Photos of Chrome Dreams II Tour Highlights

The summer Europe tour starts next Sunday, June 22 in Florence, Italy. Here's a look back at photos of the Chrome Dreams II Tour Highlights.


Apollo Hammersmith, London, England, 3/14/08
Photo by Chris a.k.a Crris b



March 5 - Photo by Tom Hambleton on Sugar Mountain


Amsterdam, February 20, 2008
Photo by Roel van Dijk


Vienna, Austria - 2/22/08
Photo by Rene Huemer


Buffalo, NY - November 30, 2007
Photo by Tom Kuenzi


Minneapolis, MN - November 8, 2007
Photo by Tony Nelson


New York City - Dec 13, 2007


Photo by Manchester Evening News 3-11


Hammersmith Apollo, London, March 9, 2008
Photo by HarryO


Ben Keith & Neil Young
Tower Theater, Upper Darby, PA - 2.09.07
Photo by Rod Snyder


Toronto, 11/26/07 - Photo by Jim Ross


No Hidden Path, London - 3/9/08
Photo by Dan on Flickr


London, 3/5 - Photo by hoodrat on Flickr

Enjoy the summer tour! We'll try and cover as much as we can. Thanks for everyone's support!

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'CSNY DEJA VU' Official Trailer

Just freakin' awesome! In UK theaters July 1. Thanks Simpson! Pre-order soundtrack album of CSNY: Deja Vu on Amazon.com. Also, see official CSNY Deja Vu film site. From Reuters - Q&A: Neil Young hopes documentary will spur debate:

Q: What do you hope to gain from the release of the film? Young: "Discussion. Debate. Open forums. And it does do that to people. You'll see what happens when this film comes out on the Internet -- you'll see people talking. It'll be interesting. It'll open up a thing, and that's what it does. That's what the music did. That's what happened in the audiences. I saw families fighting within the families, the kids wanting to stay, and the parents going, 'No, we've got to get out of here. This is no good.' The parents dragging the kid out, and the kid looking back. And we're not talking a 10-year-old here. We're talking college kids being driven out by just straitlaced fathers, the classic father image, of strength. Not much compassion, but a lot of strength."

From KBS Radio "Neil Young Says President Bush Is An Idiot Who Is Driving The Country Into Insanity":

Neil Young had some harsh words for President George Bush and his tenure as a wartime president. Young spoke about the criticism that the recent Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young documentary CSNY - Deja Vu has received, telling Uncut, "We're not telling the world what to do... It's so funny what people say about us... We're not trying to control the world. All we're saying is, 'Hey this f***ing president is killing us. This f***er is driving the country into insanity. This f***er is responsible for America being the most hated country in the world right now. That's what we're saying. All I'm saying is: 'This is what I think about this idiot. What do you think?'" Young directed the politically-charged film which documents CSNY's 2006 Freedom Of Speech tour which featured material from Young's then-recent album Living With War. Young went on to explain that although he needs to air his opinion on the state of American affairs, he's not under any delusions that change will be quick in coming: "It's a different world than it was in the 1960s. I have more experience. I am not under any misconceptions that my next record is going to change the world. I'm a realist. So I just say what I feel, and that's where the Living With War record came from... I'm still standing. I'm strong. I know my strengths, what I can and what I can't do. I just go forward."

More on CSNY: Deja Vu Film. p.s. This is for those who accuse Thrasher's Wheat of ignoring last week's articles of impeachment introduced by Congressman Dennis Kucinich. As if we didn't cover the subject fairly exhaustively two years ago. Move along. Nothing to see here.

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1986 Interview with Neil Young

A 1986 interview at the Philadelphia Spectrum on the opening night of the Rusted Out Garage tour. Neil Young is profiled and interviewed by Adrienne Meltzer in this excerpt from "The Rock'N'Roll Evening News."

"Boom! I wanted to rock!"

Thanks alapoet!

More Tales of the 3rd Best Garage Band in the World: Crazy Horse.

