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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.
Amsterdam, Netherlands, Concert: Neil Young + Promise of the Real - July 9, 2016
Epic night in Amsterdam. 26 songs, three and a half hours, the longest concert of the current tour and the longest Neil Young concert in 42 year career. "Don't Be Denied" and "Change Your Mind" first time on the European Tour. The total number of different songs of the Tour now up to 57 per Sugar Mountain's Chronological Grid. Also, two song encore: "Like An Inca" & "Here We Are In The Years".
Yes, It's Still An Angry World So Where Do We Go Now Neil Young?
Neil Young: "Where Do We Go Now"
Charles Theater, Baltimore, MD
December 2012
Photo by Stacey B.
(Note: Photo not Photoshopped)
We posted this way back in 2013 and it still seems appropriate in light of recent developments -- sadly.
The photo is the marquee at the Charles Theater in Baltimore, MD in December 2012 when the Neil Young film Journeys was playing. Another film being featured is titled "Where Do We Go Now". (Thanks Stacey B.!)
So, when asking "Where Do We Go Now?", consider that when Poncho injures his hand, it's almost like Neil has injured his own hand. He can't play a Crazy Horse show without the whole team.
Likewise today. We're all on the big human planet team and we'd all better get along or we all go down together.
What we saw back in 2013 left us shaking our heads in our little microcosm rustie world -- which is merely a reflection of that larger angry world. But if we can deal with our anger at the local level, then there's a chance for the big world wide web of life.
But even more disturbing for us is the amount of near rage and hatred that some are expressing in various forums over a concert cancellation. We say this because if only this outrage and energy could be channeled into some truly consequential matters like say war, environment or poverty to name a few.
Seriously. Do folks who have acted like they have experienced a massive injustice take the same approach with their local elected officials whenever they feel wronged? Let's hope so. So channel all that rage towards something useful where you can actually make a difference. All change is local. Don't get all swept up in this global cataclysm seemingly unraveling before your eyes. It's always darkest before the dawn -- and we're almost to a glorious sun rise.
It's an "Angry World", indeed.
"Some see life as a broken promise Some see life as an endless fight They think they live in the age of darkness They think they live in the age of fright It's an angry world And everything is gonna be alright"
In the interview with Neil Young he discusses his new environmental-themed album, 'Earth,' and how his life has changed over the past few years.
Neil Young: "Just because everything else is broken doesn't mean I have to be broken.
"They [ Promise Of The Real] have no fear. They're much better players than I am. Lukas is like a gunslinger, and Micah is very ethereal and spaced. So they're completely different, and I'm somewhere in between.
I've always wanted to do this, but no one has ever been able to follow it."
Here are the shirt of the moment of me, Lasse i Rättvik Sweden july 5.
It was a magnificent concert, my 5th in two years, it was great.
Nearly three hour of old and new songs.
Now I`m looking forward to Berlin where I`m going to see him again.
Keep on rocking
Lasse
Thanks so much for sending Lasse! And so awesome that you got a magnificent Neil + REAL concert.
And thanks to all who have sent photos so far from tour. We'll have more in the coming days to feature.
Also, if you recently ordered a shirt on the 2nd round of Thrasher's Wheat 20th Anniversary Shirts, here is the latest update. The order has been compiled and submitted to Geoff & his shirt folks out in Hawaii. It will take a few weeks to complete the printing and dying process. The shipment to TW HQ and then back out to you good folks. So hopefully we'll have these out to folks in August.
ps - got a Shirt of the Moment shot?! Send it to us at thrasher@thrasherswheat.org
“Razor Love” was added to five-song solo acoustic set. Debuted in 1984 and released in 2000 on Silver & Gold. Young last played “Razor Love” 13 years ago on May 23, 2003 in Antwerpen, Belgium per Sugar Mountain. “Razor Love” has been performed in concert 61 times. The first live performance was 1984-06-18, Late Show, Country Club, Reseda, California, USA. (Thanks Sugar Mountain!)
Not to distract from the subject of this post, but in answering the NYA V2 questions...
At this time we are still planning on physical release for NYA V2 and yes it will be available on Pono, too in full 24/192 sound quality. I'm happy to report that we are in full on production of NYA V2 right now. Maybe I'm biased, but I think V2 might be the best one. A plethora of previously unreleased tracks.
Dunno if anyone noticed it yet, but there are some new Artist Signature Series Pono players up on the Kickstarter page today.
The previous update on the Archives was 4 years earlier in 2010 as part of the NYA Special Release Series.
