Earlier this month, we explored the subject of what was up with Neil Young "rebranding" his band Crazy Horse.
And what ensued was, well, a wide ranging discussion across genres, fields, and centuries, that often veered into some rather head scratching territory for many an ordinary rustie-grain.
To wit, here is a comment on the Comment on the Moment on Neil Young Rebrands Crazy Horse by Dionys:
To summarize at the end of this babylonian thread with 11 persons participating, we have been mentioning, referring to, quoting:
Neil Young
Crazy Horse (individual members and various incarnations)
The Rockets
The Grateful Dead (and various incarnations)
The Beatles
Creedence Clearwater Revival
The Rolling Stones
U2
Phil Lee
Nils Lofgren
Danny Whitten
Drive By Truckers
Michael Jackson
Bob Dylan
Little Richard
James Brown
Booker T. & The MGs
Steve Earle
Las Vegas
Portsmouth
Paris
San Francisco
Myrtle Beach, SC
William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing (drama)
V.M. Straka “Ship of Theseus” (novel)
William Faulkner
Bertolt Brecht, Tales of Mr. Keuner (parables)
Proteus
Theseus (Mythology)
Ship of Theseus (Plutarchy / Aristotle)
Greeks, Romans, Punians
HMS Victory
Lakota
Crazy Horse (Lakota Chief)
Walter Benjamin
Jean Baudrillard
Donna Haraway
Woody (Wooden cigar Indian)
Atheneans
Dionysos
Ariadne
Crete
Philbert Bono (Powwow Highway)
Dada
Surrealism
Immanuel Kant
Buddhism
Hinduism
Horse
Herring
Chameleon
Camel
Pony
Dinosaurs
Thanks for the summary Dionys. We here at TW have had -- over the decades -- some comment threads that were wide ranging, deep and complex and strange.
But this one really sticks out.
From Shakespeare to Vegas. From Bertolt Brecht to Booker T. & The MGs. From Faulkner to Dada & Surrealism.
And the marvelous thing about the thread was how remarkably polite everyone was in addressing a potentially sensitive subject. The depth and breadth of our readers and commenters is truly humbling and we are honored to host this forum.
Of course I enjoyed being one of these eleven participants on both sides of the Atlantic (Ocean's 11?). To me this is an example that the internet indeed is able to bring people together as opposed to creating digital divides. So I hope that others who just have been reading along forgive us both our head scratchers and vanities. And I do believe that a thread like this one is in the spirit of Neil Young and (Crazy/The) Horse.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate Diony’s litany/catalogue of references. Probably too many of them came from my comments. The irony here is that I was really hoping all my scattered textual citations and free associations wouldn’t distract, or overwhelm, from the substance of what I was trying to express. In other words, please don’t miss the point(s) by focusing only on quantity of ideas: is at least as vital as breadth. “If you follow every dream, you might get lost.” However, getting there *is* half the fun.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the positive potential for internet communication. It can become a double-edged sword, as shown by a certain former American president’s Twitter-borne incitements and by the current US congress’s ongoing tussle with TikTok. While I can’t bring myself to fret over damage inflicted on tech conglomerates and their wealthy sponsors, I do think many underlying issues come from intense corporate domination of the worldwide web. We’ve been down this road before, debating the tensions between private ownership, social media as business model, and the need for free expression.
There aren’t easy solutions—especially when lawmakers are often hand-in-glove with the big corporations, so that there’s not always a big difference between government regulation and private corporate interests. From my US perspective, Americans are often able to recognize these problems in other countries (again, look at TikTok), but it can be harder for a Patriot to acknowledge similar flaws in their own homeland.
A capitalist state can be manipulative and controlling, too. But the levers for regulation are less direct and thus harder to see, especially when one is conditioned to overlook them.