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Broken Arrow Magazine - May 2008 (#110)

Paris, February 15, 2008
Photo by Cornell van der Windt

The latest issue of Broken Arrow Magazine, published by the Neil Young Appreciation Society just arrived and another fine issue it is.

Issue #110 (May) of Broken Arrow Magazine - as usual - has some fine articles, commentary and nice photos. Great photos by Cornell van der Windt in Paris, Tom Hambleton in London, and Francesco Lucarelli in Milan are real highlights that capture the energy and spirit of the Chrome Dreams II Europe tour.

Also in Issue #110:

• Road reports of the Europe 2008 tour
• Hip, Hip Blu-Ray: The Archives by Guy Haslam
• Sad Movies and The Glendale Theatre by Sharry Wilson, NYAS #1063
• In Defense of Trans by Geraint Davies, NYAS #25

And as usual, a news section edited by Guy Haslam, with lots of innarestin' items. A special tip of the hat to Guy and Paul Docker for stepping in on editing duties while Scott Sandie was away on travel.

Check out the Neil Young Appreciation Society page for more info on how to join.

Don't be denied!

Thanks Scott and everyone who is supporting the NYAS & BA!

Thrasher - NYAS#2476


More on back issues of Broken Arrow magazine.

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Nils Sings Neil

Nils Lofgren has a new album out called The Loner: Nils Sings Neil where he covers all Neil Young songs.

From a post on rust@yahoogroups.com by Mike "Expecting To Fly":

I just got the Nils Sings Neil disc. It's just Nils solo on piano and acoustic guitar and his beautiful voice. It's incredibly good. I am not always a big fan of others covering Neil's songs but Nils has credibility and love to burn in huge quantities. He plays each song with affection and feeling and his connection to this music comes through with an astounding force. It's a very moving experience for me to hear this interpretation of these songs.

From the liner notes:

"1970 was a very magical year in my life. During the making of the 'After The Gold Rush' album in Topanga Canyon, California with Neil Young and our producer and brother in arms David Briggs, I did my first real acoustic guitar and piano session work. Neil lent me his cool Martin D-18 (which appears on the inside photo of the 'Gold Rush' album leaning against the wall next to him) to play on the record. Near the end of the sessions, Neil gave me this now historic guitar as a gift for my contribution and commitment to this landmark recording. It remains a treasured guitar, which I continue to play and cherish to this day. I knew that the soul and history of the D-18 would give me my best chance of doing Neil's songs justice. Also, David Briggs, my dear friend, producer and mentor, although no longer with us, perched his spirit on my shoulder and kept the music real..."

Also notable: on the liner note to this tribute album, Nils put "Produced by David Briggs and Nils Lofgren" as the production credit. It's like it's as much a tribute to Briggs as it is to Neil. It's very touching that he did that.

It's a wonderful and beautiful recording. I highly recommend it to all of you. Buy it here: www.nilslofgren.com/ or Amazon.com

Mike
Expecting To Fly

Thanks e2f! Sounds good.



More on Nils Lofgren and Neil Young.

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Dave Matthews Band covers "Hey Hey, My My" on YouTube

Dave Matthews Band played Neil Young's "Hey Hey, My My" on Tuesday as the first encore at Camden, N.J. It was the first performance of the song by Dave Matthews Band who have previously covered Young's "Cortez the Killer" and "Down by the River."

Thanks Colin at Dave Matthews Band News!

And here's a higher quality MP3:
Dave Matthews Band - "Hey Hey, My My" by Neil Young, Camden, N.J. - June 4, 2008 [mp3]

Thanks Ariel at Troubled Souls Unite!

More on Dave Matthews and Neil Young (search).

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Test Driving Linc-Volt with Neil Young

Last week, we posted LINC VOLT and The Archives: What Matters? The post was prompted by the comment "Linc Volt is more important to planet earth then the Archives are and ever will be."

Well, judging by the reaction, as far as Thrasher's Wheat readers are concerned, The Archives matters.

