Why is our protest music stuck in the past? | Washington Post

Over the years, we here @ TW -- and many, many others -- have tracked the decline of "protest music".

From It’s a brave new world. Why is our protest music stuck in the past? | Washington Post by Chris Richards:

These are wild and anxious times for our wild and anxious planet. So why do the most visible protest songs of the Trump era feel so inert? From the numb thud of “This Is America” to the woke winks on the new Taylor Swift album, contemporary protest pop feels increasingly prominent, deeply unimaginative and embarrassingly insufficient.

As it stands, the two most widely applauded protest anthems of Trump’s presidency are “Love It If We Made It,” by the British band the 1975, and “This Is America,” by Childish Gambino, the nom-du-rap of Hollywood polymath Donald Glover. The former was named the best song of 2018 by Pitchfork in December. The latter won record and song of the year at the Grammys in February. “Love It If We Made It” recites the ugliest global headlines of the past few years while flashing a hopeless smile. “This Is America” holds a mirror up to our violent, racist, violently racist system, then gives a blank shrug.

What are these songs trying to achieve? Both offer hyper-topical verses, flanked by titular refrains that radiate heroic despair — and by setting those feelings of total powerlessness to such patently urgent music, the effect becomes strangely self-canceling. You feel seen, but you also feel small.

So why has "protest music" gone "inert" as Chris Richards contends?

"Ohio", Kent State & Today: Tin Soldiers Still Marching

Obviously -- for us -- the penultimate protest song is Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young 1970 song "Ohio". The song "Ohio" is "perhaps the most powerful topical song ever recorded: moving, memorable, and perfectly timed. But it turned out to signify the end of the era of protest songwriting which had begun with the folk revival rather than a thrilling rebirth", author Dorian Lynskey writes in the book 33 Revolutions per Minute: A History of Protest Songs, from Billie Holiday to Green Day.

Freedom: Kent State University, Ohio - May 4, 1970 (Click to enlarge full frame & note girl's shirt message)
Neil Young wrote in the liner notes of the Decade album about the song he wrote for CSNY "Ohio": "It's still hard to believe I had to write this song. It's ironic that I capitalized on the death of these American students. Probably the most important lesson ever learned at an American place of learning. David Crosby cried after this take."

Rock's "Fahrenheit 9/11"
Living With War by Neil Young - 2006
In 2006 -- as Gulf War II raged -- Neil Young was urged to deliver another "Ohio" -- a song which helped change public attitudes and marked an important turning point in the Vietnam War. In response to the challenge, Neil Young released the anti-war, protest album LIVING WITH WAR was released to a firestorm of criticism and controversy. Neil Young called the music "Metal Folk Protest" like Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan's.

Upon release, Neil Young stated that he felt compelled to write his new album "Living With War" because he was tired of waiting for young protest singers to pick up the torch.

What followed was an inspired reaction from "younger singer-song-writers" who maintained that they were holding the flame. A provocative article titled Why Neil Young Is Wrong by Stephan Smith-Said has generated a lot of attention. This article resulted in Neil establishing the Songs of Our Times page on the Living with War site, ass well as, a series of concerts called Songs of Protest.


Songs of Protest - Feb. 10th, 2007
Poster by McNevin Hayes
In 2008, the man whose song "Ohio" played a part in helping end the Vietnam war, admitted that "music can no longer change the world". Neil Young made the comment at the Berlin film festival which is screening "CSNY: Deja Vu".


"Music Can't Change World" - Neil Young
2008 Berlin Film FestivalNeil Young's comment that music can't change the world was been met with a pretty strong reaction from around the world.

Many argue that music can change the world while others argue that it never has and never will. Young responded with a post titled "A Song Alone":

"No one song can change the world. But that doesn't mean it's time to stop singing."

"Children of Destiny" - Neil Young + Promise of the Real

Frame from Official Music Video

In 2017, Neil Young + Promise of the Real released a song and video titled "Children of Destiny". From Neil Young News @ Thrasher's Wheat: A Happy New Year for 2018's "Children of Destiny" on the state of today's "Protest Music": The protesting of state sponsored brutality and violence continues, but where are the musical anthems that capture the emotions of our times? From Billboard | 'Fear of Being Blackballed' Prevents Artists From Releasing Protest Music:

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." 

