FILM: "SHOTS" Neil Young @ Boarding House, 1978 + Timeline Concert: w/ Booker T. & The MG, 1993
This acoustic version of Shots has got something going on. This was my first gig using my new harmonica mics to sing through. The song is very different in this reading from the Crazy Horse version. It was brand new, only played once or twice before in that week at the Boarding House.
Watch it now at the HEARSE THEATER
Also, now streaming on NYA, a new Timeline Concert of Neil Young with Booker T & the MGs from 1993 USA & Euro Tour w/ Booker T. & The MGs at Finsbury Park - London, England on July 11, 1993.
via Neil Young Archives and John Hanlon:
January 5, 2022
Happy New Year!
I hope you all had a warm and peaceful yule after which you feel rested and ready for what promises to be another long year. We’ve certainly got a long one ahead of us here at NYA (I’ve seen the fan-compiled list of expected/hoped-for 2022 releases making its rounds on the message boards, and am daunted by it); I hope through our little labors we can lighten the load for you, our beloved NYA subscribers.
It is in that spirit we bring you a performance guaranteed to please, whatever your preference. Do you long for shades of Dreamin’ Man ‘92’s lovingly rendered acoustic hits? Or would you rather bask in expressively sculpted guitar solos that sound as if they have hung like a mist in the north London air for millenia, just waiting to be dragged down kicking and screaming into the audible frequencies?
This show has it all: a never-released rarity performed only on this tour (Live To Ride), Dock Of The Bay improbably nuzzling up against a Weld-era rendition of All Along The Watchtower in the encore, Neil in a delightfully jocular mood. Plus, a mystery: did the tape run out, or are we not including the bonus encore with Pearl Jam for some more insidious reason? (The tape ran out.)
Whatever you’re craving from us right now, this show from Finsbury Park with Booker T. & The MGs will hit the spot, ease your holiday hangover, and get you started on this new year feeling good.
Thank you to Jamie and Patron Andy S for requesting the show, and thank you all for bearing with me as I shake the rust off and remember how to write these announcements.
best,
john o
p.s. Yes, Andy, we’d love to see photos of both your legitimate and less-legitimate t-shirts bought at this show. We’ll be in touch.
Also, see Broken Arrow, #52 "Booker T & The MG's" by Alan Jenkins.
Also, see:
- Neil Young + Booker T. & The MG's: "Like A Hurricane", Concord Pavilion, Concord, CA - June 12, 1993
- POTATO HOLE: Booker T, Drive-By Truckers & Neil Young Album
Enjoy and Happy Neil Year!
Labels: concert, neil young, neil young archives, nya
by thrasher@PermaLink: 1/06/2022 10:12:00 AM
66 comments
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66 Comments:
Depending on perspective, today, January 6 is the anniversary of one of the darkest days of democracy ... or not.
We do find it very curious on the timing of "Shots" video today.
At first, it seemed like maybe just a random coincidence. But after listening to this absolutely stunning version of Shots w/ lyric variations galore, it seems there might be something going on here.
Neil alludes to it in his notes, in his typical opaque vagueness.
So we conclude that posting of Shots today, January 6, is no random coincidence but an intentional anniversary choice.
Children
Were lost in the sand,
clearing roads with little hands
Trying to join their father's castles together again
Will they make it?
Hey, who knows where or when
Old wounds will mend?
The only person shot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was an unarmed Air Force veteran named Ashley Babbitt. She was killed by a police officer named Michael Byrd.
It was not an armed insurrection.
It was not equivalent to Pearl Harbor or 9/11.
It was a response from real Americans who saw an election stolen by a corrupt party that has total and unwavering support from a thoroughly corrupt media.
Pennsylvania stopped counting in the middle of the night after the state election laws had been changed by fiat from the Governor.
That's simply one example of numerous states 'finding' votes days after the election.
Now we have a senile, babbling, incoherent, corrupt, old fool as President who doesn't know what year it is. He chose his VP candidate based on her skin color and genitalia.
skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color skin color
That's all the Democrats and the media (redundant) see anymore & it's beyond pathetic.
Neil embarrasses himself every time he wades into politics. Facts.
Why can't we just talk about the music? I know I know...
God bless Donald J. Trump
WOW…. What an ice pick of a rendition of SHOTS. This was definitely an intentional delivery date for this one, no question about that. Obviously a great film coming from the Boarding House performance. Great seeing Woody standing guard too.
Peace 🙏
Yikes, unbelievable rendition of "Shots": so many great songs waiting to be found in the right version.
Jonathon, seriously? Recent University of Chicago study, the majority of protesters were not "rednecks" or members of known extremist groups, but business owners, doctors, lawyers, etc.., but they did not ransack the capital, they left that for the rednecks dressed up as buffalo and grizzly bears. You do the math.
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Politicians are all a bunch of liars largely working to prevent change and maintain the status quo. If you believe in one or in one party, you have been fooled. 2 wings of the same bird. This is why Obama and Trump had the same game plan for the DAPL pipeline; “Screw the Natives.
Trump is a racist cowardly moron grifter, NOT a decent man or somehow the savior of our country. If you are a fan, you are likely of the same description.
Who’s Gonna Stand Up and Save the Earth, and therefore, the Human Race? Not Jo Biden, and not Trump. Alan in Seattle
Election was corrupt and stolen ? Prove it. Somebody come up with something that shows what you say. What if I pointed at you said murderer ! And you were dragged off to the gallows pole. Would that be right ? And saying that brave officers name here on a Neil Young fan site ? Are we supposed to go after him now. IWT Concord Ca Ny&BTMGS. Fun night. I remember it somewhat well. Watchtower encore I believe
Well aside from the political debate, I'm excited about the Finsbury Park Timeline Concert, as it was my first Neil show! I was 19 years old had so excited, especially as he was backed by Booker T... was a first gig! I seem to recall he played "I've Been Waiting For You" early on, possibly second in the set and it couldn't have been more apt.. It blew my mind.. Steve Cropper holding steady support, cooling dishing out licks here and there. Duck grooving away, and Booker T himself playing beautiful B3. It was a hot sunny day and probably the highlight of my year! I still have my ticket which was written in the Harvest font..I'd upload a picture but I dont think I can on here. I remember those t-shirts too! Wish I'd got myself one of those Zuma ones, still regret that... The crowd went nuts when he played "Dock of the Bay" too. "I left my home in Canada".. think he was just singing and playing harmonica on that. I saw him there again in 1999, that time with Crazy Horse ( my first time with the Horse), but hey, nothing beats your first time, right?
