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We are honored and humbled to be recognized as "Independent" media. And we are committed to continuing our struggle to exercise our freedoms and rights to "speak truth to power". It brings us joy to share our "truths" -- whether it be an opinion on Neil Young's music or something much heavier.
Most of you know our backstory well here after 25+ years cranking out the posts. It has been an amazing journey with so many rewards which we continue to reap the most valuable of all dividends -- those which are monumentally priceless.
For example, earlier this year we made a pilgrimage out to Seattle and connected up with our dear "Brother Alan in Seattle"
w/ "Brother Alan in Seattle"
Our rendezvous out west with "Brother Alan in Seattle" was a long time coming and most rewarding.
To connect up with our Neil buddies, hang out and enjoy the music is our definition of bliss. As in finding the true meaning of life. And we consider ourselves quite fortunate to be able to travel about the country and world and meetup with our fellow "rustie grains" (as Neil himself refers to us.)
Normally, at this time of year prior to Thanksgiving, we run our annual fundraiser. This is the only time of year we ask that our readers to try and support Thrasher's Wheat.
So rather than do our usual posting on everything we're grateful for and how much we appreciate you - our fellow Neil Young fans -- we'll simply refer you to last year's Thanksgiving posting which includes donation links and how to support Thrasher's Wheat.
Happy Thanksgiving To All!
thrashers
☮️♥️
@ Thrasher : Thanks so much!!! It was a high point of my year to meet up with you & break bread, or rather gourmet Pizza! I love you Brother, and your blog is such a fun way to keep up with All the Neil News that matters! Your spirit and ongoing creativity & “fresh takes” are an inspiration to the human spirit. Your dedication to principles and friendly, positive approach are so enjoyable to so many of us TW Rustie Grains!
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving to all of you!
Hopefully we will meet up on tour @ have a TW Summit! Boise is a great field. I hope it is meant to be!
Thanks to Neil Young for giving us so much great music. Happy Thanksgiving to you, DH, & family!
Your Brother Alan in Seattle
Thanks much brother Alan.
ReplyDeleteIt is support such as yours which keeps this little venture chugging along.
Sincerely, we could not do this without you and the many, many other dedicated "rustie grains".
And Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family as well.
Neil Young plays Star Spangled Banner today at “Stand For Peace” !
ReplyDeletehttps://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/neil-young-star-spangled-banner-guitar-video-1234894860/
Your Brother Alan in Seattle.
Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate! And thanks, Alan, for the link. When the video popped up on my feed, I thought maybe a new song was unexpectedly dropping... there is precedent for such things... oh well! Ambivalent is about how I would describe my feelings about this one. I trust that, as an American, I reserve the right to feel ambivalence concerning my country's chosen national anthem and, moreover, that it's within the bounds of free speech here on TW for me to say as much.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of the bridge from Living with War, wherein Neil quotes the Star-Spangled Banner. Maybe I'm projecting my own emotions onto the song (and lord knows I would not be the only one), but I've always felt there were layers of meaning in that musical choice, which I won't analyze now as digression would be in detriment to my point. I hope the same (multi-layered perspective) is true of this new recording, even if the heart of the message is simple.
Although I take no issue with having pride in one's community, I suspect nationalistic sentiment is largely an impediment to achieving "peace"(more on the air quotes below), so I probably wouldn't have chosen this or any national anthem for a straightforward statement about ending conflict and violence. People talking about this side vs. that side, winners and losers, are (and I say this with the earnest intent of building bridges of compassion) missing the point about what we commonly refer to as peace.
Peace, in the sense I'm speaking of, means no more sides. No hunger, no greed. Nothing to kill or die for. Brotherhood/sisterhood of humanity. But maybe "peace" is not really the word I'm looking for, insofar as peace is often colloquially understood as the opposite of war. Under that definition, an argument can be made that the concept of "peace" loses meaning without the context of war. And assuredly we'd all like to envisage a universe without war! So maybe what I'm striving toward, stretching to articulate, is some *other* state beyond the binary of war/peace. A state we don't quite have the words to express, because it's beyond our current experiences. We can only begin to imagine what this state would look and feel like.
However, pontificating does not change the lived realities. All the articulating, striving, and imagining in the world won't undo the horrific cruelty of the Oct. 7th attacks, nor restore any of the lives now being destroyed each day in Gaza. I'm crushingly aware that my musings, though helpful for me as an intellectual and spiritual exercise, can't begin to touch or ameliorate the almost unfathomable reality of human suffering.