But there is some fascinating stuff going on here on the Neil front, as well as, something that is potentially revolutionary.

Take a look at this video of Neil's visit to Wichita, Kansas last week to test drive the Linc-Volt.



(Also, see this link which plays higher quality.)

And there's a great story from the Wichita Eagle from Kansas.com where Neil discusses the project.

He loves cars, "big roomy, American cars." He has collected classics all his adult life.

"But I decided that it was stupid to own cars that just sit around and then pollute when I drive them."

Eight months ago, he decided to convert his beige 1959 Lincoln Continental convertible to something eco-friendly.

At first, all he wanted was a biodiesel conversion.

Young searched the Internet, looking for some "out-of-the-way revolutionary who did not have anything to do with corporations and pre-conceived notions."

He found interviews and an MTV show, "Pimp My Ride," that featured a skinny, articulate Wichita mechanic: Goodwin, who has a national reputation for re-engineering the power units of big cars to get more horsepower for less fuel. Goodwin was working on a Hummer for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Young called Goodwin.

Goodwin said what he and the others are creating is nothing new.

"The technology to make a practical and affordable electric car has been around for a long time," he said. "There are all sorts of ways of doing it and all sorts of ways to work out how to make it work on a national scale. But what Neil has done is provide the backing to do it -- he's put up about $120,000 so far to change his car -- and he's provided a focus. Neil has been incredible, interested and helpful, and if I asked him tomorrow to let me make the car fly and put a flux capacitor in, he'd just shrug and say 'Sure, let's do it.' "

Young nodded.

"He's the brains," he said, nodding at Goodwin. "I'm just the cattle prod."

He walked to his car, put a hand on her hood.

"You know, I thought long ago you could change the world by writing songs.

"But you can't change the world by writing songs.

"Oh, you can inspire a few people, get some of them to change their thinking about something. But you can't change the world by writing songs.

"But we could change it with this car."

An interesting progression in Neil's thinking on his "Music Can't Change World" comment tha generated so much reaction.

And Neil himself narrates a new, brief video on LINC VOLT - Repowering The American Dream (upper left).

So back to our original question: Is Linc Volt more important to planet earth then the Archives are and ever will be? Discuss.

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Three new Europe summer tour dates added

Three new Europe summer tour dates added:

August 7 Helsinki, Finland

August 15 La Foire aux vins d'Alsace (Alsatian Wine Fair), Colmar, France

August 17 LOVELY DAYS FESTIVAL, Wiesen, Austria

This Helsinki date surprises us since it falls so far out of the tour schedule. This must be July 8 since this is an open date. It's common that dates get transposed between Euro format. If anyone reading this can translate the Finnish to English, that might be helpful.

UPDATE: It now appears that these dates are all in August and not July as reported earlier based on comments below. Thanks for corrections folks!

So it's looking like a possible 2nd leg to the Europe summer tour with possibly more dates.

Also, see Neil Young 2008 Europe Summer Concert Tour Dates schedule.

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Toast, Harvest Moon, Deja Vu Release Updates

Last week, we posted that Harvest Moon Live and Toast were set for release on July 8 based on Amazon.com's listing.

Well almost immediately after the posting, the Amazon listing disappeared. We suspect an odd coincidence.

As we like to say here: Thrasher's Wheat reports. You decide. So apologies to folks who submitted pre-orders only to have them bounce.

In the meantime, in the spirit of rumor du jour from No Expiration - a blog about timeless music:

Toast: Probably out in 2009.

Harvest Moon Live: Next year.

The Archives: This fall.

Deja Vu: There will be a soundtrack, with complete versions of the songs heard in the film.

We've also learned that Deja Vu will have a DVD and Blu-ray version of the film.

As Minority says: "All in all, exciting stuff. But remember: with Neil, anything can change at any time. All part of the fun of following his path, I guess!"

Thanks Brian! Our fingers are crossed.

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Winterland Stories

The legendary Winterland Arena in San Francisco, CA has played hosts to hundreds of concerts over the years including the famous "Last Waltz" concert of Bob Dylan and The Band's final performance.