What i love about his warm up shows. When you woke up that day you had no idea you were going to anything that night. Then its on the radio if you were lucky to be listening , tonight , Neil Young, tickets on sale now.
Neil and Booker T back in '93? Thems were the days! One of the best weekends of my life took place when I saw the Concord and Santa Cruz on consecutive nights. What a party! The Concord show is still probably the best Neil show I ever saw. I was 4th row center stage for the last half of that show and Neil and I were making major eye contact, by the time we got to Watchtower, Neil and I were almost like metalheads at a Metallica concert. One of the most intense experiences of my life. Then we had the next show inside a very steamy Civic Auditorium in Santa Cruz. Concord was the better show, though I believe Santa Cruz got the better DBTR. Just a crazy couple of nights.
Btw, just to dip into the politics, I must ask anyone here that voted for Joe Biden if they honestly feel that we are in better shape as a country now than we were 2 years ago. I mean, I guess if you like rising gas prices, insane inflation, a record level of crime, millions getting sick after taking a "vaccine", a foriegn debacle like Afghanistan, and just an overall feeling of incompetence from everyone in the administration......well then, I guess you get what you vote for.
Personally, I thought the last guy was doing a great job, and I can't wait to vote for him in 2024. If we make it there, of course.
Are you kidding?
Insurrections get hung
I’ll never forget the September 6, 1993’ show at Portland Meadows race track on a beautiful full moon evening. Booker T. was amazing along with Steve Cropper adding some tasteful licks with Neil and Duck Dunn grounding the whole affair with his exquisite bottom end. The amazing Al Jackson giving us a clinic in soulful drumming. What a wonderful night of brilliance. Pearl Jam opening and then back for Rocking in the Free World. And what a set list….
Mr. Soul
The Loner
Southern Man
Helpless
Like a Hurricane
Motorcycle Mama
Love to Burn
Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Harvest Moon
The Needle and the Damage Done
Heart of Gold
Powderfinger
Live to Ride
Down by the River
(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay
All Along the Watchtower
Rockin' in the Free World
One for the ages and one I’ll never forget.
Peace 🙏
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The white hooded klansmen prefer Trump. Trump loved to pour gasoline on the fires of Racism. What an all time prick. A rapist who spent plenty of time with Jefferey Epstein on JE’s “Pedophile Island” (so did Bill Clinton). Both flew many times with Epstein on his “Lolita Express” jet to get there and do whatever morally depraved crime they could. Trump, like Epstein, is a sociopath, a deranged Narcissist. He has never once smiled in happiness. He is consumed with Ego and power. He is an incompetent businessman and President. He caused Jn 6 with his grand election lies. And the Q crowd actually think Trump is fighting Pedophilia when in fact he is a pedophile. Jesus would not approve of Trump’s morality. The notion that Trump represents “Christian” Americans is Absurd!
It’s a bit ironic he is claiming general election fraud when in fact it was the DNC that rigs their own Primary Election, which is how they kept Bernie out in 2016 and 2020. And the reason Trump won was the DNC rigged it for the unpopular Hillary. It wasn’t the Russians that stole 2016, it was the DNC which handed the victory to Trump. The DNC also instructed their media minions to “elevate Trump as the pied piper candidate who willl be easily defeated in the General Election.” This is from an actual DNC email from Podesta.
Biden is a tool of the Banking industry in Deleware, and now worldwide. Hunter obviously had a seeetheart deal on the board at Burisma despite his only qualification was that he was a crackhead, so he knows how to pollute his environment. Now he is a painter selling hugely expensive paintings to supposedly anonymous buyers.
Biden has a long history of harming black Americans with his legislation and his words. His treatment of Anita Hill was totally inappropriate. He has whispered to so many kids onstage and gotten grabby with the ladies, he is just bizarre. He promised the bankers of Wall Street behind closed doors that “fundamentally NOTHING will change.” And he pretended to be progressive.
Obama turned out to be George Bush Lite. He deported more people than Bush , and he dropped more bombs during his presidency than Bush did. In his last year as Prez he bombed 7 countries without declaring war in any of them.
Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, & Chelsea Manning are Hero’s of Truth and Morality. Assange was the last real news reporter. To jail a man for printing factual documents is ironic. There is no free press. Hillary wanted to “take him out with a drone” in the Ecuadorian Embassy! She was a real Hawk.
What happened to my Anti War Hippies? Where are the Anti War Democrats? It’s all just a money machine and the US is a huge Arms dealer.
The world is in grave peril as superstorms break records and devastate humans around the globe with floods, fires, droughts, and plenty of heat (except for Europe, which will lose its warm Atlantic current and face severe winters (& summers).
It sucks to be right about this. We are IN a major Extinction Event and it’s not looking good for the humans. Who’s Gonna Stand Up & Save the Earth, & the Human Race!? Mother Earth has been abused for too long with fossil fuels and deforestation, pollution, and over development and resource pillaging. She can no longer sustain us. We blew it. The humans are quite destructive. Trump is the King of the Planet Wreckers. Anyone who supports him makes the US look like a bunch of Hateful Racist Idiots. It is amazing that anyone believes in this con man, this Snake Oil salesman, & Fraudster. His ex wife claimed he kept a copy of Hitler’s Mein Kempf next to his bed. Alan in Seattle
*Mein Kampf, Hitler’s book, allegedly kept on bed stand next to Trumps. Bed, says ex wife. What a guy.
