Graham Nash is quoted in a recent interview in Variety.com that Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young may reunite yet again.
From Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Could Reunite — Because They Hate Trump More Than Each Other | Variety.com by Steve Baltin:
Graham Nash: “Here’s how I feel about it: I believe that the issues that are keeping us apart pale in comparison to the good that we can do if we get out there and start talking about what’s happening,” Nash says of a possible CSNY reunion. “So I’d be totally up for it even though I’m not talking to David and neither is Neil. But I think that we’re smart people in the end and I think we realize the good that we can do.”Full Graham Nash interview @ Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Could Reunite — Because They Hate Trump More Than Each Other | Variety.com by Steve Baltin.
...
“You have to keep up your will to fight,” he says. “You have to research your subject matter so that when people ask you about them you have good answers, true answers, you need to feel something before you create something like a song that could change the world, you have to remain really vigilant and strong. We cannot let this man [Trump] undermine everything we have fought for over the last 30 years, which is what’s happening by the way. You couldn’t possibly write this script and have it accepted in Hollywood, they would laugh you out of the office. ‘Then this guy becomes president and did what?’ It’s a crazy story.”
...
“We need the younger generation,” he says. “People like me, Jackson [Browne] and Bonnie [Raitt], we’ve been doing benefits for 40 years and we need the younger generation, particularly people like Lady Gaga, with what’s she got, 80 million people following her on Instagram or Facebook? We need those people that have incredible followings to be able to take a stand and bring information to their followers.”
More on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
So much to say about this. First, it breaks my heart that these guys can't get along. I'd rather they all be friendly with each other and not work together than be working together but at each other's throats. Second, when Nash says "I'm not talking to David", he sounds like a very childish and selfish man. Thirdly, one must wonder about his financials.
ReplyDeleteDavid Crosby is a total ffucking asshole. I know a really nice Doctor who helped him swap out his liver... said he was the biggest asshole he ever met. I believe it. A purely poisonous predator.
DeleteConcerts as political theatre are not my thing. Spending big money to be lectured to may be fine for some but we're probably paying for their divorces.
ReplyDeleteWell said AF.
ReplyDeleteVery petty sounding and childish. Why would they want to play, and more importantly why would I want to watch a band that isn't talking to each other? Without brotherhood and joy, it kind of defeats the purpose and communal power of music...
And musically, I don't think there's much interest out there to see these guys play together anyway. CSN can get together and play in front of a few thousand die-hards and that's fine. Keep Neil out of it and let him play for his die-hards. These days, I see very little synergy and energy amongst the 4 together, and it's sad to read about and would be even sadder to watch.
"Ain't it hard when you wake up in the morning
and you find out that those other days are gone?"
and as always,
"Take my advice
don't listen to me"
Oh dear Nash trumping out this nonsense....get off the bandwagon
ReplyDeleteSo Nash's way of fighting the evils of Trump is to have four guys in their 70's who barely can look each other in the eye get together and sing??? If Crosby and Neil can sing a song without wanting to beat the crap out of each other, then there's hope for all of us???
ReplyDeleteJesus, Nash sounds more delusional than the Democrats that I actually vote for.......
Weren't these guys "dead weight" around 1978 or so? Stay on the Peace Trail, Neil, and leave those knuckleheads behind ya......except for Stephen, of course.
Dreaming Man-know that's my problem!
ReplyDeleteStick to playing music and stay out of politics, nobody cares
ReplyDeleteThe last two years of touring with POTR prove that Neil doesn't need CSN with him in concert to an effective musical activist. Leave the Trump bashing to Saturday Night Live. Neil's been enthusiastically fighting social ills and societal problems with quality protest music on The Monsanto Years and Peace Trail. In concert, Backed by POTR, the songs of social justice are energizing concert crowds, pulling in the younger generation to the shows and generating great critical reviews which spawns more attendance at the shows. (The memorable rousing cheer from our sisters in Telluride when the band sang, "When the women of the world are free to stand up for themselves..." was freakin' awesome). Take note Nash, Somethin' new is growing and the new enthusiastic blood of POTR is helping Neil hit the Peace Trail.
ReplyDeleteWell, promoters might just take note that a CSNY reunion tour might not be a box office bonanza.