In the spring of 1985, Chris Horn took some photographs of Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA, being torn down. The photos were stored for many years and a project developed toward donating copies to the SF Museum and Historical Society.

In addition to the photos, Chris gathered stories from people who attended performances while Bill Graham put on rock shows at the venue (1966 - 1978).

Presented for your enjoyment - photos, stories, links and a complete list of performers during the Bill Graham years.

Check out Winterland Stories.

Let Chris know what you think of Winterland Stories. Feel free to share your story too. Thanks for your comments!

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Grace Potter and Joe Satriani cover "Cortez the Killer"

A simply awesome cover of "Cortez the Killer" by Grace Potter and Joe Satriani.

Can't say enough about this one as it is absolutely killer and definitely worth the view at maximum volume. Have a rockin' weekend!

More Grace Potter Neil Young covers of Down by The River and Southern Man.

Thanks axebox!

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LINC VOLT and The Archives: What Matters?

"Every step of the way, we have not been alone. Things fall into place like there was a plan. We have now come to see innovation we had never anticipated in all of our dreams, and we are still moving forward." - Neil Young

During all of the excitement over the announcement of the The Archives on Blu-Ray, there was another piece of news which was largely overshadowed: LINC VOLT - Repowering The American Dream.

We have to admit that the furious reaction to the Blu-Ray format left us somewhat bewildered to the point that we have not even had a chance to digest the actual track list as of yet. But we'll leave that for another day.

No, what struck us was this comment from BECAUSE SOUND MATTERS saying that "Linc Volt is more important to planet earth then the Archives are and ever will be."

The comment definitely gave us pause.

Where does one even start? Gas at $4 a gallon? Burning corn for bio-fuels while food riots break out and people around the world starve? Debating whether polar bears are an endangered species while allowing drilling in Alaska? And don't even get us started on blood for oil.

We could go on but the inconvenient truth of Greendale is that we have a job to do.

A few months ago, when Neil responded to his "music can't change the world" comment he said:

"Somewhere on Earth a scientist is alone working. No one knows what he or she is thinking. The secret is just within reach. If I knew that answer I would be singing the song.

This is the age of innovation. Hope matters. But not hope alone. In the age of innovation, the people's fuel must be found. That is the biggest challenge. Who is up to the challenge? Who is searching today? All day. All night. Every hour that goes by. I know I am."

Undoubtably, Neil is trying to make a difference. So while we debate Blu-Rays and track lists and tour sets, etc., here's something to consider from LINC VOLT - Repowering The American Dream:

" Neil Young's Lincoln is experiencing another mechanical rebirth, a conversion to bio diesel; another part of the evolutionary stage. The car is featured on CNN and apparently as a hybrid, they predict that the car will record a remarkable 100 MPG.

Finally, the four wheel electric that people have been asking for for so long has arrived and progress continues in all directions. Neil Young's LincVolt conversion helps move us through the evolution of this new frontier in transportation.

Neil Young's Linc Volt project is inspiring in that it takes a behemoth, gas guzzling automobile, and turns it into an economical hybrid electric car."

Burn your credit card for fuel.

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Harvest Moon Live and Toast Set for Release on July 8

Both Harvest Moon Live and Toast will be released on July 8.

Pre-order Harvest Moon Live on Amazon.com here.

Pre-order Toast on Amazon.com here.

Harvest Moon Live and Toast are no longer listed as available on Amazon.com. No further information available as to why listed and withdrawn. Although it was odd that they were both listed for release the same day?

More on Toast: New Unreleased Crazy Horse Album and Harvest Moon.

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Randomly Blogged: Deja Vu Film, Demme Edits Trunk Show, More Barn Tribute

From Reuters, Deja Vu: CSNY documentary in theaters in July. Theatrical release in 15 cities, with simultaneous nationwide video-on-demand release and, via potential partner Netflix, streaming video. The DVD will be released shortly before the elections through the band's label, Reprise, with HDNet in talks to air the film on the same date. Distribution includes Australia, Europe, Israel, Japan and Latin America.