The US is an Oligarchy, out for the 1%. The 2 party US system is run by Big Oil, Banks, and Corporations. The political will does not exist to Save the Human Race. This planet is soon going to Hell in a Hand Basket. Humans trashed Earth.
@ Jonathan & @ Alan - you know, we really need to take you guys out to lunch sometime.
In fact, maybe our 1st TW Livestream event?! Sort of a PATRON subscriber thing. A fundraiser that we could probably sell tickets? Folks would pay to see you guys hash this out.
It would likely lead to peace in the middle east ? Or maybe more Neil concerts ....
Food Fight!!!!!! Or maybe it would be like Squid Game after the formal meal when the plates are cleared but the staff leave the knives. Yes, Thrasher, that would be awfully interesting, with an emphasis on “awfully.” Since I am an Aggressive Pacifist that only puts “Hands on” when necessary, it could get dicey. I have a more full understanding of why the dude doesn’t appreciate my Progressive ramblings and Environmental awareness. And I don’t like his Blind Patriotism and determined Delusional vision, to see the good in a man like Trump where there IS NONE. I don’t appreciate his inability to see Global Warming as a very Real and life-threatening Problem, one which is not at all justified by the Bible or End Times chatter. It’s the End Times, just not like the Bible Thumpers think it is.
It could be an unhealthy meal, in retrospect. Ya, F Trump all the way to Hell where he belongs. I would suggest that his perspective is selfish and mine is more enlightened. My Love of Neil Young’s music makes a lot more sense when considering Neil Young’s values, morality, and general concern with the well-being of people, plants, animals, Nature. Neil once endorsed Reagan for prez, but a lot has changed since then. Ironically, James Watt was in a hurry to cut down the trees and sell the timber at a time when wood was not scarce; US taxpayers paid a dollar for each penny in profit which the lumber companies made on it. We subsidized deforestation for a Penny in profit. My main gripe against the Republicans and Middle of the Road Democrats is that they are planet wreckers. That is what happens when Big Oil and Corporations run the show in Oligarchy, as in the US.
I have never been known to turn down a lunch invitation. Let’s do it. Alan in Seattle
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I guess it's easy to lump all Trump supporters as a bunch of hillbilly KKK members. It's stupid and insulting to the over 80,000,000 who voted for him, but it's easy.
However, it's just as easy to insult the folks on the other side. You know, the people who wear 6 masks and have taken their 9th booster shot to protect themselves from a virus that has a 99% survival rate. It's easy to make fun of those who are willing to wait in line to get a test because they may have a runny nose, but are not willing to wait in line to vote. It's real easy to laugh at folks who scream about the END OF THE WORLD every time there is a hurricane or a tornado, because apparently those things never happened before the year 2000. And it's incredibly easy to laugh at someone who decides who they are gonna vote for based on what some multimillionaire musician/actor/athlete tells them to do. All of that seems pretty stupid to me.
Yuck, I hate talking about politics so much here when we could be talking Neil, but then again I don't like being called a racist by someone who has never met me just because I voted for Trump. And btw, I'm still waiting for a Joe Biden voter (and I know that's most of the posters here) to tell us how much better things have gotten since Biden was elected.
LET'S GO BRANDON!!!!!!
#American Neil Young fans
You are talking Neil all the way when you are hurling pathetic insults at your respective domestic political opponents. Imagine: There is a a world that does not consider the United States to be the center of the universe. And at the same time a fair share of the other 7,5 billion human beings on this planet is hoping that these 80 million mentioned above come to their senses, so that the Americans (just 4,25% of the world's population) can get on with developing a constructive way of life, that is not endangering the planet. And all of that relates to a fair percentage of NYA coverage and an even larger percentage of Neil's personal messages and songs which by the way are not addressing an American audience only.
And some more by the way: We never ever had tornados in my European country, but now we do. It's about time that you learn something beyond American truisms.
The United States isn't the center of the universe? Could have fooled me. I guess we'll see what happens if Putin starts moving troops into the Ukraine. Something tells me that a lot of Europeans might be interested in some help from the greatest country of modern times. Kind of like how we bailed them out a couple of times in the last century.
And apparently the United States hasn't figured out a constructive way to help the planet. Are you kidding me? We're not perfect by any way in terms of protecting Mother Earth, but we have made tons of progress in the last 50 years, and we're nowhere near as responsible for environmental problems as countries like India, China, Russia and many many more.
Like I said, we ain't perfect, but I'll take the good ol'USA over anywhere else any day of the week. If our way of life is so bad, why have millions flocked here from other regions in the last 250 years or so? It ain't just the hot dogs, kids.
Richie- the people who wear 7 masks or whatever, I hear you. At some point, we have to face the facts- we might just have to get sick doing what has to be done. This virus is gradually being selected for less virulence. We need to get back to business in smart ways. Don't get me wrong, I am not anti-mask or anti-vax, the exact opposite. Time, however, to step up. Read Camus, The Plague.
They used to say off the hook. Well I ask you wheres the hinge ? The hinge cannot be found. The Trump supporter is unshakable. He really could shoot someone on 5th Ave . Never has there been anyone more concerned with his own interest. He never cared about the virus. He cared about reelection. Thats on the face of things. Everyone knows this. He promoted a vaccine which to his credit under his watch he got made and ready to distribute by the end if his term. Impressive. Then out of self interest . Again. He didnt support people getting it. his political winds are w the anti vac. Oh what to do DJ? Oh what to do. Poor DJ. A pathetic garbage person. Never gave a damn about anything but his ego. All you 80 million dupes. I hope you live long enough to see youre error. Jonathan werent you the guy bitching abour not getting the song Thrasher 3 4 yrs ago ? You were completely let down because you didnt get Thrasher. Jesus
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@ Richie Cruz : Trumps’s behavior lumps you into a sad category. He bullied a physically disabled reporter on stage while giving a speech. He imitated the poor man’s physical disability and made a hideous face, the obvious revelation of an absolute sociopath. If that stuff doesn’t matter to you, that says something about you.
