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Sunday, November 17, 2024

Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts: Europe Summer 2025 Concert Tour Planning Underway

Message From Neil
Neil Young Archives - Nov. 15, 2024
 (Click photo to enlarge)

 

It appears that a Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts Europe Summer 2025 concert tour is in the works.

Per a "Message From Neil" posted on Neil Young Archives - Nov. 15, 2024 a tour plan that has already been submitted will be revised again. Instead of touring indoor halls and theaters, Neil Young only wants to perform in open-air arenas. (Thanks RoadDawg Mike!)

"Indoor concerts could be too risky for health reasons and we don't want to have to cancel any concerts next summer for health reasons." 

Neil Young first performed with the "Chrome Hearts" at Farm Aid in September and played two indoor concerts in the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York.

Additional Chrome Hearts concerts never were scheduled despite a tour announcement.

Neil Young only played two concerts with the "Chrome Hearts" in Port Chester,  marking the "beginning of a new era". The band consists of Micah Nelson (guitar), Corey McCormick (bass), Anthony Logerfreo (drums) and Spooner Oldham (keyboards).

Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts  
photo by thrasher


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Thursday, November 14, 2024

The Last 20 Seconds of Neil Young's “Cinnamon Girl” | Recliner Notes

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Rare Neil Young "Cinnamon Girl" 45 RPM Picture Sleeve
Recorded Live at The Fillmore East, New York City, March 7, 1970

  (Click photo to enlarge)

 
"I wanna live with a cinnamon girl
I could be happy the rest of my life
With a cinnamon girl"

Everyone  wants to live with a cinnamon girl so that they can be happy the rest of their life, right?  Who wouldn't?

From The Last 20 Seconds of  Neil Young's “Cinnamon Girl” | Recliner Notes

There is one aspect of “Cinnamon Girl” that remains overlooked: the last 20 seconds.

“Cinnamon Girl” is powered by a riff that launched a thousand ships as countless bands and Young himself have adopted the same crunchy, guitar-based template. A heckler once yelled at Young that all of his songs sounded the same and Young famously responded: “It’s all one song.” There’s a strong argument that “Cinnamon Girl” is in fact that one song, serving as an urtext for grunge and indie rock for generations to come.

Young plays the song in a drop-D tuning, meaning that he starts with a guitar’s standard tuning and lowers the low and high E strings to D notes. Young had employed the tuning before on Buffalo Springfield’s “Mr. Soul,” but it is in “Cinnamon Girl” that he grasps the true power of this technique, providing Young with a low drone, whether heard or implied, that permeates the song with a deep intensity and weight.

The drone is heard plainly at the 2:37 mark of “Cinnamon Girl” as Young and Crazy Horse finish playing the central riff of the song one last time. Young holds the low D after the other guitar and bass fade out. The last 20 seconds of the recorded time of “Cinnamon Girl” acts as the coda of the song. In music theory, a coda is a concluding statement within a song or larger movement. It’s a wrap-up and usually serves as an addition or extension of the principle motif or arrangement of the piece. In this coda, Young plays a flurry of notes by hammering the strings on the fretboard of the guitar to produce the sound rather than using a pick. Over the course of these 20 seconds, he plays 11 different flurries, each a variation on a theme. It’s not the central riff of “Cinnamon Girl” anymore, but this new theme feels connected and even an enhancement on the song’s main riff. This outbreak of notes played by Young in the coda is tumultuous and frenzied and then suddenly finishes as Young lets the sustained drone of the low D ring out. As the drone continues towards its vanishing point, Young hits natural harmonics on the guitar twice just before the song ends, providing a twisted high complement to the drone. 

With that, the music fades out, ending the coda and “Cinnamon Girl.”

Full post @ The Last 20 Seconds of  Neil Young's “Cinnamon Girl” | Recliner Notes.

 

More on Is This The Story of "Cinnamon Girl"?  The Story Behind Neil Young's Iconic Song Revisited


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Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Neil Young's 79th Birthday Today, November 12 - Happy Birthday Neil!!!