ReplyDelete@ Hounds That Howl - exactly. and we'll be out there on that trail and on that rail. what we like to call ... Promise of the WHEAT!
If Neil hits the road again, I truly hope it's with the Promise of the Real. As many have said, there's a fresh vitality to their dynamic and it sparks Neil creatively.
ReplyDeleteCSN and Crazy Horse have put their chips on the table and they fill many chapters in the history book, but I want to see and hear what's on Neil's mind today as he looks forward to and enjoys his Peace Trail:
Up in the rainbow teepee sky
No one's looking down on you or I
That's just a mirror in your eye
Ain't taken my last hit yet
I know that things are different now
(I see the same old signs, but something new is growing)
Don't think I'll cash it in yet
Don't think I'll put down my last bet
(I'm gonna keep my hand in, because something new is growing)
Think I'll hit the Peace Trail
Take a trip back home to my old town
'Cause everyone back there says
Something new is growing
Up in the rainbow teepee sky
No one's looking down on you or I
It's just a mirror in our eye
If I believe in someone
I have to believe in myself
(I have to take good care when something new is growing)
The world is full of changes
Sometimes all these changes make me sad
(I have to plant them seeds, till something new is growing)
I think I'll hit the Peace Trail
I know that treasure takes its time
(I have to take good care when something new is growing)
I think I'll hit the Peace Trail
I think I like my chances now
(I have to take good care when something new is growing)
I think I'll hit the Peace Trail
I think I'll hit the Peace Trail now
Because something new is growing
For what it's worth, I'm still listening to Peace Trail (both the song and album) and I enjoy it immensely. There's a depth of simplicity (or a simplicity of depth) to it that hits me hard, and Neil's vocal stylings sound almost as good to me as they did back in the old folky days..
Peace Trail may be Neil's last recorded message to us. If it is, it's a farewell note to guide us, motivate us, assure us and soothe us, as he strums his guitar sitting under a literal and metaphorical tree, just like when we found him. Open your ears, hearts and minds, something new is growing...
"Take my advice
don't listen to me"
ahhh yes the evil President Trump.....it's just so awful having a President who actually loves his country.....he must be stopped.....and Graham Nash has the songs to stop him....lol.....
ReplyDeletepaaaleeeeese......
Hmm, there's just nothing better than Stephen and Neil facing off with electric guitars.
ReplyDeleteCrosby is a dick.
Agreed. Except Neil is pretty awesome almost anywhere.
DeleteI agree with you Jonathan 100%.Everytime I come to this site(which is sadly rare these days) there is someone thrashing Trump(pun intended).I didn't even vote in the last election but there is one thing I support my president. I give him a chance. But these old liberal hippies have it out for any republican president. I really love Neil Young's music and I really care for Springsteens music but both are testing my patience. The pattern is the same since Nixon, Reagan,Bushs and Trump demonize demonize demonize. They are all selfish self centered narcissistic assholes. Liberals would rather all of us to become Socialist (and we hear that's working fine in Venezuela). Music is a unifier but only for one part of society it seems. They spit on my brother when he came back from Nam now I wish I return the favor to NY and BS.
ReplyDelete@ TopangaD - your comment "Peace Trail may be Neil's last recorded message to us." caused us to do a full stop pause.
ReplyDeleteWe'd never really contemplated "Peace Trail" as Neil's final "studio" album release. But going back and reading the lyrics to the title song, we can see how some might interpret it that way. Certainly when the song and album were released, we didn't know about the 2017 sabbatical.
But with the announced sabbatical and these lyrics, things take on new meaning.
Originally, we considered lyrics "I think I'll hit the Peace Trail/
I think I like my chances now/ (I have to take good care when something new is growing)" as Neil taking the time to explore the new relationship. But maybe something more?
OTOH, lyrics such as: "Don't think I'll cash it in yet/ Don't think I'll put down my last bet" give us much hope that there';s still a lot of great new Neil music to come in the days ahead.
@Jonathan and Timothy--
ReplyDeleteFirstly, let me make perfectly clear that I don't condone or sanction spitting on or attacking anyone, including soldiers. I thank veterans for their service. Have a listen to Neil's songs Families and Roger and Out, from the Living with War album, for a more balanced view of our servicemen and servicewomen. Neil did sing about "tin soldiers and Nixon's coming". but he also reminded us that "Even Richard Nixon has got soul". And here's a relatively more recent verse, from Are You Passionate?
