and taking the time to go and read the linked review, our response and compose your thoughts. It is appreciated and respected. (As opposed to spewing nasty hyperbolic rage like Daylily Dallas.) And, thanks for the typo check. Fixed. :)

Second, out of respect for letting your thoughts go relatively unchallenged, we'll concede your point about a daily newspaper's music reviews are aimed at "The General Public" in order to give them some sense of what they might be in for when coughing up their bucks for "Americana". Here we can say that Neil Young's music hasn't really ever been aimed at "The John Q. General Public of Americana". As we all know, the genre hopping, inconsistent, willfully anti-consumer friendly, ditch style has been Neil's modus operandi ever since he went to Number #1 back in the 1970's with "Heart of Gold" and he's never looked back.

Daily newspapers and the mass media in general will always be targeted towards the lowest common denominator of "The John Q. General Public of Americana" who -- as we know -- have been so heavily propagandized as to no longer be able to distinguish Truth, Love, Freedom and Beauty.

And for those who "get" Neil, sometimes all they can do is just light a candle, sing a song and get behind the wheel. Trust us, worlds are colliding. We see it everyday right here on the front row of TW.

So how about it "The John Q. General Public of Americana" and Rusties of the world? What do you guys really think?

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31 Comments:

At 6/23/2012 01:52:00 PM, John Gallaher said...: All Neil Young albums aren't great. That's part of his "get it all out there" attitude. Therefore we don't need to approach each album as if it's great, either. Americana isn't great, at points, it's not even good, but it seems at this time, this far into his career, to complain about the bulldozer aesthetic of NY & CH is a moot point. One knows what one is getting. Americana is NY & CH's weekend jam. They're not working very hard, but they're having a good time. There are pleasures in that, too.
At 6/23/2012 03:08:00 PM, Matthew L. said...: What is "great" anyway?
At 6/23/2012 05:30:00 PM, SONY said...: I'll tell what's great....it's rocking on Oh!Susannah! in the living room and turning around to see your two teenage kids dancing together to it and singing along with the song!

Some days better 'n others. All days better with Neil Young on the box.
At 6/23/2012 06:23:00 PM, Mr Henry said...: So true, SONY! My son was astonished the first time he heard God Save The Queen ("...never heard anything like this before") and he's loving Americana and pretty much all of the songs (me too). So using a model from the late Dick Clark, it's a 91 with a great beat that you can dance to (and of course, '91 was the Smell the Horse/Ragged Glory/Desert Storm tour that was one for the ages).

Go ride the music!
At 6/24/2012 04:16:00 AM, Karl Kogler said...: one swallow does not make a summer and so I think that a humorous twinkle in his eye still is not a self-parody
At 6/24/2012 10:16:00 AM, Thrasher Wheat said...: Thanks for all the votes folks.

It does seem that majority think Americana is not a slef-parody and like it. Once you include the don't cares, only 10% find Americana a self-parody.

Over on our Facebook Page ThrashersWheatNeverSleeps(68), lots of positive comments on the album.

Not to belabor all of this anymore, what gives here @ TW with the negative comments?

Wonder if we should drop the all subject and move on?

thoughts thrashette?
At 6/24/2012 11:51:00 AM, Dominic Holdem said...: the negative comments...i believe they are a reaction to your undying love and support of all things neil. like tearing apart this critic's review, for instance. you are quick to post gushing reviews and praise the fuck out of them, but if a critic out there dares to review a neil album harshly your knives come out.
At 6/24/2012 01:27:00 PM, Greg Mantho said...: Um, I know I'm not Thrashette, but I have been thinking a lot about this. I don't think it's going to much matter what you post, Thrasher. I think that there are a multitude of detractors, and like anything else they come in all sizes and shapes, but it all adds up to the same thing- the attempt to ruin the experience here of people who genuinely appreciate Neil, who have a pretty good idea where Neil’s heart and efforts lie, and therefore are not looking for ways to demolish the achievements of a lifetime to satisfy some weird demand that he conform to something he never was capable of conforming to begin with- the demands and sensibilities of anyone other than himself.

As for shapes and sizes, there are the usual genuine trolls who have found another outlet here for playing Othello's Iago, although I'm sure the analogy would be entirely lost on them. It's not Neil they're trying to antagonize; it’s the skin of those of us who appreciate Neil that they’re trying to get under. Others are provocateurs, who in their desperation are driven to defend their personal stances by attacking a perceived political or moral stance on the part of Neil, e.g. Living With War, When God Made Me. Then there are the ones who in their rush to condemn “undying love and support of all things neil”, just simply miss the point of what’s being said.

