Comment of the Moment: "Second Song" Album by Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts

"Second Song" Album

by Neil Young & Chrome Hearts

Reaction to Neil Young's initial releases of  2 songs from the upcoming album "Second Song" with The Chrome Hearts has been nearly universally praised by fans and the music press thus far.

 

"Second Song" VideoNeil Young & The Chrome Hearts

Here is a Comment of the Moment on the upcoming album "Second Song" by Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts by Abner:

I have a few thoughts going back to the first time I heard the song. 

Nostalgia is maybe not quite right as it constantly intersects with the present. The song places the nostalgic in a deeply problematic relationship to the present, although this is not always literal. 

If it was just harkening back to the sunny mornings and saving dimes the song is very different and probably not worth all that much. But beyond this problematic relationship to the present is that the present is placing everything in jeopardy. 

There is the immediate fact, within the lyrics, that what we need and want will no longer even be possible. This reality then strips us of our dignity as we are the ones who have destroyed the possibility of a future for both ourselves and everything else. 

To me, the center of the song are the lyrics: "but we won't remember them, cause we're the ones who didn't care." If one is really paying attention these lines hit like brass knuckles while there is painful irony with the beauty of the song. The same spirit could provide a bonfire for an electric nightmare of another song. 

Second Song is beyond a warning, it is a collision with our reckless actions.

Thanks for the comment Abner. Intrigued by your take on Second Song as "beyond a warning". The tone here on "Second Song" is a bit more subtle than we've heard from Neil in recent years where he's been  borderline sledgehammer (see  "Talkin' To The Trees" album and "Big Change", for example.)

More on  "Second Song" by Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts and NEW SONG VIDEO: Neil Young's "Casting Me Away From You".

"Casting Me Away From You"by Neil Young & Chrome Hearts (see NEW SONG VIDEO: Neil Young's "Casting Me Away From You") 

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