From Hollywood Reporter, Jonathan Demme is currently editing 'Neil Young Trunk Show,' a new concert film.

Uncut.co.uk - Magazine - CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG interviews:

"The reformed four talk exclusively to Uncut about egomania, debauchery, war and bush babies.

I wondered, reading this month¹s cover story on Crosby, Stills Nash and Young, if there was any other band whose personal animosities have run so deep, for so long, serial reunions over the nigh-on 40 years since they first split, often only brief relief from their ongoing spats, feuds, rowdy blow-ups and name-calling flouncing.

In this issue, we talk to all four of the band about the amnesty they appear to have reached with each other, and how in a grim echo of the Vietnam era during which their career first flourished as standard-bearers of the Woodstock dream of peace, love and understanding, it took another unpopular war and a president as widely loathed as Richard Nixon to bring them back together."

Most UNDER rated Neil Young record?

Culturespill » Neil Young’s “Reactor”: Kicking Against the Pricks


From Slothtrop Music More Barn: A Tribute to Neil Young:

"Three years in the making, Slothtrop Music is proud to announce the Nov. 13 national release of 'More Barn: A Tribute to Neil Young.' This benefit release for the Bridge School of San Francisco, which was founded by Neil Young, is sure to bring attention not only to the cause of the school, but to the diverse artists interpreting Young's work."

Hmmm. Great idea. Maybe someone should issue "More Barn" t-shirts?!

Thanks Jeffry, Simpson, & Doug!

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Being Astrid Young

Between tours and Archives madness, we finally had a chance to read Being Young by Astrid Young. Astrid, Neil Young's half-sister, has written an insightful portrait of Neil that gets behind the persona and in many ways is more revealing than their father, Scott Young’s Neil and Me or Jimmy McDonough's biography Shakey.

Astrid explores the events which shaped their family, drove it apart, and eventually brought all the Youngs back together. One comes away with a much different impression of Neil than the one left by Shakey . In Being Young, we intimately see Neil as a loving husband and father, along with his many other interests such as an environmentalist and anti-war activist.

An excerpt:

The fire crackled. Neil sat down with the Martin across his knee and pulled some strings into chords that became the song "War of Man."

He asked me:
"What would you sing on this part? As a harmony, I mean," and then he went on to sing the chorus, and I'll be damned if I can remember what I did. I know I sang something, but I also know that at that time I was still very shy at the axis of music between us. We were so different, I thought. I didn't think he'd ever relate to me as a musician at all.

"Can you stay a few extra days and do some singing with Nicolette?"

"Sure," I said. "I don't think I have anything going on." At that moment, there was nothing else. Not even the moment itself had sunk in far enough for me to understand the invitation I had just accepted.

So the next day, it happened. And you know, it didn't end up being the scariest moment of my life.

And we should add that Astrid has had a pretty interesting life moving about as a musician, writer and wine expert.

Being Young is available on Amazon.com (you'll be supporting Thrasher's Wheat. Thanks!)

More on Neil's family and friends.

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Cinnamon Girl Benefit CD Update

American Laundromat Records has announced that last year's Cinnamon Girl Benefit CD was the best selling CD release for the label. The CD of Neil Young covers has raised over $20,000 for the breast cancer charity to-date. From a note we received:

We cannot thank you enough for all your continued support. Many people are asking us for a list of the top downloads on itunes. Here's the top 5 downloads:

1. Heart of Gold - Tanya Donelly
2. The Needle and the Damage Done - Lori McKenna
3. Only Love Can Break Your Heart - Amilia K. Spicer
4. Cinnamon Girl - Euro-Trash Girl
5. Ohio - Dala

Thanks Jeffry!

Listen to clip samples on Amazon.com.

More on Cinnamon Girl CD - Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Breast Cancer.