Finally, (I think), there are what I’ve concluded to be the Sycophant police. It is not enough that in the larger society beyond the confines of this site, there are the thought police, the politically correct police, the morality police, the conformity police, etc. It’s too dangerous a notion that there be a sort of refuge from all of the above, a place where we get to indulge a particular passion of ours, in the company of others who share it with us. For our own “good”, we need to be brought to our senses, we need to be taught that Neil is not perfect (as if anyone here has ever made that claim), that every effort on his part is not- fill in the blank, that he has sold out, that he is lazy and not giving us his best effort, etc., etc. Poor fools, we have to be saved from our lemming like propensity for throwing good money after bad, and our continued enablement of a once great, but fallen to earth, hero. You know, we have to be saved from our lap dog selves.

The Sycophant police are Neil fans of a sort, but have decided in their minds that Neil has fallen short now, he hasn’t produced for too long anything on the order of what they demand that Neil produce to satisfy the static picture they have of him and his music, the frozen memory, time and place, when they first were captured by whatever it is that turned them on to Neil in the first place. Like another romantic and “well meaning” tragic figure, Gatsby, they seek to recreate the past in the face of the present, and therefore are doomed to Gatsby’s fate- a romantic life gesture that must inevitably fail, and be sullied by those of us who are living in the present, to boot. We are akin to "the foul dust that floated in the wake of Gatsby's dreams." Not a perfect analogy, but close enough. Therefore, they have taken it upon themselves to disabuse us of any notion that flies in the face of all their efforts in this respect. We have to be shown the error of our ways.
At 6/24/2012 01:28:00 PM, Greg Mantho said...: So, I’ve come to a decision, because I have wasted far too much time and effort combating all these sizes and shapes of Neil detractors over the years here on Thrashers Wheat. Too many times I have fallen for the snarkiness with snarkiness of my own, and I don’t like what that does to me. I’ve learned again of the need to choose your challengers well, because in the effort you will become like them in some way, shape or form. I finally realize that it serves no purpose to try and appeal to people who have made up their mind, and can’t be convinced otherwise- granted, much like myself, and therefore all the more futile. I know there is nothing I can do to keep these detractors from doing what they do, there’s nothing Thrasher can do, short of out and out censorship, which for a variety of reasons he can’t do. The only thing left now is to follow the example of the lead character from the movie A Beautiful Mind, who cannot dispel the imaginary characters in his head, and so settles for not the ability to eliminate them from his mind altogether, but the ability to maintain their presence in his mind, but kept quiet and off to the side, where they can no longer disrupt the free enjoyment of his life. Now, I am way ahead of you Sycophant police, I know you are ready to categorize me as just as delusional as this character- do categorize me as just as delusional, but I never claimed to be able to draw perfect analogies and, like Neil himself, am too lazy to spend the effort in trying to find the exact “perfect” one to satisfy your bruised feelings on the subject.

Sorry for the snarkiness, it’s the last time you will ever hear it from me. Take “perfect” aim, and hit me with both barrels. It’s your perfect opportunity because I won’t be responding back from this moment forward. I can’t hear you. You have no voice anymore with me. You’re there, but off to the side and out of the way of my free enjoyment of TW. I bear no ill will towards you, and have no doubt that you are otherwise good and caring people. Besides, the written word can only convey so much, and I’m sure if we actually knew each other, there would be a good chance that we would get along just fine. For now though, we’re just two rams battering away at each other, and I just don’t want to be bothered in this way anymore. And yes, I do know how pompous and full of myself I sound in my attempt to be a little humorous, and yet deadly serious about something that really has bothered me for some time now. Like anyone else though, I am far from perfect, and must have had something to learn in all of this. After all, it was me who attracted it.

Looking forward to whatever you have coming next, Thrasher.

A Friend Of Yours
At 6/24/2012 01:33:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Well then, Dominick, by all means feel free to vacate this groovy place of Thrasher's unwavering support of all things NY, despite the blood, the tears, the sweat and the dirty toilet paper that pigs like yourself leave for him to clean up.

NOTHING Neil Young has done has EVER been pure unfiltered genius... Do you NOT get it??? That is why his art is so great !!!