"Once I was a soldier. I was fighting in the sky, and the gunfire kept coming back on me. So I dove into the darkness and I let my missiles fly, and those might be the ones that kept you free."
However...
Conservatives never shut up throughout 8 years of Obama. Now the shoe's on the other foot. A gracious winner wouldn't begrudge dissenters their voices. At the very least, you remember this kind of frustration, so let us get it off of our chests when Trump and friends' latest genius move makes you feel so contented and secure about where the world is heading.
Did you extend this "I support my president" consideration to Obama? No? Well, that's how some people feel about Trump. And the right to peaceful dissent is one of the foundations of a genuinely free society--the very thing conservatives claim to be defending against encroaching, corrosive socialism. This hypocrisy is breathtaking at multiple levels.
A final point: partisans--of either side--must restrain from perpetuating this damaging fiction that the other side doesn't doesn't "love America" or is purely evil. Just because I think you've got it wrong that doesn't mean I believe you are an evil or soulless person. That kind of thinking is frighteningly simplistic, and is one big reason bipartisanship has disintegrated. Appeal to pathos and empty sentimentality is not a framework for good governance, and worse, when you "demonize demonize demonize" the other side, you destroy goodwill and eviscerate the very basis of cooperation: the belief in the fundamental humanity and goodness of others. Good and evil are seen as clearly divided, black-and-white--uncompromising. So when we start viewing each other through this prism, we forget to even try to see where the other person is coming from or appreciate what they may have to offer. This dehumanizing cycle is tragic and fruitless.
@Thrasher--Agreed. My impression is not of any intention to stop producing yet. Before the sabbatical announcement, Neil had spoken about more sessions to follow up Peace Trail, and there have been clues suggesting that POTR are still orbiting the axis of Planet Neil. Of course, you never know what the future will hold. My own feeling is that we'll hear more yet. The exploratory probes will safely return data from the latest launch.
ReplyDelete"And though the seas may rise, until they do--I'll keep on doing the things I'm, doing, and believe in you."
Making the change, keeping the faith.
See you on the rail... in the Great Pacific Northwest.
DeleteToday is Earth Day.
ReplyDeleteSo here is my review of Neil Young's Earth album from last year:
http://neilyoungnews.thrasherswheat.org/2016/06/album-review-of-moment-earth-by-neil.html
Or by all means ignore the review and just listen to the album. It is worth it.
CSNY? I can't get excited. A lot of it seems to be based on ego and delusions of grandeur rather than genuine musical excitement. A lot of talking and not much music to back it up. Excessive-noodlers POTR haven't yet established themselves as one of my favourite Neil backing bands (I think Peace Trail benefitted from the band change), but I'd prefer another outing with them to a CSNY reunion. Of course, making peace with old friends can only be a good thing. And like everyone here, I'm hoping Neil is okay, busy at work on his next project.
And I still think that if Neil creates another masterpiece in this lifetime, it will most likely be with Crazy Horse. Have they burned out? I don't know. I'm sure Poncho hasn't. I doubt the others have. And unlike CSNY, unlike any other Neil band, they have an enduring track record; 50 years of far more hits than misses.
Everybody Knows. Tonight's The Night. Zuma. Rust. Ragged Glory. Sleeps With Angels. Greendale. Psychedelic Pill. An impressive resume of top-drawer, life-changing music.
Powerful stuff. Very rare. Not to be underestimated.
And (thrillingly) it strikes that there is still one piece missing. A blank page waiting to be filled in. Most likely something subtle and low-key and rich and multi-layered. That's what my instinct says. Of course, some blank pages will stay that way. That's life.
For all the hype about CSNY, they mainly just have blank pages.
But one thing is for sure. If Neil is back to creating again, then all bets will be off. He will be folllowing his muse, and who knows where this will take him.
But for now, go and enjoy Earth.
Scotsman.
I say leave the boys alone. Let them be. They have already said it all before - hundreds of times. They deserve to live out their days in peace and not be bothered by others over trivial BS.