Trump let the Virus in as he said it was going to magically disappear. His son in law told him it was no big deal.
We are in a Pandemic and we're gonna pin the thing on Biden in 2 years? Does Joe Biden control the price of Gas? The Fed used unsound monetary policy since 2008 and the who shithouse is about to go up in flames. Bubble Bursting shortly, as the tipping points falls.
When you say Hurricanes and weather events existed in the past, duh. For you to be scientifically illiterate is acceptable but don't expect anyone to believe you understand what you speak of. The RATE OF CHANGE of CO2 in the atomosphere is entirely unprecedented. The fact that Global Warming is creating a Horror Show of Superstorms, drought, floods, Wildfires, and refugee crisis is common knowledge. Even your slow witted Right Wing politicians have given up on the Denial by now, and are pivoting to the "We can't afford to save the planet" stand. Your dim-witted former prez is the last to notice the lights have come on.
Suggesting people are too lazy to stand in line to vote is an unfair distortion which you have been spoon fed by your media focus. The reality is, your party has systematically made it almost impossible for the non-white poor neighborhoods in Red States to get to the polls. Long distances between polls, shortened hours. It’s Racist. It’s Evil. If you can't see it, you are part of the problem. Your Red State legislatures and governors have made it legal to hit a protester with your car if they are in the street, even if they die. They have legalized murder.
Conversely, Republican states like Texas outlaw abortion even in rape and incest, calling it Murder. But then The Right doesn’t support the babies, the offspring in any way. Education. Housing. Health Care. How does that make sense? Becuase they want to make more white people and keep them uneducated and poor, and therefore more easily manipulated. More dumb white people to vote for the white guy.
6 Corporations control ALL of the News, except this Blog.
Watch an interesting documentary about how AI in social media is bringing on Civil War in the USA : The Social Dilemma You watch Fox News.
As Mark Twain said, if you don't read the News, you are Uniformed. If you DO read the News, you are Misinformed.
I support #ExtinctionRebellion world wide. I #MarchAgainstMonsanto #BlackLivesMatter
-Alan from the Great Pacific North West
@wsanjose : So Jonathan wears Red White and Blue underwear to the Neil Young show and cries about a song that didn't get played? What a snowflake.
@Dionys : Neil Young belongs to the World of his fans, at least judging by how much soul he put into those albums we all own. Rock and Roll is an American invention. Elvis stole it from Bill Monroe and some Blues artists. Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters. Blues is American. Little Richard, Chuck Berry, these are the true Kings of Rock and Roll. Neil Loves Jimmy Reed. He loves Rock and Roll. Roy Orbison. I am definitely not a flag waver but I can claim all that as the Truth. I still get to LOVE The Beatles, Floyd, Stones, etc.
I am critical of my inept Government. I am not proud of the American legacy at all. Genocide of Natives. Planetary squandering... The kind of stuff Neil sings about, you know.
California Sunset. Are There Any More Real Cowboys? Buffalo Springfield. American cars. Tons of Neil Young tours and warm up shows. The Bridge School benefits back through the decades. Neil's home in Hawaii for a time. To love Neil Young and his world of music is to study the USA a bit, like it or not. There is a lot of Neil Young music which is inherently American, and often Canerican. My blood comes from all over the world. I fight for Earth and Mother Nature. My flag has a planet on it.
Most of what we talk about on Thrashers Wheat is directly in the Neil Young universe. That includes a focus on American Culture. Neil spent most of his life in California. I saw him play 6 times in '96 about a mile from his Arrow Property as the crow flies, in California. His references all over Peace Trail, for instance, deal with the DAPL pipeline in North Dakota and the ongoing abuse of the Native Americans, like Happy, a Standing Rock Sioux water protector. Neil has been standing up for the Natives for a long time. He and Willie visited the tribe and saw the water protectors there. The mistreatment of the Native American at the hands of a Oil Pipeline Corporation from Canada. The tar sands oil from Canada is shipped to the Gulf of Mexico and then shipped overseas for refinement. The money involved in the pipeline guarantees a tough fight to ever shut them down. And tar sands oil is 30x more pollutive than other Oil extraction methods. When Neil said “Fort McMurray looks like Hiroshima” he was speaking with alarm and emotion about the horror he saw. Many of the locals there are sick from oil fumes.
The US has released so much carbon that life on Earth is under grave threat. So the US matters a lot. We will help a little with Global Warming or not at all. Trump slashes pollution regulations and fossil fuel limits. Having Trump win again will push the entire global Climate past all of the tipping points, promising a Hellish existence to any able to survive. Who’s gonna save the Human Race? The US has much power and influence, and like 400 military bases all over the world. If the world is to be saved, the US will be a necessary player.
TW blog is based in the US but we are Canericans and Neil Young fans from so many nations. The US is not the best country in the world and it is last in health care, because the sheepish people there who are easily led have not seen fit to demand it from the Government. In fact, most of the US population have never seen mass protests like the MLK civil rights movement, and modern Europe. The people in Europe know how to do it. Everyone to the streets! 100,000's, Millions. US citizens are having their rights taken away &Americans don't know how to protest anymore. It was a Hippie Dream. Now Capsized in Excess.
Earth: We've skipped the Rails and started to Fail, and it folded up. And it Tears Me Up.
Back to the music. What a great live show with Booker T and the MG's! They played with such power. This band was truly phenomenal. And -dare I say it- could arguably challenge any band configuration Neil has ever built. I don't take that statement lightly. And Neil was riding the Peak of his Guitar God powers for this outing.