Now stop slagging THRASHER'S WHEAT and return to the land of trolls whence from you came.

Dick.

PEACE & LOVE

-- Eric
At 6/24/2012 02:11:00 PM, Matthew L. said...: Ah yes, it's in the flaws, the humanness, the mistakes, the random flux of chance and the immediacy of the first take that "great" is defined.

I quite agree, Eric. Nothing Neil has done has ever been perfect, or pure genius.

Which is why we mindless sycophants continue to love him. It's his spirited, explosive paroxysms of creative intensity. He revels in the rough, un-bevelled edges of the exhultant instant of creation.

It's not a quest for perfection. He does not mull or dote on tiny details, but contrarily blasts through the uncarved block with the rusty chainsaw of creative genesis and allows the details to come into being as incidental expressions, or unplanned repercussions of that initial inspired inception.

He admits as much himself all the time. He seems to take great pleasure in the random impulses at play in the moment of raw, musical expression.
At 6/24/2012 02:30:00 PM, Dominic Holdem said...: hey eric, right back at ya (the peace and love, i'm not falling for your "pigs" or "dick" comments....peace and love indeed).

look, i posted a theory that i had, in response to a question that thrasher had. i'm not the "sycophant police", whatever the hell that is. but there is a double standard on display here...and i stand by my original post that thrasher will only agree with "critics" who praise neil. personally, i never have expected ANYTHING from neil young. it's always fun to be along for the ride, because you never know what that weird fucker is gonna come up with next. some of it is great, some of it is plain embarrassing, but it's all neil.
At 6/24/2012 02:35:00 PM, Dominic Holdem said...: oh, and one more thing...thrasher can do whatever the hell he wants. it's HIS site and i commend him for putting up with all the assholes that land here. i get it...he's running a fan site and so he doesn't want to speak bad of his idol, no matter what. that's actually cool with me, but i think he overreacts when some people post their genuine criticisms of some of neil's work.

but some of these folks like no one and dipshitty dumbass have agendas, no doubt. they exist purely to stir the shit, to piss people off. i am not like them. trust me.
At 6/24/2012 02:59:00 PM, Matthew L. said...: I'm down with your affliction Dominic. Your point-of-view I can appreciate. Because it comes from a place of appreciation itself, and apparently not from a spiteful place.

I think Thrasher's comment was questioning the frequency of negative comments around here; not the legitimacy of criticism itself.

Honestly, I think that it only seems like there's a high level of negativity at times. It's an illusion created by the tendency of some of the less tactful critics to attack people and create spiteful arguments that drive away some of the less argumentative, more peaceful posters. During these periods we don't really get the whole picture. The perception tilts toward the negative. Eventually it will balance out again.
At 6/24/2012 03:07:00 PM, no one said...: It would be very relaxing, emotionally ambrosial, to let it go, to allow the sycophants to bathe in the bitter waters of their own hypocrisy, but who then would there be to point out the sheer idiocy, the absolute wrongheadedness, of comments like little Matthew's "Nothing Neil has done has ever been perfect, or pure genius." I know you're very young and you probably first encountered the artist long past his prime, and you're at least self-aware enough to ask others to tell you what is great, but how can you spend this much time and produce this much really bad writing and not know that:
Expecting to Fly is perfect. It is pure genius. There is nothing spontaneous about the recording.
Thrasher is a perfect statement of pure genius. In two lines it sums up the Sixties and the battle between religion and science. If you think it was written in a spontaneous burst of inspiration you are completely ignorant.
I'm the Ocean is a spontaneous burst of pure genius. There are two melodic lines in the entire song that are separated by only a couple resolving notes at the end of the second line. The melody is repeated dozens of times over imagery that lays the artist's life and work emotionally bare. It is perfect.
That Neil Young is capable of pure genius and artistic perfection is what makes so much of his recent output so frustrating. That his most vocal adherents are incapable of understanding and appreciating his capabilities is what makes much of the discourse on this board so frustrating.
At 6/24/2012 03:11:00 PM, Thrasher Wheat said...: @Dominic Holdem - "you are quick to post gushing reviews and praise the fuck out of them, but if a critic out there dares to review a neil album harshly your knives come out."

and your point?

it's a fan blog. if someone writes something positive that makes sense that we agree with, we are quick to praise.

if someone writes something negative that we disagree with, sometimes we rebut.

check the masthead above: "Separating the wheat from the chaff".

