VIEWPOINT: Neil Young Archives(Click photo to enlarge) As the
"COVID Years" rage on, Neil Young has issued another statement on his battle with SPOTIFY.
"In our communication age, disinformation is the problem. Ditch the misinformers.
...
To the workers at SPOTIFY, I say Daniel Ek is your big problem—not Joe Rogan.
Ek pulls the strings. Get out of that place before it eats up your soul. The only goals stated by EK are about numbers—not art, not creativity."
To quickly recap, last month, Neil Young published a letter on his website Monday afternoon demanding that SPOTIFY remove all of his music due to Joe Rogan's "vaccine disinformation". And shortly thereafter -- all hell broke loose here on this blog and elsewhere. (See here, here and here) The magnitude of all of this was so great that even Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young reunited -- although only on paper -- in their opposition to SPOTIFY.
Statement by David Crosby, Graham Nash, and Stephen Stills image via Rusted Moon(Click photo to enlarge) Neil also wrote that he would be moving his funds from top U.S. banks (specifically,
Chase, Citi, Bank of America and Wells Fargo) because they continue to fund the fossil fuel industry:
"... ditch the misinformers. Find a good clean place to support with your monthly checks. You have the real power. Use it."
"Cough up the buck$", as Neil Young once sang, or maybe "transfer the buck$"?!
As Neil Young fans well know, Neil is quite acquainted with what lies deeply within one's soul as evidenced by his song "Campaigner". The song contains the enigmatic lines:
"I am a lonely visitor
I came too late to cause a stir
Though I campaigned all my life towards that goal
I hardly slept the night you wept
Our secret's safe and still well kept
Where even Richard Nixon has got soul
Even Richard Nixon has got
Soul"
The song's lyrics to "Campaigner" have been altered over the years in concert to fit the times. For example, from 1991-02-16, Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York, USA | Sugar Mountain, Neil Young sang:
"Where even Ronald Reagan has got soul
Even Ronald Reagan has got it
Where even George Bush has got soul
Even George Bush has got it
Muhammad Ali had it
John F. Kennedy had it
Marilyn Monroe
I know my mama had it
Jet fighter pilots got it
Linda Lovelace had soul
I know my brother has it
Put your hand on the new guys
Stand up and you got it"
"Who will save your soul?"
Daniel Ek, co-founder and chief executive officer of Spotify ... or ..
"the new guy"?
Clearly, while Nixon, Reagan, Bush, etc had souls, SPOTIFY's CEO Daniel Ek's -- and his employee's -- soul status is in doubt.
"Mr. Soul" Neil Young, Nils Lofgren & Bruce Palmer - Berlin 1982 "Oh, hello Mr. Soul, I dropped by to pick up a reason For the thought that I caught that my head is the event of the season Why in crowds just a trace of my face could seem so pleasin' I'll cop out to the change, but a stranger is putting the tease on."
Merck Mercuriadis - Founder, Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited
"Campaigner" was the Song of the Day on the Neil Young Archives on September 7, 2018. "Campaigner", from the 2017 album Hitchhiker, includes a newly relevant verse deleted from the version that appeared on 1977's Decade:
"The speaker speaks, but the truth still leaks."
But what does Neil Young know about politicians anyways? Or, what do politicians know about Neil Young?
Neil Young in "Mansion On The Hill" video - 1991
And further more, what does Neil Young really know about the human soul and it's existence? Well, quite a bit, actually.
"Did God give me my voice so that others could silence me?"
Neil Young sings "When God Made Me"
Live 8 Benefit Concert - July 2005
"I choose to speak Truth to this Economic Power. When I speak out on
corporations hurting the common man or the environment or other species,
I expect a well financed disinformation campaign to be aimed my way.
Such is the case with the reaction to my new album The Monsanto Years,
which covers many of these issues. I support those bringing these issues
to light and those who fight for their rights like Freedom of Choice.
But Freedom of Choice is meaningless without knowledge.
Thats why its crucial we all get engaged and get informed."
The Monsanto Years by Neil Young + Promise Of The Real
More on "Campaigner" and the album Hitchhiker.
More on the Joe Rogan and Neil Young controversies swirling about below.
Labels: #disCERNment, archives, neil young, neil young archives, nya
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@ Thrashers: I believe this may be the longest post ever here on the Wheat. [ed: yes, we believe you're correct.]
It took awhile to get through it, but now that I have, I’ll share my thoughts on Harvest @ 50.
The day Harvest was released, my first girlfriend and I took a bus to downtown Portland and (if memory serves) went to a big department store and road an elevator up to the music department. We were each fifteen years old at the time, and flushed with that intense feeling when you first think you’re in love. Needless to say that when we got back to my house and heard Harvest for the first time, it was a rather romantic experience for us. I think this is why I hold the record so dear, as it marks a special moment in my life when the teenage hormones were raging.
When I listen to Harvest now of course it carries much more than just adolescent memories because I’ve lived with it for 50 years. In that context I relate to differently. For me, Harvest is simply one chapter in an ongoing novel that isn’t finished yet. I don’t like to categorize it as a classic album, it’s just one part of something much bigger.
There are hundreds of albums that I have lived with for most of my life, and as I grow and change, so do those records. Music is a living art, it’s not singular or stationary. It can be different things to different people at different times. There are bands that I have gravitated to throughout my life that served me well at that time, but now I’ve evolved as a person so I don’t resonate with them anymore. That doesn’t take away from their music, its just doesn’t feed me like it did before.
There are certain artists that I’ve connected with over the years that have always hit me in a deeper way, and I’ve always connected with what they were saying and what they were playing. Neil Young is obviously one of those artists that I’ve managed to grow old with. He just seems to be creating music that connects to my DNA.
If you live long enough, and your always consciously working towards becoming a better version of yourself, then you evolve and grow. I know I’m still not the person I want to be, but I’m getting closer every day because I’m constantly searching and holding myself accountable for my life. Having Neil’s music along for the ride has been a real blessing and I’m grateful he’s still alive and working. Harvest is an important part of my journey, but it only represents a single chapter.
Hopefully there are many more to come, because I’m still here listening and dreaming.
Peace