Live to Ride is -of course- an all time great grunge anthem for NY fans like myself who have ridden motorcycles and crashed cars and bicycles. I have ridden my bicycle past Neil's Broken Arrow driveway many times back in 1995-1997, on a gorgeous scenic highway running down "Skyline" HWY 35 south of the 92 near Half Moon Bay, on the Peninsula south of SF. I used to see some gorgeous old cars driving around up there as I rode up the 2000' hill, Woodside Road.
Again, the incendiary live power of Booker T & the MG's is impressive. It still sends a chill up my spine. I halfway mentioned The booker T album with Neil Young playing lead guitar on many tracks, "Potato Hole." I highly recommend getting it.
What a scalding Hot version of All along the Watchtower. Neil Young is the only Artist to play a significant version of Watchtower that can stand with Jimi Hendrix's ultimate version. Jimi's is more beautiful, but Neil is blowing s*it up with their live version. Neil loved playing with Bookert T so much at the Bob Dylan show, in which he covered that and Tom Thumb's Blues, that he hit the road with them. Donald Duck Dunn, RIP
Booker T & the MG's playing Sitin' on the Dock of the Bay with Neil singing was so gorgeous to see live, as I did in LA '93. I love that song, written by Steve Cropper, and perfected with Otis Redding. In the top 20 soul songs of all time.
It's odd that you say we shouldn't put too much burden on Biden's Covid response, yet you have no problem blaming Trump for the virus being here in the first place. How exactly was Donald Trump, or any politician, gonna prevent a virus from entering a country, especially a country as diverse as the US? America was gonna get hit hard with this no matter who the President was, and I'm pretty sure that many more people have died under Joe Biden's watch than Trump. I remember Biden saying during the campaign that he would "defeat Covid". Not working out so well, is it? And please don't blame that on those of us who haven't gotten shot up with Pfizer juice. It's pretty obvious this "vaccine" is nothing more than a therapeutic, yet Biden still shames about 40% of the country for not buying the sham.
Biden doesn't effect gas prices? Really?? So he shuts down the pipelines as soon as he gets into office and starts to bring back Obama era regulations and gas prices start skyrocketing. But that's not on Biden? Ok....
You seem to have a real hatred towards "Red state" people, have you ever spent any significant time in a Red state? Have you ever spent time getting to know anybody in those places? Who knows, maybe you might see them as decent people who just think differently than you. That's kind of what makes this country so unique and interesting. I was born and raised in New England and spent most of the last 25 years in California, yet I've also spent some decent time in places like Alabama, Florida, and Nebraska. And guess what, there are some really nice folks living there, even some that love Neil Young. Are there jerks there? Of course, but I've also come across some real a-holes in places like the Bay Area and Seattle as well, believe me.
I do like the fact that you realize how awful the news media actually is, and how they are all controlled by about 5-6 1%ers. Shit, you know who else has talked about that? Donald Trump. Good to see you agree with him on at least one thing. Enemy of the People, you know.
# Richie & Alan,
It's easy to dismiss criticism regarding the US and the current debate with pointing out historical facts that we all likely can agree upon. But my comments reacted to the present debate and the frightening future that was outlined. And while the people of the US decide who is going to be the president, the days of American cultural, political and economical hegemony are over. That even includes some crude European comments on a Neil Young fan blog. And don't expect any submissive silence with regards to events that happened about a year ago in Washington DC.
No doubt: Rock'n'Roll is one of the greatest American cultural contributions made to world culture, rooted in African music, European folksong etc. But as Neil Young said about Americana's songs: "They now belong to us." "Us" rather being generation(s) world-wide than people who grew up in the US during the last half of a century.
Rock'n'Roll always was about politics, especially in the Bay Area, but I don't need to tell you that. In hindsight not all of that Rock'n'Roll political culture is or was reasonable or legitimate, but I still assume that people tried to the best of their knowledge and conscience (even NY backing Ronald Reagan, who did not bring down the Berlin Wall as seems to be the conventional wisdom in some parts of the world).
Things have changed with digital globalization at an accelerated speed. The digitalization being another one of these American contributions, thanks a lot. Today we know a lot more about the US than you seem to know about us, including the difficult manouevring in the immediate neighborhood of Russia. And even if progress in the US (or certain states with banning fossil fuel lawn mowers) with regards to the global environmental situation has to be conceded, it's not enough.
I think that a songwriter and musician who lived most of his life in Canada and California knows this, especially given the urgency with which global environemtal issues are pushed, thus transcending limited geographical or national concepts. A polar bear does not have a passport, a virus does not elect politicians. I want to believe that you know this as well.
@ Dionys : Of course. And I agree with what you said. I see the US as more of an Obstacle to saving Earth. The rest of the world will need to do their best. We had better get ourselves together for what is to come. -Alan
I want to make 1 point for sure. Is it china or japan that the word for crisis is also opportunity. Or am i trippin. DJ had a moment well months actually to act in a meaningful way to try to fight this covid 19. If this pos had the will to think about anyone but himself he could mobilized the whole of US gov to try at least to limit this scrounge. He declined. He largely said States, youre on your own good luck to you. Now if he put down the braunser and put on the thinking cap for 2 seconds he wins and been a hero to America. He didnt even need to succeed. Just show as POTUSA you did everything you could and cared about your sworn duty. You would gave been re elected. That ring above all youd be gripping in those grubby mitts. You could have faked it like you do. Perception is allot. Presidents generally get re elected in crisis times. You have that working if you look at it that way. D J will never convince a majority of Americans he gives a damn about anyone but himself. we're stupid but not dumb
@ Dionys : African Americans brought their Poly Rhythms and sang Gospel (which is quite powerful and moving like Mahalia Jackson. The Blues sprang from that. Robert Johnson was the King of the Acoustic Delta Blues. Without him there is no Clapton, no Stones, no Led Zeppelin. The Train arrived with the Harmonica, a German instrument which the Black Blues men showed us how to actually PLAY, the right way, the Real way.
The Blues was about Societal Social Oppression, a way to draw out sadness and feel better. Cast aside oppression. Rev Gary Davis sang, If I had my way, I would tear this whole building down. He was talking about the jailhouse.