Now comes the latest on the oh-so elusive Neil Young's Archives Volume #2 from Rolling Stone by Patrick Doyle:
After he wraps his current tour in October, Young will continue work on Archives II, the follow-up to 2009's Archives, which collected unreleased material up to 1972. Young says the project will include Dume, an album of songs from the Zuma era, and Hitchhiker, an acoustic LP from the mid-Seventies. The major holdup has been developing technology for presenting the ambitious project: "We're gonna have a website that's, like, 60 years of music in chronological order, with links so you can look at my archives and play the music off the high-res source at the same time." So what's it like to reflect on all he's accomplished over the years? "I don't," he says. "I need to take a break and go to the bathroom."
“I’m putting a website out, probably just before Christmas,” he told us. “It’ll be my entire archives on a website. You can listen to music, and you’ll see where albums are that are penciled in, not finished. From throughout a 40 or 50-year span, you’ll see unfinished records behind you, in front of you, right now, way in the future.”
Thanks so much for sending Darth! And so awesome that you guys got a magnificent Neil + REAL concert.
And thanks to all who have sent photos so far from tour. We'll have more in the coming days to feature.
Also, if you recently ordered a shirt on the 2nd round of Thrasher's Wheat 20th Anniversary Shirts, here is the latest update. The order has been compiled and submitted to Geoff & his shirt folks out in Hawaii. It will take a few weeks to complete the printing and dying process. The shipment to TW HQ and then back out to you good folks. So hopefully we'll have these out to folks in August.
After The Concert + Eero!
ps - got a Shirt of the Moment shot?! Send it to us at thrasher@thrasherswheat.org
NEW LYRICS: "Rockin In The Free World" - Neil Young + Promise of the Real, Antwerp, Belgium Concert - June 24, 2016
"Got a water cannon for the standing man
Got misinformation from the corporation
In the endless search for a drop of oil
People's lives get shattered while we suck it from the soil
Gotta show the children
We just don't care
So we keep on burnin' it
And put it in the air"
Neil Young has added new lyrics to the song "Rockin In The Free World" during his current tour of Europe with Promise of the Real.
A rather harsh update for a song already dripping with irony, sarcasm and venom for what the modern world has wrought.
Over the years, we've written quite extensively how Neil Young's song “Rockin’ in the Free World” has been used and abused for a variety of purposes. In an in-depth look at the irony and aftermath of RITFW from The Umpteenth Times by Kevin Egan:
To borrow a phrase from the mathematicians, people seem to enjoy things broken down to it’s lowest common denominator. In the case of “Rockin’ in the Free World,” Young experiences what Springsteen has with “Born in the USA,” which is an audience clueless to the ideas expressed in his song.
The masses only seem to recall the chorus to this song, when the chorus is only a summing up of what the verses had articulated with more specific concepts and detailed images. It’s quite possible that Young may have been inspired by Springsteen (Springsteen’s song was written years before Young’s) when he created his own “anti-anthem,” a song in which a chorus is sung ironically, juxtaposed against gloomy, hopeless lyrics.
Though some may argue differently, this is far from an elitist tactic, particularly since both Young and Springsteen sing their verses quite clearly and include the lyrics to the songs on their albums. The information is there for the listener to absorb if they are interested. Unfortunately, in both these cases, many people still don’t get the joke and they ultimately and sadly become part of the joke. They sing proudly and patriotically to these “anti-anthems” that point out the hardships and inequalities of a system and government that has failed their people. It is only to those who have been listening attentively that the irony of these pieces comes across clearly enough.
Neil Young and Crazy Horse
Greendale at Radio City Music Hall, New York City - March 18, 2004
Photo by Thrasher
Tomorrow, 240 year ago -- July the 4th, 1776 -- the thirteen American colonies declared independence from Great Britain and announced they would no longer be a part of the British Empire.
Written by Thomas Jefferson, the American Declaration of Independence is now seen as a universal human rights statement:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
And on January 1st of this year, we wrote about Freedom in a New Year, which has been viewed -- in hindsight -- as somewhat prophetic for the events that would soon unfold.
The album contains the song "Rockin' In The Free World" and is one of Young's most popular, important and prophetic songs of his vast catalog.
The song has become an iconic anthem and it's status continues to rise as more and more artists cover the song. Young's lyrics are considered to be an indictment of the politics of the 1980's. In today's post-9/11 world, the lyrics seem prophetic and even more meaningful than when originally written on the eve of the '90's as the Berlin Wall fell.
Twenty years on, the song "Rockin' In The Free World" has become an encore finale for bands around the world, as well as, a coda for the days that used to be.
So. Freedom ... Is It All Really Just An Illusion Now?
