Beck Covers Neil Young’s ‘Old Man’ in NFL TV Commercial - UPDATED

 

Beck has covered Neil Young’s song ‘Old Man’ for a NFL TV commercial.

Next week on Sunday Night Football. @beck#ChiefsKingdom | #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/07n92B5P0Y

— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 26, 2022

 

 

Beck Covering Neil Young’s ‘Old Man’ for NFL Commercial

 

Why this song was specifically chosen to promote football is not well understood at this time and makes little sense from a marketing perspective. Because old men are target market and watch lots of tee-vee, perhaps?

This has sparked a bit of a flare up on the long running controversies involving artists selling out for commercial purposes.

 

Sponsored by Nobody?!
Neil Young's 1988 "This Note's for You"

On Instagram, Young posted a photo showing him holding a beer bottle with a label that reads, "SPONSORED BY NOBODY" without a caption.  hmmmm...

Neil Young| Instagram

As we reported in January 2021, Neil Young sold his copyrights for 1,180 songs to Hipgnosis Songs Fund for $150,000,000.

"There will never be a ‘Burger of Gold’":

 Merck Mercuriadis - Founder, Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited

(See These Notes Are For Who? Neil Young Sells Song Catalog Stake For $150,000,000 )

 

Merck Mercuriadis, founder of Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited, stated at the time:

"Hipgnosis and Young have a common integrity, ethos and passion born out of a belief in music and these important songs. There will never be a ‘Burger of Gold’ but we will work together to make sure everyone gets to hear them on Neil's terms.”

"There will never be a ‘Burger of Gold’".   Seems clear enough.  No worries, right?

So does the promise made above hold for Young’s classic song ‘Old Man’? Is this very poor taste usage not akin to ‘Burger of Gold’"?  Apparently not.

The question is why?

How can these statements above reconcile with the travesty of this "spectacularly bad idea and in poor taste"?

Neil Young - "Cough Up the Buck$" Video - 2008

So why would Neil Young authorize and agree to this usage? Or maybe he didn't authorize this because the decision is now handled by the new ownership stake in his catalog? 

 

Clearly, this is a sacrilegious abuse of an artist's life work and a breach of contract by Hipgnosis' Merck Mercuriadis that MUST be atoned.

As we editorialized at the time of the 2021 announcement, be careful what you wish for ... because you reap what you sow ...

Our earlier cautions about "risking the "family jewels"  was actually addressed directly by Neil Young himself on NYA. (Also, please note some of our clarifications on this subject after the giant hullabaloo/kerfuffle in 2021.)

"gotta watch out for the greedy hand

the greedy hand" 

 

The Greedy Hand | Neil Young Store | WBR

Also, see this 2007 piece The Price of Neil: When Art and Commerce Collide.  More on "Cough Up the Buck$": Neil Young's Song of the Day | NYA.

Cough Up The Buck$ Crew
HarryO w/ Volume Drinkers: Brand New Guy & Paul D.
Madison Square Garden, NYC, NY - 12/15/2008 

photo by TW

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TODAY: Farm Aid 2022 - Raleigh, North Carolina, Sat., Sept. 24

Farm Aid 2022 - Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday, September 24

 

The annual Farm Aid concert will be today, Saturday, September 24 in  Raleigh, North Carolina.

Artists in lineup include: Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews (with Tim Reynolds), and Margo Price, as well as Chris Stapleton, Sheryl Crow, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Allison Russell, Charley Crockett, Brittney Spencer and Particle Kid. (NOTE: Neil Young Will NOT Play Farm Aid 2022, )

Thus, the Photo of the Moment is Willie Nelson & Neil Young at Farm Aid 2016.

"Are There Any More Real Cowboys?"
Willie Nelson & Neil Young 

(w/ Lukas Nelson & Tony LoGerfo)
Farm Aid 2016 - Bristow, Virginia, Sept. 17
Photo by thrasher
(Click photo to enlarge)

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Daniel Lanois on Neil Young | Pop Matters

Neil Young and Daniel Lanois - August 2013 Photo by Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times
(Click photo to enlarge)

Producer-musician Daniel Lanois worked so closely with Neil Young on his 2010 album 'Le Noise' that Neil named the album after him.

From "Daniel Lanois Still Believes in Magic"  | Pop Matters by Michael Elliot, the legendary producer Daniel Lanois discusses U2, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, his new instrumental album, and how he still lets the music guide him.

How did Neil Young approach you, and how was his Le Noise project conceived?

Daniel Lanois: I was working with [Young’s manager] Elliott Roberts at the time, a great man who’s no longer with us.

I said to Elliott at dinner one night, “Man, I always want to make a record with Neil Young.” I didn’t think too much more about it. The next day, the phone rang. It was Bonnie from Neil’s office: “I have Neil Young on the phone for Daniel Lanois.” So I took the call, and he asked if I would record him playing and singing ten acoustic songs and if I would film him as well because I was making films in those days. 

I had done some films with the band I had assembled at the time called Black Dub. We made some films in the front room of a beautiful estate in Los Angeles. Neil saw those, and they were a little bit noir, in the sense that there were no edits. It was one camera for the entire song as if the performance was witnessed by one pair of eyes. He appreciated that we were telling the song’s story with the camera. That’s how it started. And I said, “Ok. Come to my house. It’s a beautiful place.” We set up all the stuff. And that’s how it happened, except we expanded and went a little more electric. 

We had a little bit of a joke going because we’re both from Canada. I had a nickname, and he had a nickname while we were working. I called him “Pinecone Young”. And I got called “Le Noise”. All I ever do is fucking noise [laughs]. So we’d send little messages back and forth. I’d sign mine “Le Noise”, and he’d sign his “Pinecone Young”. We just had that little bit of Canadian humor throughout the process. 