When white folks saw Elvis shake his ass and sing Black music, it dazzled them. But it was about Social Control by society, conformity to the older generation’s expectations, and only in that way was it political. Chuck Berry broke social Norms and showed the white folks he was more dignified than them and he wrote 30 fantastic classic Rock and Roll songs. He pretty much wrote the first Rock and Roll Textbook. “THIS is Rock and Roll.” And yet it was about social and sexual Freedom, not political overtly. He pushed the limits on what Black people were allowed to do onstage as the white folks watched. Jerry Lee Lewis was a wild white rebel; he flouted social conventions but was not political in any way otherwise.
Most Rock and Roll is not at all political. It’s about chicks and getting laid. Topics were from a protected white world and not risky. White rockers didn’t know much about politics. Dylan was not a Rocker until Newport 1965, and he reinvented what Artists could say, getting past the love songs of the Beatles, beyond rhyming Moon and Swoon. Until Dylan came along, Folk music was the venue to speak of socio-political topics. Dylan came along post Protest & said with his 1965 albums, I am the new Shakespeare, I am poetic, and I throw off the chains of social and societal control. He quickly veered off from the more specific political Folk music he had mastered and shared with us. Dylan bridged the gap between Folk and pop / Rock.
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The Buffalo Springfield came along and somehow dropped a huge song in For What It’s Worth. That was beyond social and strongly political. It was not vague; it cut right to the core. And there was Neil Young playing those epic guitar lines thru the Vibrolux Amp.
So I would say No, Rock and Roll was not always political. The 60’s Hippies got to harness the power of Social and Political Justice as they challenged the Draft and questioned the value of dying in a foreign land for the White Overlords, the “Masters of War” (1963 Dylan Folk song, Not Rock and Roll). Dylan kept throwing out a few songs about society, injustice: I Shall Be Released, 1966, basement with the Band. But even after Dylan reinvented Rock and Roll, there have been countless bands that got popular and had nothing to say politically whatsoever. And whole genres of Rick music had nothing to say.
Neil Young has something to say. Southern Man, Ohio. This is Rock Music that meets Socio-Political Injustice head on. It is ALL about “politics” in this way. But make no mistake. Most Rock and Roll bands were trying to get laid and get rich, in that order. Neil Young has written more political songs, more direct challenges to save the Earth and the Human Race, than any of his contemporaries. If you subtract Dylan’s Folk Protest songs, Neil has more political songs than even he, perhaps. But the lines blurred between Folk Protest songs and Rock and Roll in ‘65. Dylan got more vague in his Rock and Roll, to some extent. But Hurricane pretty much shows how Political a Rock song can be. Neil came up with so many great social / political justice songs as the years went by. After the Gold Rush has new meanings and frightening visions of Tech. We all know the Bilkionaires are not taking the rest of us with them when they leave Earth to die in space within a few short years. No thanks, let’s try to save what we have, right here on Mother Earth. Who’s Gonna Stand Up?
I was into Punk Rock in the early 1980’s and you know what? Most of the bands had nothing to say about politics. There was a lack of focus and purpose. The Sex Pistols flirted with Anarchy but there was not much thought behind it. The best Punk bands were the ones who did address it, such as MDC (Multi- Death Corporations). This is where my political awareness began, aside from topics of civil rights justice in my home growing up.
Neil Young, he does it all. Human Race has more strong Truth and Social - political Examination in it than most any Rock song, Neil is taking the energy of Punk Rock and Turbo charging it with his weapon of (Sociopath-Political) awareness; He throws down awareness Bombs and challenges Americans to do something most of them don’t know how to do: Get Off Your Ass and Start Saving Earth, Mother Nature, the plants and animals, which are the only thing keeping the Humans alive. Neil Young has become the King of Political Rock and Roll. Keep on Rockin’ in the “Free” World.
Alan in Seattle
I never thought Id want more Dan but Alan youre getting me there. Pls stop.
Please forgive me, mouse, but I have to answer this.
If you take the Woodstock movie soundtrack and accept this to be a showcase of Rock'n'Roll music of 1969, there is just one band's act on it that in Europe was understood to be non-political and that was Sha-Na-Na.
Even getting laid was a political issue at the time when Western Europe slowly woke up from the aftermath of what in your history is called the Eisenhower era. Rock'n'Roll was youth's emancipation ("Talking 'Bout my Generation"), that it already got corrupted from early on (Payola Blues!) is true, but that's not how it was understood hereabouts, because we were not a target customer group with lots of money back then (maybe that was different in the US).
And that Roger millionaire Daltrey now is a dumb hardcore brexiteer, that does not change the picture at all. Obviously the problem is the difference in our definitions of what is political.
Ok, I have been holding back. I can't do it any longer. I have the misfortune of living in a "red state." And what do I see? I see groups, for example "Mothers for Liberty" trying to ban books and also hysterically endeavoring to cram their stupid, backward, incoherent and fascist "christian" views down our throats. Meanwhile these idiots GET SUPPORT from elected officials. I have seen and read (many) bills that have been passed, one that bans "divisive" concepts from high schools and even public universities. Of course, the divisive concepts have to do with ACTUALLY confronting the systemic and historical crimes of racism, sexism, and anything else that matters for gaining traction on reality. Iowa even has laws that ban journalists from reporting on agriculture. In my small city, the school board unanimously supports the high school "mascot" of "Indian" (a gross and deeply damaging insult and mockery). This same school board is rabidly in favor of banning all kinds of books. So yes, I spend time in a red state. The United States is a culture in steep decline and it does not take much effort to figure this out. Collectively, we have totally failed to address climate change and millions of people, mostly the poor and already marginalized, are paying the price. Yes, we have had tornadoes and fires before, obviously, obviously put PAY ATTENTION and READ. Iowa does not have tornadic activity in mid-December, doesn't happen but guess what? It just happened. Add up the weather anomalies and you will see that they were predicted by people who actually STUDY. The United States is the center of bullshit, corruption, excess consumption, racism, and the complete disregard for the poor and unfortunate (check out the statistics on child poverty and nutrition). Enough for now.