Neil Young on his 74th - November 12, 2019
via Instagram

 
UPDATE: Neil says "THANKS!" for the wishes.



***
First off, Neil Young is 79 years young today, November 12. So Happy Birthday Neil!!! 


image via Rusted Moon

 

As noted on Neil Young's 75th birthday, his outstanding moral character can be demonstrated with his efforts for The Bridge School (USA) and Farm Aid (USA), as just two examples.


Neil Young & Bridge Kids
@ Bridge School Benefit Concert 2011
Photo Gallery by By Jay Blakesberg Photography

Farm Aid: The Music Industry’s Longest-Running Philanthropic Concert
Farm Aid executive director CAROLYN MUGAR (center), w/ DAVE MATTHEWS, JOHN MELLENCAMP, WILLIE NELSON and NEIL YOUNG (from left).
2008 - Mansfield, Mass., Photo by Mark O'Stow

We know that Neil Young is a humanitarian rebel with causes.

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Neil Young
MusiCares Person Of The Year - 2010

 

In 2011, Neil Young was honored with the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award at Canada's Juno Awards. The award honors a Canadian artist whose humanitarian contributions have positively enhanced the social fabric of Canada and recognizes Young's compassionate legacy behind events such as Farm Aid, Live 8, and Bridge School Concerts.

As we have noted previously, rarely -- if ever -- has a single artist supported so many causes, for such a sustained period, raising considerable funds and awareness while reaching out to millions and millions around the world. When reviewing a listing of benefit concerts that Neil Young has played over the years, one is struck by the sheer diversity of causes he has supported over his 45+ year career.

One could contend that no other artist has made such an impact on causes involving social justice -- or a better moral character. As we documented in 2010, The Charitable Mr. Neil Young Keeps On Giving & Giving & Giving.

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Neil Young
MusiCares 2010 Person of the Year


In 2010, Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares Person of the Year in Los Angeles, two days before the 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards. An impressive roster of musicians lined up to honor Young which included Booker T. Jones, Jack Black, Jackson Browne, T Bone Burnett, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Sheryl Crow, Everest, Patty Griffin, Josh Groban, Ben Harper, Emmylou Harris, Elton John, Norah Jones, Lady Antebellum, k.d. lang, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Ozomatli, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Leon Russell, James Taylor, Wilco, and Lucinda Williams.

Here is just a partial list of benefit concerts that Neil Young has played over the years that we posted on the Rust list back in 1994. And the diversity of causes is particularly striking. Of course, the two primary beneficiaries of Neil's generosity have been the Bridge School Benefit Concerts and Farm AID. The Bridge School concerts began in 1987 and are to benefit the school for children with severe speech and physical impairments. The Farm Aid concerts began in 1985 and benefit the small American family farm. Farm Aid is the longest running event of its type in music history.

Neil has performed annually for decades at both the Bridge and Farm Aid shows and has raised considerable sums for these causes. The performances at these two annual benefits are well documented.

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The Farm Aid 4
Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Neil Young


You get the idea. He's got a heart of gold.

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Pegi & Neil Young at Bridge 2005 Concert
photo by Craig Abaya



Neil Young Night 
 Tonight's The Night Because Every Night is Neil Night

Happy Birthday Neil Young!!! Long May You Continue To Run & Run.


"Happiness is the valuable commodity and that's what makes life good." 
~~Neil Young 
Photo by Matt Furman for The Wall Street Journal
(Click photo to enlarge)




So Happy Birthday Neil!

Long may you run. It's all just a magical ride. enjoy.

Also, check out Scotsman's 2023 posting on Neil's birthday @ Patreon.


A Neil Young Birthday Tribute
by Ian
 
A MESSAGE FROM NEIL | NYA (on his birthday in 2021) 
 

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Monday, November 11, 2024

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

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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 

 

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".

