Celebrating 10 Years of Daily Blogging: Waging Heavy Wheat
Geoff Moore - Silver Moon Graphics
As 2013 begins, we here at Thrasher's Wheat begin to celebrate 10 years of near daily blogging of Neil Young News. Or -- as we are quite fond of quoting -- separating the wheat from the chaff on all things Neil.
Over the past decade, we've published over 3,600 blog posts, with tens of thousands of comments, attracted over 11 million unique visitors, and logged nearly 27 million page views. And its now been 20 years since joining the Rust List - The Neil Young Community and 17 years since starting the original Thrasher's Wheat website, whose original mission was to harvest and archive postings from the Neil Young Internet Rust and Human Highway communities.
Daily blogging on Thrasher's Wheat began with the following post, in the post 9/11 era -- when paranoia was striking deep and creeping into all of our lives -- on the eve of The Iraq War v. 2.0.
Neil Young
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer
From Fresh Wheat - Updated 3/15/03:
And with the above blog post we were off on our crazy adventure to try and blog all things Neil and Greendale.
Neil inducted Mo Ostin into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction on March 10, 2003. From PUNK: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction 2003:
"Of anything that was said throughout the entire evening, the most important words spoken by anyone were the ones that didn't make it onto VH1. Some of those words came from Neil Young.
Young, who was on hand to give a Lifetime Achievement Award in the Nonperformer Category to Mo Ostin, said:
"'We're having a good time tonight but we're going to kill a lot of people next week.
So let's not forget about that.
I don't want to ruin this but it's too real not to mention it. And music used to be about this. And it still is about this, it's a human thing. And these are human beings over there and we're making a big mistake.
I feel like I'm riding in a giant gas guzzling SUV and the driver's drunk as a fucking skunk. He's drunk on power.'"
For us, Greendale was like a sledgehammer to the anvil of truth and consciousnesses which awakened this blog from it's post-9/11 dormancy into something that we're not even sure what its evolved into being.
So, after a few months of blogging, we promised Thrashette that we'd stop blogging when Neil stopped playing Greendale.
But a funny thing happened. Neil kept playing Greendale. Around the world. Europe. North America. Japan. Australia. New Zealand. Into 2004, Neil brought Greendale back to Canada and the U.S.
And Neil kept churning out the Greendale message in song, on stage, on film and even in a graphic novel.
The Concert, Stage Play, Musical, Film & Graphic Novel
There was so much going on with Greendale that we just had to soak it all in and capture as much of the magic as we possibly could.
Simply put, there had never before been anything like it before coming from the always surprising Neil Young, so that was saying something right there.
From the moment we heard Sun Green pickup that red megaphone and speak the truth to power, we knew.
We knew that oh-so little inconvenient truth of Greendale was that Sun Green was right. More so now, than ever before.
Neil Young & Sun Green
Greendale at Radio City Music Hall, New York City - March 18, 2004
photo by TW
So, Thank You for Supporting Thrasher's Wheat. We couldn't do this without you -- our beloved dear, loyal readers.
Be the rain.
Wage heavy wheat.
Stay shakey.
peace & love,
thrasher & thrashette
"Keep on bloggin'
`Til the power goes out
The batteries dead
Twist and shout"
- "Fork In the Road"
ps - it keeps us searchin' for a vista and a muse.
24 Comments:
"So many years now together /
All those good times, ups and downs..."
Congrats and for the next 10 years!
Congrats Thrasher! Looking forward to the next 10!
Hi Thrasher and Thrashette, thanks for the site. I have been enjoying Neil's musical journey for a lifetime. Been checking in regularly for a year or two now and I always enjoy the addition to my day. Congratulations on the 15 years and I wish you many more.
10-More-Years!
Congratulations on the milestone, long may you run!
Congratulations, Thrasher and Thrashette! Thank you so much for your wonderful work! Keep on blogging!
Love, Liza
Keep on blogging!Cees.
Keep on blogging!Cees.
Congrats on the long run Thrasher.
It's a great place to be - something to look forward to every day.
Thanks everyone!
Well, we hope we can keep bloggin' as long as Neil keeps singin'!
Congrats! What an awesome thing to be part of! Your 1st DECADE:)
Congratulations on 10 years...always look forward to your posts...keep on rockin' - and bloggin'....
<3 SandCowgirl (Tami C.)
P.S. "Hey" to Thrashette... :)
Thanks for your daily blogs - I read you every day.
You have the passion. Your are much appreciated and you are a positive force in this world.
"Every morning comes the sun..."
... And every morning at about 9:06 EST I look forward to some healthy Thrasher's Wheat in my E-mail. Even on those rare occasions when you take a day off (few and far between) I may miss the most recent Neil Young News but there is such a treasure trove of archived data, well it's better than Silver And Gold.
Thank you, Thrasher.
PEACE & LOVE
-- Eric in sunny FLA
I love your blog Thrasher - even when you cut and paste the same tired and worn out information/hoaxes ad naseum...Ronny vs. Neil (it's a myth we get it!)...climate change nonsense (where's your inconvenient post about the huckster Al Gore selling his network for OIL MONEY?)...Arab Spring would bring peace lol...Occupy Uranus, etc.
Despite all that you're more than alright with me...just a tad naive politically - HA!
This notes for you!
Thanks Thrasher for all you do. Tomorrow is a long long time...and 10 years...well, that's a helluva thing, pure love of all the Neil vibe and a will to love his fans and friends. I have enjoyed sharing and learning with and from you. May you stay Forever Young! ~ Jay
Long may you run, Thrasher(ette). You're the first thing bookmarked after my email, and you've kept me up to date with Neil better than I'd ever thought possible previous to finding you. I used to think I was the only one scanning the bibliography sections of rock books for Young, Neil, and trying to find the odd interview, review or article. It's been great to have a place for all that and more, plus to be here with all the other Neil freaks. Thanks again for all your efforts, especially those all too frequent moments when I know your patience must be wearing thin. Keep up the great work!
A Friend Of Yours
Thrasher, there are so many people that count on you as the hub of the daily Neil universe. Feel free to chill but please never quit, we would all feel an enormous void. Its so interesting about your story of kicking into high gear with Greendale, because after having a significant, but background Neil presence in my musical life up to about the beginning of 2004, when I bought Greendale and instantly grinned during the first few Crazy Horse bars of the record, I got serious about my Neil. And TW has been a central figure in that personal growth. It's a wonderful life when you're one with the reality of the love that humanity can share in the appreciation of some common truth. Thanks so much for greasin' those gears, Thashman.
Thank you Thrasher!! Here's to the next 10!! God Bless Neil Young!!
@Kimball - " It's a wonderful life when you're one with the reality of the love that humanity can share in the appreciation of some common truth. Thanks so much for greasin' those gears, Thashman."
You're very welcome. It is a wonderful life to have so many fine folks enjoy what we do to celebrate Neil's music & life.
We'll carry on...
Thank you for all these years of giving us the Neil news!
-Tony R (Boston)
I'm with Growl.
Thanks for taking me along for the ride, Thrash. Lookin' forward to 10 more years of Thrasher's Wheat!
Letter to Mr. Neil Young -
Dear Mr. Young, Thank you for sharing your experiences with the world. I just finished reading Waging Heavy Peace I am curious if you and Mr. John Elder Robinson, author of be different and Look Me in the Eye, have ever had contact. You have many overlapping interests - audio technology, automobiles, walking in the woods, children with challenges. Are you aware of each other? He may be a good person to assist with your Pono project or your auto projects. I recommend you read each others' works. See where that takes you. Best wishes on the journey. Allison
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