Neil Young performs "Ohio"
Farm Aid 25: Growing Hope for America, Miller Park, Milwaukee on October 2, 2010

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FILM PREMIERE: Neil Young Solo - London 2008 | NYA

LONDON | NYA

Now showing in the Hearse Theater in Neil Young solo at Hammersmith Theater, London in 2008.

The concert film is directed by Tim Pope and has never been screened before. Recorded over a series of 4 nights (see here for reviews of March 5 & 6, 2008 and March 8 & 9, 2008, March 14 & 15, 2008) Recorded during the final 2 nights of a 6 gig run, the multi-camera film is stunningly intimate and features the "mic cam" for ultra close-ups. (Thanks for clarification Scotsman!)

Neil Young - Hammersmith Theater, March 2008
via LONDON | NYA

The film focuses on the acoustic portion of set and does not contain electric cuts. Presumably those will be made available eventually, as well as, the somewhat long lost and beloved Trunk Show film by Jonathan Demme.


Poster: Neil Young - Hammersmith Theater, March 2008
(See reviews on March 5 & 6, 2008 and March 8 & 9, 2008)
The set list for the gig on Saturday the 8th was:

Acoustic:
From Hank to Hendrix
Ambulance Blues (!!!)
Sad Movies
A Man needs a Maid
Flying on the ground is wrong (!!!)
On the way Home (!!!)
Harvest
Journey through the past
Love in Mind
Mellow my mind
Love art blues
Love is a rose
Heart of gold
Old man

Electric:
Mr Soul
Dirty old man
Spirit road
Down by the river (!!!)
Hey Hey, My My
Too far gone
Oh lonesome me
Winterlong (!!!)
Powderfinger
No Hidden Path (!!!)

Encore:
Roll another number

Tim Pope is the director of numerous highly acclaimed 1980's Neil Young music videos such as "Wonderin'", "Touch the Night", "People On The Street"and "Weight Of The World".

"People On The Street" ‏Music Video by Neil Young
Director - Tim Pope

Neil Young
Frame from "Cry, Cry, Cry" Music Video Directed by Tim Pope

Frames from Neil Young music video "Wonderin'", 1983
Director Tim Pope
More on Tim Pope: Making "Wonderin'" Video with Neil Young.


Frames from "Touch the Night" -
Neil Young Music Video directed by Tim Pope
Also, see Making of "Touch the Night" Music Video by Tim Pope.

Also, see Tim Pope: Neil Young Music Video Director | PODCAST by Adam Buxton.

Neil Young
Frame from "Weight Of The World" Music Video

Also, see MUSIC VIDEO: "Weight Of The World" by Neil Young, Directed by Tim Pope.

An excerpt from Neil Young's biography "Shakey" by Jimmy McDonough on Tim Pope's Music Videos:

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ANALYSIS: Cover of New Neil Young Album COLORADO | WEHM VLOG

Here is an in-depth analysis of the new Neil Young & Crazy Horse album cover for COLORADO from Anthony OnAir | WEHM VLOG.

Much of this analysis is based on the NYA article "How an album cover was created". Anthony OnAir's VLOG on WEHM contends that the COLORADO album cover is like a "dreamscape".

COLORADO by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Release Date: October 25, 2019 - Pre-order now
(Please shop locally & independently. But if you can't, we appreciate your supporting Thrasher's Wheat by clicking this link. Thank you!!!)

Also, see commentary on STREAMING PREVIEW: "Milky Way" on COLORADO, New Album by Neil Young & Crazy Horse.

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CONTEST: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Photo 16x20 Print - 1969

Neil Young - The Music Scene, September 22, 1969
Photo by Jeff Allen | InstaGram
(To win a free print, see contest details below)
In celebration of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the filming of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young on The Music Scene TV program on Sept. 22, 1969, photographer Jeff Allen | InstaGram has generously offered up a free photo print to a Thrasher's Wheat reader. (See below for details.)