***
Americana and The American Dream (Freedom ... So Is It All Really Just An Illusion Now?)
AMERICANA PROJECT
Poster by Shepard Fairey
(Click photo to enlarge)
Neil Young's new album with Crazy Horse has definitely struck a chord which is resonating not only across Americana but the Old World as well.
The songs on Americana reinterpret traditional folk songs in such a way as to breath new life and meaning into them to such an extent as to be almost unrecognizable to those who learned the songs in their childhood. And that makes some uncomfortable to go where they haven't been before.
For example, in the traditional song “Oh Susannah”, the music is a family focal point to provide relief from the grim times of the Great Depression. Those who fail to draw the line between yesterday and today's global meltdown are missing the major message of Americana . The "Even Greater Depression" of the early 21st century is the story of our lifetime. To miss this point is to fail incredibly.
Even the artwork of Shepard Fairey and Day at the Gallery where the images project populist ideals of the common man against the brutality of the state sponsored repression and economic bondage.
For Neil Young's “God Save the Queen,” the British anthem that was repurposed for “America (My Country, ’Tis of Thee)”; this version moves from British fealty to “Confound their politics/Frustrate their empty tricks” to a final chorus of “Let freedom ring.”
"The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it."
"Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment. That I do not intend to permit to the extent that it is in my control. And no official of my Administration, whether his rank is high or low, civilian or military, should interpret my words here tonight as an excuse to censor the news, to stifle dissent, to cover up our mistakes or to withhold from the press and the public the facts they deserve to know."
Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young's "Chicago"
Freedom: Chicago - August 1968 "We can change the world, re-arrange the world"
[Continued]
"[We have an] obligation to inform and alert the American people -- to make certain that they possess all the facts that they need, and understand them as well -- the perils, the prospects, the purposes of our program and the choices that we face.
Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed -- and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian lawmaker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment-- the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution -- not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply "give the public what it wants" -- but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion."
"And so it is to the printing press -- to the recorder of man's deeds, the keeper of his conscience, the courier of his news -- that we look for strength and assistance, confident that with your help man will be what he was born to be: free and independent."
JFK - 1961
Yet the song "Rockin' In The Free World" is often misunderstood and attacked on false interpretations and misplaced understandings. Witness some of the near violent comments that have been left on this blog over the years in reaction to some of our previous postings on the song's lyrical analysis (see comments here and here.)
There are those who have argued that "Rockin' in the Free World" espouses anti-freedom ideals, to which we have taken serious issue with in the past.
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.
You need only understand the true context of George Bush’s “thousand points of light” reference. It has nothing to do with a call to civic and charitable involvement. Rather, it is a reference to Illuminism, an encoded esoteric call to arms signaling to all the wreckers throughout the world that the time has come to declare out in the open (in George Bush’s own words), a “New World Order”.
In the United States more and more recognize the disconnect between government and the needs of most Americans. They see how crony capitalist policies lead to the largest wealth divide we have known with increasing poverty, joblessness, underemployment and insecurity. At the same time the Congress, Treasury and Federal Reserve funnel trillions of dollars to the big banks, but demand cuts for programs that would create jobs, fund state and local government, build the infrastructure, provide basic necessities and protect the environment. This is the first generation of Americans who see that their children are likely to be worse off than they are.
Say what you will about Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young's 1988 album American Dream, but it did contain some quite lacerating and scathing commentary on the state of the American Dream.
The video is clearly an indictment of the rampant corruption of the U.S. President Ronald Reagan's administration and the Iran-Contra coverup scandal where high ranking government officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, which had been specifically prohibited by Congress (The Boland Amendment).
And here we are 23 years later. My how things have changed for that American Dream...
You wake up in the middle of the night.
Your sheets are wet and your face is white,
You tried to make a good thing last,
How could something so good, go bad, so fast?
American dream, American dream
American dream, American dream.
Don't know when things went wrong,
Might have been when you were young and strong.
American dream, American dream.
Don't know when things went wrong,
Might have been when you were young and strong.
American dream, American dream.
"The year 1776, celebrated as the birth year of the nation and for the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was for those who carried the fight for independence forward a year of all-too-few victories, of sustained suffering, disease, hunger, desertion, cowardice, disillusionment, defeat, terrible discouragement, and fear, as they would never forget, but also of phenomenal courage and bedrock devotion to country, and that too, they would never forget." --David McCullough from 1776
Traitor and Patriot? Thomas Jefferson
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."
Author of American Declaration of Independence
So how exactly could something so good, go so bad, so fast?
>> 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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