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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 Album Cover

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)


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Friday, November 08, 2024

Neil Young's Dynamite Tracks #18: Busting out of Jail



From the irrepressible Scotsman on Dynamite Tracks #18: Busting out of Jail:

Bob Dylan said:

“Hearing Elvis for the first time was like busting out of jail.”

Bob’s words ring true. And whether the jail-break is instigated by Elvis Presley or Bob himself, busting out of jail is one of my favourite themes for music... and art in general.

Some music is about wallowing in despair, a comfort food of sorts. I prefer tracks that provoke positive action.

Sun Green is the classic, probably definitive Neil Young song about busting out of jail. A dynamite track not just in its performance, but in its very conception.

On one level, Greendale as a whole is basically the “guidebook to Neil Young”: and Sun Green is the bit where everything reaches boiling point. Obstacles within are demolished, and the spirit reaches its potential. A journey to freedom.

On a more down-to-Earth level, Greendale is about a bunch of very normal people—and a few abnormal ones—living their lives. And because Neil created them all, he’s in all of them.

He’s the curmudgeonly, world-wise Grandpa, but he’s also the ever-youthful Sun Green.

Remember how in the Wizard of Oz the real characters from Dorothy’s life on the farm appear in Oz, but they’re not quite the same? Parallel, but not identical? Greendale is like that:

 In the character of Jed, we see an echo of Danny Whitten. And the track Carmichael tells a vivid story of a grief and mourning that is essentially the 2003 version of Tonight’s the Night.

…not identical, but parallel.

Greendale is not a political album, thank God… nor is it an environmental one. (The excellent final song kicks open the door to an environmental avenue).

It’s an album about living. And of course, there’s a lot of death in it, too. Death adds tension to Greendale, inspiring the survivors to live their lives more fully.

 

Full post @ Scotsman on Dynamite Tracks #18: Busting out of Jail.

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Neil Young & Sun Green
Radio City Music Hall, New York, March 18, 2004

Photo by thrashette

#BeTheRain


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Willie for a Nobel!
#Willie4Nobel

Willie Nelson for Nobel Peace Prize
for Farm Aid and his work on
alternative fuels, and world peace initiatives.

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Farm Aid

Go Farmers Markets!


"In the >field< of opportunity
It's plowin' time again."

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Bands Covering Neil Young songs


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LIVE MUSIC IS BETTER


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Official Neil Young News Site

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The Bridge School


The Bridge School Concerts
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**100% of Proceeds to Benefit Bridge School***

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The Essential Neil Young

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Fans Favorite Neil Albums

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Neil Young Songbook Project

In the fields of wheat

"Children of Destiny" will NOT be harvested
However, the chaff will be burned by unquenchable fire

Neil Young + Promise of the Real

Europe 2016 Tour Dates



2015 Rebel Content Tour


Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Alchemy Concert Tour Reviews

Fall 2012 N. America Tour
Spring 2013 Australia/New Zealand Tour
Summer 2013 Europe Tour

Europe Summer 2014 Concert Tour
Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Thrasher's Wheat Radio Supporters Go To Europe

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Neil Young Films

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2010 MusiCares Honors Neil Young

Features Elvis Costello, Crosby Stills & Nash, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, Ben Harper, Elton John, Norah Jones, Lady Antebellum, Dave Matthews, James Taylor, Keith Urban, and others.
Proceeds from sales go to MusiCares,
which helps musicians in need of
financial and medical assistance.

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"There's more to the picture
Than meets the eye"

#BigShift

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Neil Young FAQ:
Everything Left to Know About the Iconic and Mercurial Rocker
"an indispensable reference"

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Paul McCartney and Neil Young

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"You can make a difference
If you really a try"

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John Lennon and Neil Young


"hailed by fans as a wonderful read"

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young:
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The Supergroup of the 20th Century



Director Jonathan Demme's Exquisite film "Heart of Gold"

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Eddie Vedder and Neil Young

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Revisiting The Significance of
The Buffalo Springfield


"The revolution will not be televised"
... it will be blogged, streamed,
tweeted, shared and liked
The Embarrassment of Mainstream Media

Turn Off Your TV & Have A Life


"Everything Is Bullshit" +
"Turn Off The News"
Turn Off the News (Build a Garden)


Neil Young 2016 Year in Review:
The Year of The Wheat

Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain and Neil Young

Neil Young's Feedback:
An Acquired Taste?