You know one of the really neat things about the United States? You can leave it any time that like your little heart desires. There's no one stopping you.
I know that if I lived in a place that I hated as much as it seems that you hate the place you're at, I would just go somewhere else. I actually have done that a couple of times in my life. It's really not that hard if you want it bad enough. Food for thought.
Good point Richie, I think the day is coming soon. I am currently tied to the place. Honestly, I do not hate it. I have to sometimes articulate the ideas and the feelings. I participate, I volunteer and I see and know many good people here. I just can't help but to see a wave of intolerance and nastiness. Book banning? Telling public university professors that they cannot teach certain concepts? It is hard to move when you have built a life in a place, and I have done just that. Perhaps this is why I get so upset, I know it can be so much better.
I totally agree with Abner Snopes here. He exemplifies the situation with facts. That’s the way to discuss. In contrast Richie Cruz has no arguments against these examples. The only thing he can come up with is to find another place to live. So simple, stupid and pathetic.I suggest he posts his views on some of the stupid right wing facebook groups instead – unless his views are about Neil Young and music.
Getting back to the music, the song "Shots" seemed desperate to me on Re-act-tor. I love that album as it seethed with desperation. My friends thought Neil had lost it. I guess I felt desperate myself. Neil Young has an honesty in his music that is frightening. He is honest until it hurts and when it is desperate, it is not so much honestly desperate as it is desperately honest. I'm not sure if I know what I mean. In that year, when Re-ac-tor came out, I was struggling, really struggling with mental health. That album helped me but not in some easy, pleasant way. "Get Back on It" reminds me of "Are You Ready for the Country." Family resemblance.
The middle section here - the bridge I guess but this song doesn't have a chorus really - is among the most beautiful passages Neil has ever given us - & that's saying a lot...
"I'll always be true"...
jaw-dropping performance
well ...
In yet another case of things not really going as planned or expected, here's another Exhibit A from the TW Hall of Fame/Shame.
To be brutally honest here, our opening comment about January 6 was made in hopes of heading off a big Jab debate.
You know, SHOTS = JABs = vaccines.
So here we are.
SHOTS, still another greatly under appreciated Neil song. Booker T, still another greatly under appreciated Neil backing band.
Alan & Jonathan, helping usher in world peace one a comment at a time ...
peace & love, man ...
I see the name 'Alan' & I keep scrolling...good times!!
When I wrote to NYA asking about Shots a couple of months ago I received the answer that they were working on it the very week my message reached them. I knew it would be an acoustic version but I did not know about the bridge verse Jonathan mentioned above. I do not know what to think of that. It's maybe the most trivial and kitschy verses I ever heard Neil Young sing, also because to me they appear totally out of context. Is there something I don't get or know?
Dionys -
Alan says you don't have ears for Neil Young - live longer and maybe you will understand or something
bwaahaaahaaahaaa...
tee hee hee
As Dada was a poetic invention originating in my country I can live with this reply. Now me being funny: Frank Zappa was a great admirer of Dadaism and even some NY films have dadaistic moments. Originally the name for that art movement was derived from little children's attempts at speaking. Typically their speech contains lots of vowels and repetitive patterns. The sense of it all is to utter these sounds, there is no other meaning beyond that.
I don't pay much attention to posts by people who go by the name of "Unknown", but thanks for the advice.
Eat a peach, pal.
Richie, just so you know, I respect you and your opinions. I let loose for several reasons and I believe everything I said, but I am not going to engage in any of this other stuff. Hope you are enjoying the new year.
Dionys, If that is all there is to it, seems a bit sexist? why not "Mamaism"?
Just in case, that was a joke----
We have to keep in mind: Staring at abysmal stupidity the only sane reaction is laughter. "Dada" in southern German mothereese dialects means "bye-bye" and sometimes "I go to sleep", so mostly no dads are involved.
BTW I think Thrasher should shut down this thread now, before I really get serious.
I say, go ahead and get serious.
You guys don't really want to have a serious discussion about the "Jabs", do you? Cuz if I get so much flak for being a Trump supporter, I shudder to think what you all might think if I'm completely honest about my views on the "vaccine".
All I can say is that I'm what some folks are now calling a "Pureblood", and with every passing day I'm more and more pleased with my decision to be one. To be clear, I'm not anti-vax, but then again this isn't really a vaccine, so not sure why I have to clarify, but I felt the need to. If you really feel the need to get shot up with Pfizer juice every 6 months is the way to go for you, then by all means do what feels right to you. That's how I live my life.
There is an interesting new video I saw on YouTube that shows some German farmers herding a bunch of sheep into the form of a hypodermic needle to promote getting the shot. Some might say that's a cute way to send out a public message, some others might say it's a giant "Fuck You, Peasants, you'll do what we say" from the people in charge.
You make up your own mind. Trust me, I have.....
Richie, so just explain why this is not a vaccine?
actually Richie, the first vaccine was from a physician, forget his name (famous) who noticed that "peasants" who worked with cows did not get smallpox. He started to expose people to cowpox and those people became immune to smallpox, saving millions of people. The covid vaccine is just a strip of RNA, dead virus. Hardly something new!
Edward Jenner, 1796. England.
@ Abner : Good points about book banning, Red States, etc.
@ Johnathan : You don't speak for me. Making up shit that I am supposedly saying to @ Dionys is stupid. We're back in High School. You can't paraphrase jack shit. You are a Trump fan, and therefore probably an anti-social idiot. If you think voting by tax bracket or whatever reason you support Trump, you're part of the problem. And what are you doing on a Neil Young blog spouting this ass-kissing right wing bullshit? I don't give a crap if you don't like what I have to type on the blog. Neil Young is a Environmental Activist, Thank God.