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Photos of Vienna, Austria - 2/22/08

Vienna, Austria - 2/22/08
Photo by Rene Huemer

A great photo gallery from the recent Neil Young Europe tour in Vienna, Austria by Rene Huemer. Rene writes:

i am really happy i got to shoot at the show. we didn´t know until the day of the show. i got a call in the afternoon from the promoters. so you can imagine i was quite excited. once you start to shoot at concerts you soon become an addict and
besides the creative and technical aspect, also some collectors instinct comes alive ;-)

i work as a photographer and along with my other colleagues from different newspapers, we had two songs of neil´s acoustic set and then two songs from his electric set where we had time to take our pictures.

the photo itself was done with a 24-70mm canon lens and a "eos markII n" body (if someone wants to know). of course it is a colorphoto and all i did afterwards was turning it into b/w. there was no cropping, no effects or what so ever involved. so the way it looks, is the way it was shot.

this was my fifth time seeing neil live in concert and lucky me i got tickets for his show in verona this summer..

see you there ;-)

Check out more photos on Rene Huemer Photography (scroll down on bottom left to "Y" to view Neil gallery).

Thanks René!

More on Vienna, Austria - concert reviews.

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Randomly Blogged: Neil's iPod Playlist, EKTIN Cover Wars, The Archives Breakdown

If Neil Young had an iPod what would be on his playlist?

Hidden Track » Cover Wars: Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Hollywood Report - WSJ.com on The archives:

"Larry Johnson, the project's producer, says the first installment is to include about 128 songs, 18 of them never released before. There are to be 200 photographs, 160 lyrics manuscripts and more."

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Colbert Report on Spider Mania

For most us, the big news last week was the Archives on Blu-Ray announcement. But for the rest of the world seemingly, the big news was Neil Young having a spider named after him.

Here's a hilarious send up of the news.




Colbert Report - "Who's Not Honoring Me Now - Science"

Very funny!

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The Archives Turns Fans Blu

Reaction to the Archives news last week continues to pour in.

As we tried to summarize the various opinions on the announcement, it became quickly evident that a lot of folks had very strong feelings on the matter. Some were outraged at Neil for being "elitist" for releasing The Archives in a format that few could afford or even wanted. Others believed that the Blu-Ray format fell into line with Neil's objectives for the past twenty years and should surprise no one.

And another interesting story line is emerging as well. There are those for whom sound does matter and those whom seem unconcerned about quality.

We've followed a number of different discussion threads across the Net and found a couple that are pretty insightful. Over on the Steve Hoffman Music Forums there have been over 500 comments on the announcement. Since the posters tend to be high-end audiophiles, for most, the developments came as welcome news for the embrace of 24 bit/192kHz high resolution audio.

But even on a forum dedicated to the art of musical recording, there was dis-belief at what some see as a marketing disaster in the making.

More surprisingly though (although not actually), is the apparent wide spread appeal of low quality MP3's. Already many are plotting how to rip the Blu-Ray discs to MP3 for their iPods. There are now well over a hundred posts on Neil Young v the MP3 on Guardian Unlimited like this one by IanShuttleworth:

After a lifetime of blarging, you'd think Neil Young would realise that what determines listener satisfaction is not primarily the quality of the release medium, but the quality of the ears. Luckily, I have cheap ears.

Seriously, the rise of the mp3 has demonstrated that the market isn't format-quality-driven. OK, so we repurchased large swathes of our vinyl collections on CD, a masterstroke of marketing, but how often do you get to pull that one? I mean, how often do you repurchase loads of your paperback books in hard covers and printed on better-finished paper? If you've got it, and it's convenient enough and works for you, that's all she wrote. And what the hell, Young's Blu-Ray rarities will be up on the p2p circuit in a flash.

Clearly, what is happening in the technology format preferences debate is breaking down as a generation gap if you will. And maybe this is all obvious and expected. Older, wealthier Neil fans can make the investment and many have a truer appreciation of quality sound. Younger, less well-to-do fans are not as concerned with quality but put higher value on convenience, portability and price (i.e., free).