He’s a very sweet man. I love him. A deep imagination. 

In the end, that’s what we love about records when they have something unique about them.

Full interview @ "Daniel Lanois Still Believes in Magic"  | Pop Matters by Michael Elliot,.

More on “Pinecone Young” & “Le Noise" @  Daniel Lanois & Neil Young and their musical collaborations.

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Rick Rubin & Neil Young Tease Their New Music For Jack White | Broken Record

Last week, we posted A MESSAGE FROM NEIL YOUNG: "The big day is coming!...

In the post, we speculated on what exactly this might be.  Previous indications were that this alluded to a new Crazy Horse album produced by Rick Rubin.

But a new interview with  Rick Rubin, Jack White and Neil Young as a special guest seems indicate another project?

The interview took place at the end of a 3-week session for the new album titled "Nuggets".

Neil only plays electric guitar on two tracks. Speculation is that those would be "break the chain" and "chevrolet". The rest are strange instrumentations which Neil described "Pump Organ Funk" and "Harmonica played through an octave divider into the Fender deluxe". " (thanks Road Dawg!) 

 

Neil Young & Rick Rubin Tease Their New Music For Jack White | Broken Record 

When Jack White stopped by Shangri-La to sit down with Rick Rubin for an extended interview on Broken Record, he got a surprise visit from the legendary Neil Young who has also been spending time with Rick in the studio recording some new music. Hear Neil and Rick tell Jack a little bit about their new project and catch the full interview below.

Here is a summary via Rusted Moon: (thanks Ralf!)

The conversation apparently took place on the fringes of the May full moon recording sessions at Shangri-la Studios in Malibu, where Rick Rubin was producing Neil Young's album. The work announced for November, as much was already known, will contain ten songs. According to Young in the interview, he wrote eight songs within two days and didn't change them until the recording. The melodies were previously created while hiking through the mountains in Colorado, when he whistled to himself. 

Fans must be prepared for unusual sounds: "I play electric guitar on two songs," reveals the musician, who is known for his weird experiments. The remaining songs feature an unprecedented combination of instruments: "pump organ funk" and a harmonica with an "octave divider" effect, amplified by a Fender Deluxe amp.

However, producer Rick Rubin assured his interview guest Jack White that everything still sounds recognizable as Neil Young. Also "Crazy Horse" would play as usual. The album's closing song is 14 minutes long, according to Young. This should mean the electric rocker "Chevrolet" that Neil Young had spoken about before.

  

 

Jack White ft. Special Guest Neil Young | Broken Record (Hosted by Rick Rubin)

After a recent two-night stand in Los Angeles, Jack stopped by Shangri-La to talk to Rick Rubin about the early Garage Rock scene in Detroit that helped shape him and The White Stripes. He also shared potential theories about why the “Seven Nation Army” riff is so catchy. And then he treats Rick and Neil Young to an acoustic performance of his new song “A Tip From You To Me.” And to cap it all off, we will hear exclusive details about an exciting new project Rick’s been working on with Neil Young, that will be out soon.

Also, see MORE BARN (?): New Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse Album Produced by Rick Rubin

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Photo of the Moment: Neil Young @ Farm Aid 2013 (Saratoga Springs, New York)

Neil Young @ Farm Aid 2013
Photo by Mary Andrews
(Click photo to enlarge)

As Farm Aid 2022 approaches this coming weekend, we look back at FA'13.

The Photo of the Moment is from Farm Aid 2013 in Saratoga Springs, New York of Neil Young by Mary Andrews.

Always nice to see Neil Young's smile.  (Please note that Neil Young Will NOT Play Farm Aid 2022,)

Thanks Mary! Awesome gallery.

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Your Interesting Neil Young Fact of the Day (Updated)

"The Flood" by Scott Young - 1956

(Neil Young's Dad)

Here is "Your Interesting Neil Young Fact of the Day", which is an update of the original 2012 post.

From the Everything Shakey blog, here's your interesting Neil Young Fact of the Day...

Neil Young’s dad was the Canadian sports-writer and novelist, Scott Young, who wrote 45 books over his life including one about his relationship with his son called Neil And Me. But did you know that his first novel, The Flood, published in 1956, has a character, a young boy named Mac, who was inspired by the then 10-year-old Neil?

The following update is from a comment by Sharry on the original 2012 post:

Scott Young wrote most of "The Flood" during a very unhappy period of his life. 

The family was living in Toronto on the lower floor of a duplex and Scott rented a 3rd floor room in a house downtown where he could go to write every day. Scott had earlier reported on the Great Winnipeg Flood during the spring of 1950, so much of his material comes from his experiences there. (The Flood of 1950 provides the background for the story.) The period 1954-55, when he wrote much of the book, was during the time he was having some extra-marital affairs. The characters of Mac and Don in "The Flood" are based on Neil and his older brother Bob. Scott has admitted that Mac was inspired by Neil and Don was inspired by Bob.

Scott Young used to write about his family a lot in his daily columns in the Globe and Mail. He was also well known for his books (both fiction and non-fiction), short stories in magazines, young adult novels, his sports columns as well as his regular gig as an interviewer on "Hockey Night in Canada." *

Scott Young is also in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and Scott Young Public School in Omemee was named in his honour.

Thanks John & Sharry for the Canadian memories from the Great North Country!

* see Scott Young on "Hockey Night in Canada.

Also, interestingly, the thread then veered over to the song "Old Man" and a "spirited discussion" on whether Neil wrote the song about his Father or his ranch owner Louis Avila.

Some discussions just never sleep ...

More on Neil Young's Father Remembered - Scott Young, 1918 - 2005.

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