David Crosby and Neil Young - Music Scene - 1969
Photo by Jeff Allen | InstaGram

Jeff wrote us about discovering his lost negatives back in 2009:

I have over 90 shots in b&w from the taping.

I was 19 years old when I was invited to the taping. I can't remember who invited me, but I went with my trusty Nikon F with a 105mm portrait lens. I was so close, I couldn't even get all four band members in the same shot, but got a few with three.

I shot the black and whites and also a bunch of Ektachrome slides (which I subsequently lost in the many moves from rental properties over the years) while sitting in the front row of the audience. I was the guy in the long sleeve yellow shirt, second from the left in the opening scene.

Dallas Taylor: 1948 - 2015
Music Scene - 1969
Photo by Jeff Allen | InstaGram

You can see Jeff at the taping in the video below of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young performing "Down by the River".



A photo of Neil Young by Jeff was used on the cover of the book Everything Left to Know About the Iconic and Mercurial Rocker by Glen Boyd (Review and details).

Neil Young FAQ:
Everything Left to Know About the Iconic and Mercurial Rocker
by Glen Boyd
(Review and details)
And here is a very rare image of the late band manager Elliot Roberts (1943 - 2019) at the taping with Stephen Stills.

Elliot Roberts with Stephen Stills
CSNY - Music Scene TV - 1969

Photo by Jeff Allen

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CONTEST: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Photo Print - 1969

A lucky Thrasher's Wheat supporters will be eligible to win a Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Photo Print - 1969 or another photo of their choosing*. We truly appreciate being able to do what we do here at TW, and we love being able to give something back in return.

To enter the contest, follow these steps:

#1) Select a photo from Jeff Allen | InstaGram page that you would like as a 16x20 metal print.

#2) "Like" Jeff Allen | InstaGram.

#3) In 3 sentences or less:

tell us why you would like to win.

#4) Then just email your answer to r1bikecam@gmail.com . BTW, feel free to email Jeff with any questions.

Include your name, postal mailing address, including *COUNTRY*. Also, include your InstaGram account name.

Entries must be emailed with SUBJECT line: CONTEST: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young Photo Print - 1969

Deadline: Sunday, Sept. 22nd, 5PM EST

We'll then select a Thrasher's Wheat reader as winner.

Don't Be Denied!

Incidentally, here's Jeff being interviewed about his historic photos at Norman's Rare Guitars in Los Angeles.



Thanks Jeff!

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Comment of the Moment: "Milky Way" - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

COLORADO by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Release Date: October 25, 2019 - Pre-order now
(Please shop locally & independently. But if you can't, we appreciate your supporting Thrasher's Wheat by clicking this link. Thank you!!!)

Last week, Neil Young & Crazy Horse previewed the track "Milky Way" on NYA from their upcoming album COLORADO.

Quite a bit of reaction to the new song and lyrics. The Comment of the Moment is from "Milky Way" on COLORADO, New Album by Neil Young & Crazy Horse by Ian; The Metamorphic Rocker:

At 8/30/2019 11:14:00 AM, Blogger (D.) Ian Kertis; The Metamorphic Rocker said...

In short, I hear many of the echoes or referents that others are picking out. A listener could, if they were so inclined, "read" or analyze the track as a musical pastiche of sorts to previous NY & CH songs and sounds. I think that would be a little unfair, painting with a broad brush so to speak. However, an interesting angle nonetheless.

What others term "the spook", or journey, I think I'll be so bold as to specify as tension. The title songs of "On the Beach" and "Are you Passionate?" deliver this with gusto, and this new "Milky Way" is approaching the same territory. The gradual but persistent rhythm in tandem with Neil's vocals, which I think have grown more edgy as he now must stretch farther for the upper register, reflect perhaps an emotional push-and-pull in both the author and the listener, a mixture of apprehension and giddy anticipation as to where it all will go.

In fact, that's the question I found myself when the vocal started: where is this leading, structurally--the melody and the lyric? NY's lyrics are certainly a grade more prosaic in the past (if I said that he occasionally gets slightly wordy, I'd sure be one to talk!), and one curious facet is to see how the music keeps pace with this challenging departure from a tighter poetic approach grounded in meter and verse.