There is a reason why from Powwows to conferences at the UN level there always is special attention for the diversity represented at a forum. Diversity as such in these contexts is considered to be of value. On the other hand the big question remains how the cosmopolitan still rooted in a distinct identity can reach out to those who may be rooted in their own identity but are overwhelmed and can't cope with this diversity (anymore). So part of the flurry on this list above is an attempt at inclusion, name dropping that hopefully many readers and lurkers somehow can relate to.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dionys; I absolutely see your point! I missed some nuance there, probably preoccupied by own anxiety about being obscure or esoteric.
ReplyDeleteThinking about the politics of big tech, in the past it’s been far more common to see European countries cracking down with anti-trust suits, etc. Maybe our (my) aging, disconnected American lawmakers are finally waking up to the power of social media—and they want to utilize the benefits.
While I was writing comments for this thread, I was also thinking about the history. I could not help but to reflect a bit about our discussions during the pandemic. Incredible that there are so many contributors who have stuck with it and created such diverse, but related, content.
ReplyDeleteI posted this on an earlier thread, but thought it was appropriate here as well……
ReplyDeleteThe times in which we are living in can be incredibly overwhelming at times, and reactions can be unpredictable from passionate, and caring individuals. I understand how difficult it can be to communicate frustration, and still remain respectful. Over the past decade it feels as if the lines have been blurred when it comes to communication. This seems to be manifesting itself into something dangerous. Those who are so passionate about their ideals seem convinced that this makes everyone who disagrees with them….wrong. This mindset creates stagnation because it eliminates any opportunity for compromise.
The solution to any disagreement requires some sort of compromise. There isn’t one perfect solution to any difficulty that will appease everyone. Yet there will always be those who only want what they desire, regardless of how it impacts others. And this is a problem that never seems to go away.
I wish I had the solution to this, but this issue appears to be a flaw in our species. It’s been going on since the beginning of time. We just happen to be living during a time where history has shown us exactly where we’re headed. And for those who have studied history understand, and this creates enormous anxiety. So it makes sense that we are all having difficulty expressing ourselves, and still remaining respectful to each other.
Recognizing it is important, but unfortunately not everyone does.
Peace 🙏
There was only one Neil Young concert (of not that many) that I attended where I experienced rude behaviour by a fan who in this case happened to be an American. When the surrounding people protested against his rudeness, he answered in the vein that it's a Neil Young concert after all. Twenty minutes into the show he was pulled over the rail by the bouncers and kicked out.
ReplyDeleteSince that time manners improved quite a bit... Not so online, however. Back from my lurking days with the rust list through the various phases of Thrasher's site I've seen the trolling and other outright offensive behaviour which limited or even damaged my positive experience, mainly getting information from and communication with very knowledgeable other Neil Young fans. So I went back even further in my digital socialization: In the very beginning of all these forums, blogs and platforms we made experiments at school, where I told the class to enter a especially nasty chatroom and punch in classical German poetry as long as it took to have every nasty person leave their virtual outhouse. If you have up to thirty persons typing you do not stand a chance, at least without any technical support. It just gets boring and the impolite stuff is exposed for what it is and also as being out of context. Still today I am convinced that if reasonable people get together they are able to protect at least some online-islands of civilised debate. Lately and maybe that was what the pandemic brought about as a positive effect, TW became one of these islands.
Don't Spook the Horse eh Mr. Earth .... Looks like The Horse was Spooked when cancelling the Edmonton Alberta concert .
ReplyDeleteThe Lintvolt not available ? Not enough hippie corn diesel fer the tour bus ?
I'm thinking Mr. Earth was a tad worried of arriving in Edmonton on a polluting jet bird , only wearing an Earth tshirt n preaching to the Oil Patch .
How fitting for such a yellow bellied Americana turncoat carpet bagger .
" I luv Canadian Oil and Gas "
What I wrote 26 hours and fifteen minutes before.
ReplyDeleteI rest my case. The defendant may have the floor 🤔
ReplyDeletePeace 🙏
This particular troll is uninteresting in every respect, even as an example of a troll.
ReplyDelete" We are the People "
ReplyDeleteTravis Bickle