Even so, I hope some of words may strike a chord with someone, somewhere. If one can help even a single person to feel a bit better, the work is worthwhile.
Om~Shanti
@ Metamorphic Rocker : Thanks for the writing tonight! It has helped me to feel better about the world we live in. John Lennon would be proud. I always like to say I am not a flag waver (nor a lemming!), but I am probably a sheep, since I gave up on elections after Bernie got screwed in the 2015 Primary. Oh, I was pissed. I was disgusted & angry with what I saw as absolute betrayal by my own lifelong party. Our 2 party system is a joke, a bad joke.
ReplyDeleteGod help me to feel peace in spite of the wars and our Warring country (been at war for all but 28 years of existence of “USA.”
I am bloody proud of Neil Young playing the National Anthem in his sonic machine, Old Black! I was a big fan of “Living With War.”
Neil + Family & all of us, & the critters, Bees & other insects: Long May You Run!
Your Brother Alan in Seattle
Star Spangled Banner version is so great. More Old Black please, Neil.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alan. Did not mean to ramble that long. I want to emphasize the track sounds great and I’m glad NY is still making this kind of noise! I like the mirrorball/flag video. Good representation of the US in relation to the world. The word “peace” is still very useful, since so many people recognize and understand it, but like all language, it’s limited. Music, like many other arts, can be a fantastic way of circumventing that limitation.
ReplyDeleteEmotions are high about ongoing events, for good reason. It would be disturbing if there were a lack of emotional responses. As it is, I’m worried the emotions are just fomenting both antisemitism and Islamophobia. Both are ugly, boneheaded, and deeply counterproductive. Peace is an uphill process without equity. And there’s no equity where there’s dehumanization.
As I type, a notification came up that more hostages have been freed. I’m at a stage where I’ll take what I can get. I feel like I keep saying this, but humans generally have got to be smarter—and use that intelligence for good. I’ll close with a line from Yoko One: A dream we dream alone is only a dream, but a dream we dream together is reality.
*Correction: I’m referring to Yoko Ono, of course!
ReplyDeleteHefty rendition of the anthem. Reminds one immediately of NY's Ode to Wild Bill (#1-4). He still has it. Good that he turns this war song into sonic debris.
ReplyDeleteThrasher's Wheat is my best friend during busy and difficult times. I always have a place to go.
ReplyDeleteMinke, I agree. Good to turn the song into debris, more or less what he did to those traditional songs on Americana. He ripped them apart. Interesting to me how the distortion can create new meaning, it seems a different song.
@ The Metamorphic Rocker : You are not alone in your thinking. The words you have written are logical, and well thought out. I just wanted you to know that I understand your position completely, and support your views wholeheartedly.
ReplyDeleteIf we could all somehow just get past the ’Us Against Them’ mentality, and see each other as the same species, then perhaps we could make this world a better place. Until then we are sadly doomed to repeat history time and time again.
If the human race could finally understand just how much better off ‘everyone’ would be if we were able to consolidate our efforts together, then there would be no one going hungry, or homeless. Or die because they can’t afford health insurance. Everyone could be free to express themselves without judgment, or persecution. Instead of ‘don’t tread on me’ we could embrace ‘don’t tread on anyone’. Then maybe life on earth wouldn’t be so damn dangerous.
We are one of the only species on earth that hunts itself….for their own gain. Greed kills, and as Dylan once sang…. Money doesn’t talk, it swears.
Peace 🙏
Thank you so much for this blog - been visiting regularly for many years. I really appreciate what you do.
ReplyDelete"Keep on bloggin'
'Til the power goes out
And your battery's dead"
Dan, many thanks! I hope you’re well. It can feel like one is shouting into the void at times. Nice to think that sites like TW can offer a “virtual fireside” for folks to gather around in these cold times. (I did have a very nice holiday weekend with the family, lest anyone worry.) Ron, I have often appreciated your comments, too!
ReplyDeleteTo touch lightly on the voting issue (brought up by Alan)… absolutely not my place to tell people when or for whom to vote. Many of us across the political spectrum don’t feel represented on the ballot.I relate to that. The de facto two-party system doesn’t offer enough options. Yet for me, voting is mostly an exercise in pragmatism. Ideals and values are key, but not to the point of holding out for the ideal candidate. I’m glad Bernie Sanders, for instance, motivates folks to demand change, but disengagement won’t bring much progress.
Capacity for compromise (up to a point)is a mark of a healthy community, especially when potential consequences are terribly significant. However, I’m in a genuine swing state, where it could actually matter. Not quite sure if that’s a privilege or a burden, but it shows how ropey the US system is.
