REACTION: Neil Young's New Song & Video "Lets Roll Again"

"Tesla is just good; they've created something good."Neil Young -  June 24, 2016(Click photo to enlarge)

The polarizing reaction to Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts new song and video "Lets Roll Again" has ranged from robust cheers and applause to condemnation and accusations.

 "Lets Roll Again"  Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts (Video Frame via Official Video) (Click photo to enlarge)

Not since 2006's album Living With War has a Neil Young album had so much controversy before its actual release.

The primary controversy around "Lets Roll Again" -- set to the tune of  Woody Guthrie’s iconic “This Land Is Your Land” --   swirls around the lyrics:

‘If you’re a fascist, then get a Tesla/

If it’s electric/

It doesn’t matter/

If you’re a Democrat, then taste your freedom/

Get whatever you want, and taste your freedom.’ 

The video accompanies the verse with a ‘Heil Tesla’ image depicting Tesla's Elon Musk’s mistaken "Nazi-style salute", which, btw, was really just him touching his heart and waving to crowd in a gesture of love.

Elon Musk

(Video Frame via Official Video)

"Heil Tesla"

(Video Frame via Official Video)

Neil Young's Tesla/Musk outrage has not always been the case.   Neil Young famously converted a  Ford Lincoln Continental into "LincVolt", an electric car.  The project began in approximately 2008.

Linc-Volt Press Conference with Neil Young

 SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Back in 2016, Neil Young was critical of German car manufacturers in an interview with Associated Press.  (thanks Rusted Moon!)

Neil Young: "There's nothing revolutionary about building an electric car with all the air pollution on our planet. 

But car manufacturers keep building the same cars over and over again—and they even advertise how advanced they are. The same old story over and over again. It's disappointing to see so little innovation. And then Tesla comes along and leaves everyone behind. Especially the German car manufacturers. They acted like it was a joke, like Tesla was a joke. But suddenly Tesla has overtaken them on the road.

And they're not even advertising. Tesla is just good; they've created something good.

I didn't make it ["LincVolt"] to sell it to anyone. I just wanted to say, 'Look, this thing exists, it's great.' I've put 55,000 miles on it now. 

I drive it all the time; I love it."

So. Times change, feelings change.

More on Neil Young's  LincVolt: Re-powering the American Dream.

                

                                    Neil Young & Marc Benioff

                   Keynote @ 2010 Dreamforce (SalesForce) Conference

More on Neil Young's latest album "Talkin To The Trees" with the band The Chrome Hearts.

 "big change is coming" 

by Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts

(Video Frame via Official Video)

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