Happy Neil Year! Is 2015 The Year We Find Out Who's Really Going To Stand Up?
Happy New Year to you and welcome back to Thrasher's Wheat. Here's to hoping that everyone has had a nice 2014 holiday as we look ahead into the year 2015.
Pull up a chair.
2014 was quite a year for Neil Young as we found out quite sadly (and TBD) that Yes, Only Love Can Break (& Fix) Your Heart.
2014 began with Some Good News and Not So Good News for Thrasher's Wheat in 2014. And -- delightedly we might add -- we're still blogging away the Neil news (merely trying to separate the wheat from the chaff).
We also supported "Harvest the Hope". But hope is a hard road to travel. We blogged on A Message of Hope & Love & Alchemy that while most were sympathetic to, we also heard harsh criticism -- especially from the ever Anonymous doubters:
"Thrasher,
More like poetic justice you delusional hysterical stupid douche bag. Here's hoping your pathetic suck up bitch site dies a quick and painful death.
Anonymous"
Who's Going To Stand Up and Save The Earth?
Neil Young
2014-07-12, Hyde Park, London, England
Photo Paolo Brillo |Facebook
And just when we thought things couldn't get uglier and sadder than they certainly did with the news of Neil and Pegi's divorce after 36 years of marriage. While the Neil and Pegi saga broke many hearts and nearly crushed our spirits, fans persevered and overall respected the privacy of the matter.
So what might 2015 bring us?
Clearly, the evolution/revolution continues. Is 2015 The Year We Find Out Who's Really Going To Stand Up? Will the looming "Big Shift" roll on incrementally or suddenly? In the meantime, here we all are -- both irrevocably changed -- and yet still much the same as we ever were.
Neil Young was so shaken by photos of the four unarmed students killed by military gunfire at Kent State that he wrote "Ohio" for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young right away. By the end of the week, it was playing on the radio. That was 1970. Now, in 2014, outrage over police brutality has become much more widespread, inspiring protests and "die-ins" nationwide for Michael Brown and Eric Garner, two unarmed black men killed in confrontations with cops. Days ago in Brooklyn, two NYPD officers were murdered while sitting in their patrol car. But this year will end without a defining protest song.
...
"I think a lot of it is just due to fear of being blackballed and not making a living," Questlove of The Roots told Billboard, referring to the backlash the Dixie Chicks faced in 2003, when Natalie Maines told an audience that the band was "ashamed" that President Bush was from Texas. "We were like, 'Man, if a white woman can lose her career in the United States for speaking up for what's right, then shit, we'll get the electric chair.' I think that was the bottom line.
And that just really rendered America silent."
Freedom: Kent State University, Ohio - 1970
As always, we live in dangerous times where those who stand for freedom are often accused of treason and worse. Such times are now and the struggle for freedom -- even among those who feel they are actually free -- is more paramount than ever. The right to live and speak freely is an inalienably human right that can never be assumed nor taken for granted.
So, for what it's worth... we're protesting the lack of protest music. Who's gonna stand up and make some protest music?
"First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up, because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me."
~~ Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945
After all, the tools to speak up, to stand up, to make a difference have never been more accessible in the history of humanity than today. Because "The Net Is Mightier Than The Sword" as clearly articulated by James Corbett at TEDxGroningen below.
So where do we go from here? Well, we're very interested in hearing from you -- our dear readers -- where do we go from here. We are expecting to be making some adjustments in 2015, so stay tuned. In the meantime, drop us a comment below or send us an email to thrasher@thrasherswheat.org . As 2015 begins, we can only suggest to try to recharge as much as you can, enjoy your family and friends, and prepare yourselves for the changes that will be coming in the New Year. Remain calm, open and engaged. On occasion, folks wonder where this all comes from or where to start in answering The Really Big Questions. Reading both 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley are essential to understanding Today's Reality.
So will it be the Red pill or the Blue pill today? Or the "Psychedelic Pill"?
We mean, how far down the rabbit hole do you really want to go? How much truth can you handle? Simply being aware of one's own free will and exercising it is an act of liberation and self realization.
Dreams can come true... if you want to work hard to make them happen. We are all making a difference together and feel the world is taking notice. Having said this, let’s all prepare for what is to come in what we believe will be a New Year full of positive, lasting change.
be the alchemy.
be the wheat.
peace and love,
namaste
thrasher & thrashette
ps - The video below "Neil Young Sang and We Heard The Truth" will not be everyone's cup of tea, so use discernment. Before clicking, eliminate all expectations for poetic lyrics, angelic voices, high production values, tour de force direction, interesting camera angles and clever editing. This video -- from our long distance friend Cainan in a tropical Bali paradise -- comes from the heart.
Afterall, it's all about you and me...
Labels: neil young
5 Comments:
Anyone notice the 'End Of Trail' Crazy Horse shirt on Neil's site?
Does that mean it's over?
Or will it relate to the coming tour?
Syscrusher
Syscrusher - Neither. That T-Shirt has been on sale for several years - i bought mine at the 2012 Boston show:
http://www.sugarmtn.org/show.php?show=201211260
Cheers,
Dropping oil prices helps Neil and other environmentalists. Fracking will lessen because the expense will not be worth it.So it's a win win situation for me the consumer and NY and the environmentalist. BIG HOPE FOR 2015- Maybe this year we'll get better music from NY and more music
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Phew thanks Love In Mind, I hadn't looked at that store Ina while, had me worried there. Nice shirt, picked one up
@ @ @ @ @ (looking forward)
Well 2014 has come and gone. I didn't buy a single thing of Neil's last year, wasn't turned on or tuned in to what he released. Didn't get the book, didn't see a show.
BUT, yesterday I was romping thru the record store and did buy an 'import' copy of Carnegie Hall Jan 7, 2014. WOW. That was the most intimate performance I have ever heard of him.
SO keep it up Neil, I don't care what you do. If I like it I like it, if not, so what. HNY
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