Young Neil: The Sugar Mountain Years
by Rustie Sharry "Keepin' Jive Alive in T.O." Wilson

"the definitive source of Neil Young's formative childhood years in Canada"

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Joni Mitchell & Neil Young

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Bob and Neil

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So Who Really Was "The Godfather of Grunge"?


Four Dead in Ohio
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So What Really Happened at Kent State?


The Four Dead in Ohio



May The FOUR Be With You #MayThe4thBeWithYou

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dissent is not treason
Dissent is the highest form of patriotism

Rockin' In The Free World



Sing Truth to Power!
When Neil Young Speaks Truth To Power,
The World Listens

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Emmylou Harris and Neil Young

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Wilco and Neil Young

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Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young

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Elton John and Neil Young

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Lynyrd Skynyrd and Neil Young

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The Meaning of "Sweet Home Alabama" Lyrics


Neil Young Nation -
"The definitive Neil Young fan book"

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"Powderfinger"
What does the song mean?

Random Neil Young Link of the Moment
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Bonnie Raitt and Neil Young

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I'm Proud to Be A Union Man

UNITED WE STAND/DIVIDED WE FALL


When Neil Young is Playing,
You Shut the Fuck Up


Class War:
They Started It and We'll Finish It...
peacefully

A battle raged on the open page...
No Fear, No Surrender. Courage
WE WON'T BACK DOWN. NEVER STAND DOWN.

"What if Al Qaeda blew up the levees?"
Full Disclousre Now


"I've Got The Revolution Blues"

Willie Nelson & Neil Young
Willie Nelson for Nobel Peace Prize



John Mellencamp:
Why Willie Deserves a Nobel

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BOYCOTT HATE

Love and Only Love

"Thinking about what a friend had said,
I was hoping it was a lie"


We're All On
A Journey Through the Past

Neil Young's Moon Songs
Tell Us The F'n TRUTH
(we can handle it... try us)

Freedom:
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Does Anything Else Really Matter?

"Nobody's free until everybody's free."
~~ Fannie Lou Hamer

Here Comes "The Big Shift"
#BigShift

Maybe everything you think you know is wrong? NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS
"It's all illusion anyway."

Propaganda = Mind Control
NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS
Guess what?
"Symbols Rule the World, not Words or Laws."
... and symbolism will be their downfall...

Brighter Planet's 350 Challenge
Be The Rain, Be The Change

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the truth will set you free
This Machine Kills Fascists


"Children of Destiny" - THE Part of THE Solution

(Frame from Official Music Video)

war is not the answer
yet we are
Still Living With War

"greed is NOT good"
Hey Big Brother!
Stop Spying On Us!
Civic Duty Is Not Terrorism

The Achilles Heel
#NullifyNSA
Orwell (and Grandpa) Was Right
“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery.”
~~ Bob Marley

The Essence of "The Doubters"



Yes, There's Definitely A Hole in The Sky


Even Though The Music Died 50+ Years Ago
,
Open Up the "Tired Eyes" & Wake up!
"consciousness is near"
What's So Funny About
Peace, Love, & Understanding & Music?

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Show Me A Sign

"Who is John Galt?"
To ask the question is to know the answer

"Whosoever shall give up his liberty for a temporary security
deserves neither liberty nor safety."

~~ Benjamin Franklin

Words

(Between the lines of age)


And in the end, the love you take
Is equal to the love you make

~~ John & Paul

the zen of neil
the power of rust
the karma of the wheat

~Om-Shanti.

Namaste