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ReplyDeleteBernie was not to be seen in the News. They censored him and yet he still fought for the Democrats.
ReplyDeleteI voted for Biden too. Now we get more war against the “Terrorists.” Uncle Sam would see a Terrorist if he really looked in the mirror. It’s the American way. Overthrowing Democratically elected Governments all over the world for a very long time now. South America, Central America, the Middle East, as in Iran. We started this shit. Wave the flag on a Ship of Fools.
Julian Assange released truthful information which did not make the USA look good. The US military tortured Muslim POWs, as seen in photos released by Wikileaks. Ain’t that a tough pill to swallow? Hillary wanted to take him out with a drone as he sought shelter in the Ecuadorian Embassy. They framed him for rape and then the emails they exchanged with the accuser revealed he was innocent, so they dropped that. But he is still rotting in prison, soon to be extradited to the US? He will likely just die in prison in England. Because it does not look good to punish the only real news reporter in the world for publishing the Truth!
Who remembers that Hillary wanted to put a “No Fly zone” over Syria? And the Russian Air Force was already there! They had been invited in by the Government. Anyone ever hear about that pipeline the US wanted to run through Syria?
There I go on my free speech tirade again.
Your Brother Alan in Seattle.
Alan: Sorry I may have misinterpreted your previous comments about voting. Not intentional.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most sobering realizations I’ve ever had, and one of the hardest to reconcile, is that someone who looks like a terrorist to one person may appear as a freedom fighter. I’m not entirely one for moral relativism. Hopefully that’s clear in my unequivocal position against acts of violence. But it’s important to understand the potential for radically different views, to realize we’re all making decisions in real time, based on limited information and alternatives, in a chaotic world.
Yet I do believe, speaking for myself, that everything in the universe is interconnected in a web of being. Just that unpredictability and unintended consequences are part of the chain. Possibly a tradeoff that allows us to make some choices in daily living. One hell of a compromise, necessitated when living in a material (physical) world reliant on finite resources we tend to see through a dualistic intellect.
*may appear as a freedom fighter to another person
ReplyDeleteagain, many thanks for the kind words and support.
ReplyDeleteYes, Meta Rocker, a “virtual fireside” is what we would like to think we have going here @ TW.
Thanks to you and our many gifted commenters, we're trying to curate a "safe space" for a range of opinions to be expressed for open minded consideration.
Not too many places left on the net that even attempt this.
And lastly, @ dear Dan. We've thought of you often and wish you all the best here in the holiday season. We can't imagine how tough this time might be for you.
But please know there are many here that can offer all the support you might need.
please take care.
peace
Thank you Thrasher, and to all those who have been supportive of my journey of grief. Navigating uncharted waters has been difficult, but I have continued to visit this safe space that you have so diligently provided for us. My life has been permanently altered, but I made a promise to continue living a life of kindness, tolerance, love. So when I have something of substance to add to the conversation, I’ll share it here.
ReplyDeleteAgain, thanks to everyone here for being so kind.
Peace and love 🙏
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ReplyDelete@ Old Black : I am sorry for my shared inaccurate statement about the source of that ugly quote. I envy the UK for its civil protest. Europeans still protest much better than US citizens. My thought was really, any protest group that stands up for Gaza human rights is met with insults and derogatory labels.
ReplyDeleteWe US citizens seem to care most about “football” and shopping, Fentanyl & the Kardashians. Dumbing down young people in the schools, whitewashing “History” and outlawing protest is what we have. Lots of red states have made it legal to kill / injure protestors in the streets by ramming them with cars. These are crazy times, to be certain. My writing was a bit sloppy, I have a nasty cold but no good excuses. I don’t watch “The News” but I read perhaps more of it than. I should(!).
Mark Twain said, “If you don’t read the news, you are uninformed. If you read the news, you are misinformed.”
Send more English & thinking people to the US! We need help!
Again, sorry if that sounded like general criticism of England media. Sloppy logic on my part. Luckily I have some English blood too, in my “Heinz 57” ancestry; my writing would be worse otherwise, perhaps! Dad was an “English” professor and Milton’s who also taught Shakespeare.
I love sitting by the virtual fireside with you all!
Your Brother Alan in Seattle.
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ReplyDeleteThese last 2 comments were meant for the NEXT (newer) blog post, and that is why they don't follow the topic above or make any sense! To quote Brittany Spears: "Oops! I did it again." No need to thank Spell check this time!
ReplyDeleteYour Brother Alan in Seattle