ReplyDelete>> Did you extend this "I support my president" consideration to Obama? No?
ReplyDelete...... there's a difference between 'supporting the president' and actively engaging in subversion of a presidency.
... our current President has been subjected to a non-stop assault on his legitimacy since the day after the day after his election.
...... he's been spied on, lied about & plainly obstructed since before the election.
..... and he doesn't have the ability to shout 'RACIST' at anyone he wants/needs to shut up
... i didn't come here to talk politics, but i just couldn't let that crap go un-remarked
........ be the rain, all
ps: saw CSNY2k @ Red Rocks, loved the music, paid no attention to the 'message'
...... as someone else said a long time ago .... let it be.
ReplyDeletePower to the PEOPLE!
Stick it to the MAN!
@Scotsman + ALL - Yes, Happy Earth Day! And thanks for re-posting your review of Neil Young's Earth album from last year!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good time to give Earth a spin... and a hug.
My last political post for now, but, wow! Two terms and at least six years of of bashing and obstructing Obama (I'm looking at you, congress)--and the right wing can't stand the heat for even a few months.
ReplyDeleteTrump bears an outsize amount of the responsibility for the criticism, scrutiny, backlash--obstruction, if you want to call it that--he has received. He campaigned like an animal. It was vicious and potentially damaging to our democratic system, and that doesn't go away overnight for a couple of pretty speeches. Trump has lost few opportunities to make enemies--in both parties. Just ask John McCain.
And I really have to ask: where is all this onerous, unjust obstruction and persecution coming from? The part where both houses of congress, even while under GOP control, are compelled to investigate possible Russian election meddling that they wouldn't look remotely credible if they didn't thoroughly investigate? The part where the House of Reps' investigation turned into a farcical sideshow run by a Trump buddy? How about when two Republicans voted against Betsy DeVos, and Pence had to cast the tiebreak vote because of dissent in his own party? (Susan Collins FTW!)
Or here's a good one: conservative Republicans sabbotoge their own healthcare bill! And let's not forget Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch. After the way GOP congress dealt with the nomination of Merrick Garland, Republicans have not a leg to stand on complaining about obstruction. Or maybe your beef is with thousands of Americans have used their democratic rights to rise in protest, like the educators and scientists who marched Saturday for Earth Day. How dare they refuse to roll over and allow Trump and Republicans to go unchallenged?
There is no obligation to make it easy for an administration to do things many of us believe are damaging to the nation and the world, but there is absolutely an obligation to hold our elected officials to a stringent standard in their official capacities, and I refuse to feel sorry for public figures who flagrantly act to put themselves in the path of severe backlash.
Trump's electoral college victory was anything but overwhelming. Two or three key states could have sent the EC the other way, and the loss of the popular vote by nearly 3,000,000 should be somewhat humbling. In special elections for seats vacated by Trump cabinet appointees, Republicans are now fighting to hold on to reliably conservative senate districts.
Tom Price's Georgia district is headed for a runoff in June. So, with that backdrop, good luck in 2018. This is the classic situation where things stand to get nastier before they get nicer, unfortunately.
PS to Thrasher--Apologies if I'm clouding the atmosphere with my posts above, but in this case I felt a burning need to set the record straight as I see it. These are not the easiest of days, but I do feel we need to have it out on these issues as a part of public discourse. If any diehard Republicans are willing to allow that Trump was a crummy candidate, I will be happy to concede that my candiate of choice was also suboptimal. Most of voted for whomever we thought was the best pick of a flawed bunch. Like many people on the human highway, I grow restless in my search for integrity and truth.
ReplyDeleteDon't be denied.
@Ian - no apologies needed here whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteAs long as folks keep it civil, all is well. Your presentation is quite level headed and welcomed in these days of overheated rhetoric.
As we always say, if a Neil Young fan community can't get along and discuss their differences, there's little hope for the greater world.
But we can do this.
See you down that peace trail...
Ian,
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing what most of us are thinking.
One does wonder how Trump supporters can also embrace the music of an activist, environmentalist, and humanitarian. Maybe there is hope!
@Ian- hear, hear! Agreed with @Grey... you got it right, and in a level-headed, factual manner.
ReplyDelete