Since I'm not and rarely have been a student of music theory, my impressions are... well... impressionistic. But then, if NY&CH have any music theory themselves, I'm fairly certain it's of an unorthodox flavor. The music and words drift and even wander a bit, before tautening and leaving this listener's initial questions only partly answered. Which, to be fair, is about the most one can expect from any piece of music, particularly on first encounter.

Above all, I suppose I'm curious to see and hear how "Milky Way" plays into the greater fabric of "Colorado". Am I the only one to notice the word "color" embedded in the name "Colorado"? (Apologies to readers in non-US English-speaking regions; unfortunately, the connection doesn't work perfectly outside of American English.) I'm sure not, but the fascinating counterpoint is that the Youtube video shows what appears to be the album cover, with images presented only in B&W. We know NY is to some extent colorblind, something I in fact didn't learn for some time. Again, not certain of where these connections are taking me, but something is afoot.

Although Oct. 25 is not showing up significantly on the lunar calendar, there will be a new moon due on Oct. 27th. The full moon, one may note, appears on the morning of Nov. 12th.

I did mention that Neil's lyrics have been growing more prosaic. However, I find the message(s) and vibe almost startlingly clear and to-the-point. In that sense, meandering wouldn't apply. Just gave another listen and, for me at least, structure and arc increasingly apparent. Shakey's voice is a bit shakier these days, but the guitars (both Neil and Nils) are in fine form.

At first glance, perhaps not equal to the strongest moments of "The Visitor"--but I found that one, at its best, to be stratospheric. Patience will reveal where "Colorado" rests in the Neil library.

The "Cowgirl" motifs are definitely present, as Richie mentions. However, the overall flavor of the song is different and, for me, that absorbs the passing resemblance. I wouldn't describe the song to a casual or middling fan as being "like Cowgirl", because I think it would set up the wrong expectation.

I do also hear the echoes of AYP?(another song built on tension), but for me that's not an inherent "fail". AYP? the album has its issues--I think I've expounded enough on that in the past, the whole saga from Toast on down. AYP? the song, however, was one of the album's more successful moments and, imho, is quite unfairly overlooked and discarded. It may be one of the neglected gems of NY's latter day catalogue. So, yeah, I don't mind feeling that slow burn again.

Another progenitor, I'd suggest, is "Trans Am" from SWA for its tempo and mood. Which in turn owes something to the winding, lumbering grind of "Danger Bird". None of these touchstones are direct paralleled by "Milky Way". They are more like scattered associations, flashes of the familiar. The kid got his nose from this grandfather, hair like that cousin, etc. Talk of family resemblance shouldn't be taken too literally or precisely.

Maybe we benefit from the occasional cynicism of an Andy or a Robi, balancing out the open-ended appreciations and musings to which some of us are apt. Certainly, it's not infrequently eye-opening to take in everyone's widely variant responses to the same input.

There's a major distinction between prosaic (as I said) and lazy. In this case, the latter is considerably wide of the mark. It seems like the discussion might take a more productive turn if Andy W. could bring some specificity into his reactions/objections, rather than dealing in broad generalities. "Lazy", "sloppy", or "meandering" don't mean that much if unqualified or not supported with details.

I know we're all speaking here about ephemera and subjective impressions, as that's the nature of appreciating and/or interpreting art.

Moreover, comparing every new thing that comes along to the halcyon days, although understandable, will result in a grading curve--and not necessarily a favorable one. At some point, one has to take in what is, rather than what was or may have been--the goal, imho, is to be neither blinded by nostalgia or clouded with disenchantment, which may just be different faces of the same coin after all.

"Watch where you're going, not where you've been" is the version I heard growing up. Nowadays, it seems relevant in more ways than one.

Thanks so much Ian; The Metamorphic Rocker for the well composed thoughts as always! We truly appreciate your thoughts and opinions -- as well as everyone else who thoughtfully participated in respectful discussion.

More on "Milky Way" on COLORADO, New Album by Neil Young & Crazy Horse.

Also, see complete track list for COLORADO.

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