Sadly, this type of split troubles us and we're sorry to see arguments much like what we went through last fall with the whole uproar over tour ticket prices. (Which incidentally, after all the wailing and moaning, not a SINGLE person wrote and said that they didn't feel like the ticket was worth it.)

But we digress.

All of which brings us back to: do the ends justify the means? Now this is where it gets interesting. There's a long history of format wars and the question of whether content drives technology or vice versa.

Undoubtedly, The Archives will be a major coup for the Blu-Ray format and creates a win-win for Neil. Or does it?

Long time Neil supporter Paul Cashmere asks on Undercover "Has Neil Young Miscalculated His Fan-Base?

Neil Young is making a massive mistake by limiting his forthcoming Archive collection to Blu-Ray.

For someone who has put his audience first for more than 40 years, Young is risking alienation of epic proportions by placing his fan-base below technology.

Young has totally miscalculated his fan-base for what appears to be a business decision. Sure, the technology for what Young wants to do with this is the best. There is no question about that. The trouble is how many Neil Young fans will ever get to hear it?

So, please, come to your senses. Release the Blu-Ray edition of Archives but also make it available for the other 99% of your audience. It should be on CD, it should be available for downloads and if you REALLY want to emulate the original sound, put it out on vinyl.

It is about the audience, not the technology.

So let's go back to what Neil himself has said before in the Shakey biography by Jimmy McDonough:

"Y'know, I don't give a shit whether anybody BUYS it or not. I just wanna do it. And there may only be two hundred copies, signed by me. But it's gonna fuckin' exist. When it's done, people can do whatever the fuck they want, make any fuckin' order they want out of it. But they're gonna have the whole fuckin' thing to choose from. They're not gonna get part of it. Everything-the good, the bad, the ugly.

So you know the difference. Some of it is good, some of it is crap that wasn't released-there's a reason. Take a look, see what it is. That's what a fuckin' archive is about, not "Here's Neil Young in all his wonderfulness-the great, phenomenal fucking wonderfulness." That's not what I want.

I want people to know how fuckin' terrible I was. How scared I was and how great I was. The real picture-that's what I'm looking for. Not a product. And I think that's what the die-hard fans want - the whole fuckin' thing."

Last week Neil said :

'Ten Blu-ray disks doesn't lend itself to P2P,' he pointed out. 'They [the fans] are going to do that anyway - people are going to copy all this music. We don't have to deal with that. All we're doing is supplying the mother-lode, trying to give them quality whether they want it or not. You can degrade it as far as you want, we just don't want our name on it.'

More than just indifference, Young was downright enthusiastic. 'It's up to the masses to distribute it however they want. The laws don't matter at that point. People sharing music in their bedrooms is the new radio.'

And many fans do in fact appreciate and understand what Neil is trying to do with the Archives on Blu-Ray, such as Chicago's comment:

What people don't seem to grasp is the Archives is not just music, pimped with film and memorabilia.

It's Neil's legacy. It's his autobiography. It's his freaking epitaph. This is what scholars will look at someday when they conduct research on popular music.

People just don't get it--that's why he's so obsessed/paranoid/unrelenting with the quality/sound/visuals.

Nevertheless, it is a daunting investment for many of us. Someone in Neil's camp should point him to the latest unemployment stats. People ARE hurting and some of those people are fans. And, I'm one of them.

In the end, I wouldn't be surprised if Reprise will issue a cd/dvd highlights. And don't forget, they are suppose to be available as dvds--not just Blu-ray.

As an aside, to cynically imply that Neil received 'a strong financial incentive' from Blu-Ray is akin to suggesting the reason he favors Martin or Gibson guitars is due to 'a strong financial incentive'. It's the tool needed to do the job. Period.

As for what we're going to do here at Thrasher's Wheat? Well, we're still in the running for the "When Will The Archives Be Released Poll" on Rust ran by Randy back in 1997. We guessed 2001. The other leading contestant "Never". Of course, the "Never" answer may still win!

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