Comments of the Moment: Neil Young's "Quintessential" Greendale

The Inconvenient Truth of
Greendale

 

Recently, we posted over to the ever-so irrepressible Scotsman's Patreon on Dynamite Tracks #18: Busting out of Jail regarding Neil Young's album Greendale and it's significance.

First, a comment by Ron on the above post:

I hope no-one will be offended if I say am trying hard, but I still don't get what it is they think is important about Greendale - sorry.

The lyrics tell a tale that is interesting, the characters are all relatable, but I don't see or hear anything revelatory or new - and I don't think I did when it was first released 20 years ago either. And I listened to it a lot when it first came out and remember having fun exploring the accompanying Greendale web site.

I can see that there are likely aspects of Neil's character and personality in a lot or maybe all of the characters, I can see that it touches on a lot of the problems of the world, but is there an important insight? Some important message?

Did we not already know then that there was corruption on the highest floor? That Mr Clean was dirty too? That the Government is all bought and paid for? That we need to save the planet?

There is the 'Be The Rain' call to action but hadn't people and organisations been saying similar for many years already? Greenpeace come to mind but I am sure there were many others.

Ok, very fair question Ron and thanks for conveniently asking in comments.

Sun Green 

Neil Young's Greendale Concert Tour - 2003

 

Which brings us to the Comment of the Moment by none other than Scotsman himself on Neil Young's "Quintessential" (thanks Dionys) album Greendale:  

Thanks all for the lovely and perceptive comments.

I like people who enjoy Greendale because I get the sense we're on the same wavelength. We'd probably get on well in the real world should we meet up for a ginger beer, strong coffee, or pint of real ale.

And one of many reasons I like Greendale is because it's its own world.

Not all albums or tracks are like this. Alabama from Tuscaloosa, for instance, with no added context, is objectively an out-of-tune din. Subjectively, it's a dreadful performance. What elevates it to being perceived as a work of art is because we see it in the *context* of Neil Young's life and career in the golden 70s. It's part of the legend.

But with Greendale, although there is lots of Neil Young in it (perhaps more than any other album), all we need to appreciate it is to notice ourselves within this town he has created for us. Dionys and Dan Swan get to the heart of this, above.

Some will relate to Sun Green (seeking to break out and fulfil her potential), some to the artist Earl (trying to juggle the drive to create with the need to survive), some to Grandpa (on the Earth long enough to have seen a lot, done a lot, survived through a lot).

Many here, I think, will relate to all three. They will also relate to the grief of Carmichael's widow, and Jed, too: because like Jed, we've all made mistakes. (If we're lucky, they're the kind of beneficial mistakes that help us learn, and not the kind of mistakes that permanently derail us, or hurt anybody else.)

"Change comes slow in the country". And a big part of the success of this record is Neil is writing from his own experience of living in the middle of nowhere.

The clubs and bars in major cities might change every year — as might the political leaders. Parts of rural England, meanwhile, haven't changed in 200 years or more. The people haven't changed much, either.

The Sun Greens of the world often find peace (and the space to create and think and dream) in the countryside, but need to get out to the city to find inspiration, or to make an impact. Because that's where the change they seek to make is most likely to happen. (In the 21st century, the internet is it's own kind of city.)

So I agree with all you guys that Greendale touches on politics themes. But I don't see it as a political album, not *as such*, because the word "politics" for me brings to mind two things:

A) A sense of top-down power, sometimes rigged against those of us with a sense of ethics (on both sides of the political spectrum)

And:

B) a force that divides us into polarised groups lobbing spears at each other.

Grandpa, meanwhile, strikes me as the kind of guy who "doesn't trust any of the b*stards". The more time you spend on Earth, the more you seem unfold... And eventually, you tune it all out.

Sun Green, too, is the kind of the person who'd be out there making a positive ruckus regardless of who is in power.

Quite wonderfully, we're left with an album that retains it's relevance through the ages, no matter who's in power, no matter whether they represent us or not.

We can still go out and make a difference.

Greendale, I think, speaks most strongly to those who really believe in this. Lovers of this album want to get up and really make a positive contribution, and probably have done numerous times in their lives already. They are do-ers, not just talkers.

(The boss of this very website will certainly relate: he started the first Neil Young blog not in 2016 or 2022, like me, but in 1996 — ahead of just about everybody in the blogging world.)

I'll submit what some will interpret as a smug or deluded opinion, but I'd prefer it to be interpreted as just a bit cheeky:

Having a passion for Greendale says something very complimentary about us.

Scots.

So back to Ron's original question and Scots justifications on Greendale  being "quintessential".

"Truth is all I seek" - Sun Green

 

Not to repeat ourselves, but -- as many of our long time readers here at Thrasher's Wheat know -- we have long since declared: "The Inconvenient Truth of Greendale".

Neil Young’s Greendale
Written by Joshua Dysart, Illustrated by Cliff Chiang
The inconvenient truth of Neil Young's Greendale is that Neil Young was right -- and his message is even more relevant today than upon Greendale's original release.

Greendale is "Everything You're Looking For" - Bandit

The inconvenient truth of Greendale is its uncomfortable confrontation with themes such as the power of mass media and global corporations, loss of personal freedoms and privacy, destruction of the environment, rampant fraud and corruption, an out of balance government and breakdown of the family. All of which we've detailed before here, here, and here.

"a little Mayberry livin' can go a long way"
GREENDALE 2020 HINDSIGHT by James Mazzeo

More on Sun Green in the "compelling", "controversial" and "audiences challenging" concert opera "Greendale" by Neil Young.

"This is Greendale" Brochure - Part #1
Tomorrow's Town - Today (1948)

---

---