@Greg "A Friend Of Yours" - thanks for the sanity check. Definitely COTM material.

Along with the poll results, it seems about 90% of folks are OK or neutral with Americana. Only 10% neg.

Between your post and this sanity check, we think we're good for another 15 years of "Separating the wheat from the chaff".

@Matthew L. - Thanks. "He does not mull or dote on tiny details, but contrarily blasts through the uncarved block with the rusty chainsaw of creative genesis and allows the details to come into being as incidental expressions, or unplanned repercussions of that initial inspired inception."

whoa ... potential COTM.
At 6/24/2012 04:25:00 PM, Matthew L. said...: no one, you're right. I stand corrected. Thrasher is pure genius, I totally agree. I also think that Pocahontas is genius. There is also a certain genius to the stark, harrowing beauty of Tonight's the Night.

Neil is a very occasional genius. There are little sparks of it here and there in the vast ocean of his collected works.

Outside of his occasional blurt of genius, however, I stand behind what I said about rusty chainsaw of creative genesis and all that.

Allow me to modify my concurrence with Eric - Probably 99% of what Neil has done is not perfect, or pure genius.

"Nothing Neil has done" is a sweeping generalization, and as most of us are likely aware, all sweeping generalizations are inherently wrong (ha ha) - as are most assumptions of course (such as the ones you continue to make about me, but I'm done beating my head against that unyielding wall).
At 6/24/2012 06:25:00 PM, Matthew L. said...: This comment has been removed by the author.
At 6/24/2012 07:11:00 PM, Sandy Horne said...: Hey Thrasher!! Geezz... I don't know how you continue to deal with this stuff... Hahaha. BUT, I am SO grateful that you do, and that you continue to provide a place for us lunatics to gather.

I actually stopped trying to defend or even explain to people why I love Neil Youngs music, for a couple of reasons. First, I can't. I don't have the language to explain the emotional level on which I experience his music. It is just there, deep inside me. Second, what's the point. I can't convince somebody of something they don't feel, anymore than they can convince me that I am "wrong". I have absolutely no desire to "dissect" each song into its worthy and unworthy parts. Sort of takes the magic out of it...

My solution has been to seek out others of like mind, who I can share this experience with. To be able to rejoice and go on and on about it. It is quite a bonding experience to connect with others that feel the way I do.

But what do I know....

Forever Grateful to you Thrasher,

Sandy Horne
At 6/24/2012 09:10:00 PM, Anonymous said...: "I'm the Ocean" sucks! Sheesh, no one doesn't know that!! What Sandy said.....

Steven James
At 6/24/2012 10:36:00 PM, dean farinha said...: When Neil is gone Beiber will be Rockin' the free world. God help us all!!!

Enjoy and love the man while we can!
At 6/24/2012 10:45:00 PM, Anonymous said...: "White Line". Now that's a perfect Neil Young & Crazy Horse song. No one should take the one to heart!

Jeez, there's so many perfect Neil Young songs. I wish I had time to root them all out. Hey, and "I'm the Ocean" is okay, but come on? Not even top ten.

High Flyin' Bird. That's pretty damn perfect as well....Neil might be old but I think the old geezers's still got it!! The upcoming live shows should bear that out. See ya on the rail Thrasher!!

Steven James
At 6/24/2012 10:46:00 PM, Anonymous said...: what dean said

Steven James
At 6/25/2012 07:06:00 AM, MARIAN M. said...: Thrasher:

Maybe it's because I'm getting old or something, but I just don't care to read the same old criticisms year after year, album after album, etc.

Friday night I was speaking with a woman and she was telling me that she didn't like "Neil Young Journeys" because it had too much music in it that she didn't like....

This is the ultimate "Neil in your face" and pounding away at your heart film, and she didn't like it.

Everyone IS entitled to their opinions, but that doesn't mean I have to expose myself to them.

As for me, I love Americana, and I love "Neil Young Journeys" and I don't give a ---- what anyone else thinks.

Enjoying Americana,

Marian M.
At 6/25/2012 08:43:00 AM, Matthew L. said...: Yeah, I'm the Ocean (and Mirror Ball as a whole) has just gone right past me a few times now without leaving any kind of lasting impression. I'm happy to check it out again though.