@ Dionys : I didn't mean any disrespect. Ya, Dylan was into Dadaism. That is good you mentioned that. The results he got were very enjoyable. I am not saying the US is great. I have much respect for other cultures and other ways of thinking, especially if nobody gets hurt and they want to fight Global Warming. I see the US as more of a bully in the world and a corrupt War machine, etc.
@ Richie : Inviting people to leave the country if they aren't Trumpers, how intelligent. This is our country and if we leave it to the Right, you'll just keep trashing our planet. #ExtinctionRebellion
@ Thrasher : Ya, so much for good intentions. You tried. I will try not to wither you, my friend. "Sorry for the bombs I dropped" -Barack Obama
@Alan - love you brother! Please keep posting the same incoherent posts multiple times - you've got this!!
@ Jonathan : You are a self described “Asshole” on line, now confirmed .
Uhhh dude, why don't you take a second and actually read what I posted. I said if you're unhappy in a living situation, you always have the option to change your living situation. That could mean your house, your town, your state, or your country. Where exactly did I mention Trump in that post?
Sounds like instead of following what is actually said, you're putting words into people's mouths to fit some sort of narrative that you have dreamed up. Are you sure you don't work for the mainstream media? You're definitely playing their game.
More than likely, this will be the last time I communicate with you. Obviously, you like to play a crooked game and that's not for me. Plus, as Billy Joel once sang so profoundly, "You should never argue with a crazy mind".
I'm not a scientist, so take whatever I say with a grain of salt. I'm pretty sure, however, that a vaccine is something that will prevent the person taking it from contacting the disease that you were vaccinated for. That is obviously not happening with this thing. What this "vaccine" does is protect you from possible hospitalization and deeper illness. That is fine, but that's not a vaccine, it's a therapeutic medicine.
There's footage today of the CEO of Pfizer telling us that those original vaccinations that so many took offer "limited to no help" against Omicron. Back in November there was footage of the same guy saying that if you got vaccinated, you had no reason to be worried about getting Covid. That is obviously not true.
But luckily for mankind, the CEO of Pfizer says to get a 4th booster and that an Omicron vaccine should be ready by March. So if that your medical decisions should be judged based on what the CEO of Pfizer says, then by all means, follow his advice. I bet you anything he has your best interests in his heart. Me personally, I'm gonna follow my own heart and conscience.
Richie makes a great point here and this might be at the heart of the problem. The definition he gives is non-scientific but clearly relevant- he is giving a functional definition of vaccine. What happens now is the opening for awareness. This virus mutates at a high rate (as it is an RNA virus) and consequently has figured out ways to move around the vaccine. The same thing is true with the influenza vaccine and the influenza virus. The virologists are learning as they go along, nothing new about this either. A therapeutic medicine is a different course and a different entity from a vaccine. It might be better to say, on Richie's functional definition, that the current vaccine is far from perfect but it does generate antibodies in a significant number, enough to prevent death and serious illness in most people. This is all about natural selection, plain and simple. Strains of covid are being selected according to human behavior or in relation to human behavior, again nothing new. We need to slow down the rate of mutation, which is what a vaccine can do. Non vaccinated people are literally mixing vessels for new genetic strains of this tricky virus. Lastly, Richie clarified what he said about leaving a place and he makes sense.
So... I'm both relieved and sorry I missed this thread as it unfolded. Ironically, I was recovering from mild side effects of a booster shot around this time. That's one booster shot, not seven, for those wondering, and in my opinion, a day or so of soreness in exchange for increased chances against serious illness is a reasonable deal.
However, a few points of previous posts are worth following up. And please receive my indignation and passion, here and elsewhere, as evidence of caring about others. My intention is not to stir the dust. I earnestly believe that some things are too important to be left unaddressed.
First: no, a vaccine does not confer complete immunity. An annual flu shot does not guarantee no flu. You can still get chicken pox after vaccination. Breakthrough cases are nothing new. However, for most people, vaccines or shots will help strengthen the immune system. As to vaccine vs. jab vs. medical therapy, as Abner and others know, I can play word games for a long time, but I really don't give a sideways f!ck about semantics when human lives are at hand. Call it whatever you want, as long as you understand that it can help you, and other people, stay healthy.
Big pharma is too big a topic to fully cover here--but suffice it to say, if you have a problem with the big companies doing the research, manufacture, and distribution, you de facto have a problem with capitalism. In many respects, I sympathize with concerns about dangerously excessive corporate power. Yet it's arguing in bad faith to bring up big pharma without acknowledging why we have this system.
Finally, I cannot--will not--leave the suggestion of "if you don't like it, leave" unchallenged. In theory, this kind of freedom of movement is an inspiring idea. Then again, how do we apply this philosophy to undocumented migrants--not just in the US but around the world? Many of these folks undoubtedly have compelling reasons for leaving their homes under duress. As far as I'm concerned, don't judge someone's choices if you don't know their story.
Perhaps most saliently, and regardless of Richie's or anyone's intentions, in the context of a political discussion, the entire line of argument does come across as looking to quash debate or push out those with whom one disagrees. As Alan said, this is our home, too, and it's natural and reasonable to take exception when someone casually suggests leaving it. All motivations aside, there is a loaded history behind such statements and it is best, even if one has inadvertently overstepped the mark, to respond gracefully to criticism.
Peace and respect,
~Ian
One final note: like breakthrough cases, side effects are a well-known phenomenon with many vaccines and medicines. That all these commonplace things are being called into question with the covid19 vaccines suggests, to me, that it's easy for people to take advantage of what other people don't know in order to advance their own questionable agendas. Even easier if they can convince you you're a "sheep" for *not* following their specific narrative.
I was at the Finsbury Park concert.
It was....perfect (apart from some rain)
Only second time I'd seen Neil live and first time since Hammersmith 17 years before.
(There have been many times since).
PS: maybe it's just perception but the world seemed in a much better state then, before Trump, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists etc....
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