What is "genius" anyway?
At 6/25/2012 10:18:00 AM, Mother Nature said...: I don't understand all the animosity directed at "no one" and other posters's who are disappointed like me. The music from the album is as spontaneous as a kodak but the timing is off. Its almost flat. Something is obviosly missing. Instead of capturing a moment in time, the band can barely caricaturized the material. Its like they wandered into a goldmine but they didn't have the knowledge or tools to excavate. All they had was an old graphic of them sitting in a car I presume is from the 80s by the looks on their faces. But Neil never comes out empty handed. The real star of Americana is Shepard Fairey's posters featured in A Day At the Gallery. The music as the soundtrack for that silent film is perfect. Both the film and music capture the ugly truth of our history. Neil's real genius is putting together the eclectic players but instead of the music riding shotgun, Shepard Fairely is in the driver seat. Just like in "Deadman" neil is just going a long for the ride.
At 6/25/2012 04:00:00 PM, no one said...: Very humorous.... You've actually taken all the shit pretty gracefully. "I'm the Ocean" is a strange song... I've read that it was a rehearsal take and largely improvised. True or not, it's clearly not to everyone's taste, but I would rank it right up with Will to Love and Tired Eyes and, especially, Ambulance Blues among Neil's improvisatory strokes of inspirational genius.
It shouldn't work... The melody is simple in the extreme and repeated endlessly. It's not just all one song, or even all one verse - it's all two lines - times 60. The backing track is equally sparse, a chugging groove that lasts the whole song without much variation. But, for one thing, it's faster than almost anything Neil 's ever done (and say what you will about the man, he does like to take his time.) Without measuring beats per minute I can't say for sure, but I would guess that Revolution Blues and the fast parts of Sedan Delivery are among the only songs he's recorded that are this fast and it immediately lends an urgency to the sound that is intensified by a set of lyrics that seem to represent the proverbial life flashing before his eyes after an accident and before he finally succumbs and rejoins the sea and tide and becomes the ocean. I've listened to it a thousand times and it seems new every time. I hope you give it another listen.
At 6/25/2012 06:49:00 PM, BIGCHIEF said...: Most of us have been NY fans long enough to know that he changes musical directions as erratic as a moth in a lampshade. It's nothing new with Neil. The only major difference I see was the advent of the internet and 'fan blogs' offering so much information about the mostly reclusive and eccentric artist who rarely gave interviews forcing his audience to draw upon their imaginations to not only interpret his music but his life in general which bordered on mythological with a great measure of 'mystique'. Rock journalists were rarely kind to Neil causing him to even further recoil away from mainstream media. Other then the 5 or 6 songs that Classic Rock stations still play to this day from his vast catalog, unless you had a 'Neil Friendly' fan for a friend or were fortunate enough to have an older brother or sister who turned you on there's a good chance that you would be among the majority who 'just don't get it'. So even back in the day when he followed Harvest with the 'Ditch Trilogy'only to re-emerge with Crazy Horse with the brilliant Zuma, if you weren't a fan on top of his game this would all be lost on you. For those of us who remained faithful to the often ecclesiastic artist, we've been treated to moments of brilliance. that pattern continues to this day. Unfortunately, many so called 'fans' draw their conclusions from others often misguided opinions from others without fully researching Neil's artistic endeavors for themselves. I remember the Neil boost I got when I watched his performance of 'Rockin In The Free World' on S.N.L. or the Bob Dylan Tribute when he did 'Just Like Tom Thumbs Blues & All Along The Watch Tower'. In my opinion those two TV appearances were not only highlights in Neil's career but those performances were among the greatest moments in televised Rock-N-Roll period.To the 'Americana' detractors, the rumored double LP ready for release this fall of original material will be, as poncho put it, more in the vein of 'Ragged Glory'. Neil Young is likened unto Michigan weather.If you don't like what you got today, stick around a while. whatever suits you is probably just around the corner.
At 6/27/2012 12:01:00 AM, Anonymous said...: I love this site, I love Neil Young, and I can't stand "Americana". I also can't believe how much time people spend posting about this stuff. It's a fucking (shitty) rock album, people. Buy, it, enjoy it, or don't, get the fuck out of your mom'e basement, go for a walk, read a book, join a political movement...anything but posting day-in and day-out on Neil Young. He'd be fucking embarrassed.
At 6/27/2012 12:02:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Ok, so I meant "mom's" basement. I was distracted by my book and political movement. Sue me.
At 6/28/2012 08:42:00 AM, dean farinha said...: Political Movement or Bowel movement?