INTERVIEW: Tim Pope, Video Director on Neil Young, More

Tim Pope: ‘I Shoot Rock Stars’(Click photo to enlarge)

Tim Pope caught the video wave in 1981 and made hundreds of promotional clips, often three or four a week, edited at night and on-air days later, including videos for Neil Young.

For 15 years he was the man to call – inventive, caffeinated, risk-loving, clubbable – and “nothing was too mad or stupid”. He celebrates that magic age of big budgets and creative freedom in his story-filled memoir ‘I Shoot Rock Stars’, just out, and looks back @:

 

… Neil Young’s 2,000-acre Broken Arrow Ranch and the “burning fires of his eyes”

 

Taken by producer Bobbie Bray in Pearblossom, California. Pope is waking Young up on set with a broom he grabbed on the spur of the moment

Tim Pope on Neil Young's ranch @ ~~ 14:22 

More on Tim Pope @

• Tim Pope: Neil Young Music Video Director | PODCAST by Adam Buxton
• Tim Pope: Making "Wonderin'" Video with Neil Young
• Making of "Touch the Night" Music Video by Tim Pope
• "People On The Street" ‏Music Video by Neil Young; Director - Tim Pope
• FILM PREMIERE: Neil Young Solo - London 2008 | NYA (directed by Tim Pope)
•  MUSIC VIDEO: "Weight Of The World" by Neil Young, Directed by Tim Pope

Frames from Neil Young music video "Wonderin'", 1983

Director Tim Pope

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Shirt of the Moment: "Brother Alan in Seattle"

"Brother Alan in Seattle"

As we continue our Journey Through The Past, Present and Future, it makes us greatly appreciate how much time fades away so quickly.

Our Thrasher's Wheat 30th Anniversary Shirt of the Moment is from "Brother Alan in Seattle".

As so many of you know,  our "Brother Alan in Seattle" really needs no introduction. To say that our "Brother Alan in Seattle" is a prolific commenter here at TW would be a vast understatement.  A true music lover, consumer and concert goer to the utmost degree. We'll always treasure our pilgrimage out to Seattle to hang out with our "Brother Alan".

w/ "Brother Alan in Seattle" - 2023

We should note also that Alan has contributed quite a bit of original, exclusive content to TW for which we're quite grateful. For example:

• Brother Alan in Seattle Goes to Neil Young w/ Crazy Horse in San Diego - April 25, 2024 
• CONCERT REPORT: The Third Mind @ Tractor Tavern, Seattle, WA - 3/14/26
• A Tribute to Mark Lanegan: 1964 - 2022
• CONCERT REPORT: Particle Kid @ Sunset Tavern, Seattle, WA - Feb 6, 2026

If you love music, and you're out in Seattle look him up.  He'll be glad to show you the Seattle sounds.

It's just a hippie dream, so let your freak flag fly & don't be denied! 

peace & love,

thrasher & thrashette

ps - so send us your photo flying the colors and we just might post it @ thrasher@thrasherswheat.org

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

"Second Song" VideoNeil Young & The Chrome Hearts Reaction to Neil Young's release of a video for "Second Song," from his upcoming album with The Chrome Hearts has been nearly universally praised by fans and the music press thus far.

For so many, the nostalgia of the Broken Arrow Ranch in Northern California is viscerally breathtaking. The video shot by Rick Rosas (AKA Rick "The Bass Player") on a drive into the ranch is simultaneously uplifting yet heartbreaking.

With that background, Neil's understated song melody, instrumentation and lyrics combine to bring some to smile, some to cry and everyone to wonder ... thrashers included.

Which brings us to a very special Comment of the Moment by Dan Swan.  

As you may recall, Dan has been on a sabbatical -- so to speak  -- from Thrasher's Wheat for awhile.  Often a thoughtful commenter, his words here have been missed.  His return -- for us -- is like the swallows of Capistrano.

Here is the TW Comment of the Moment on VIDEO: "Second Song" | Neil Young Archives by Dan:

I have been away for a really long time here. The reasons are multilayered and difficult to summarize here. But I couldn’t possibly not post about this new song from Neil.

My first reaction was an unmistakable feeling of comfort and reassurance. I fell under the spell of a road trip out to Neil’s ranch. Now; I don’t typically like music videos, but I make an exception in this case, because it truly serves the song. But as usual with Neil, the lyrics are really the focus here.

Neil has always had this tendency to write lyrics that feel more like a stream of consciousness, rather than a specific thing. In this case it plays to the strength of the musical tone of this song.

What it created here for me was a sense of nostalgia and purpose. Combining both without contradicting either one. Yet at the end of the song there’s a message that may seem contradictory. I’m not sure how else to explain it really. It may well be the point of the song to be unresolved in the end. Or perhaps just an open question left for each person to ponder.

All I know for sure is this Second Song affected me in a most profound way. I was drawn into that world, and it touched my spirit in an unexpected way. I felt his presence within the song. It wasn’t just him singing it, he was literally inside of it. And I was privileged enough to be invited in on his journey.

I was transported out of my current situation and spent just over eleven minutes somewhere I wish I could take up permanent residence. A place where perfect is a myth, and possibilities are infinite.

The word masterpiece has become a cliche. But if such a thing is still possible….this would be it.

Peace to All 🙏

Hey Dan, great to hear from you.

Especially for this new song from Neil.  You're right, the video of the drive into Broken Arrow ranch so captures the essence. The vibe. The whole feel of ranch world.

Rick Rosas film comes from the past.

Into the present.

Taking us to future.
Alchemy baby.

Welcome back Dan.

More reaction to  VIDEO: "Second Song" | Neil Young Archives.

Rick Rosas: 1949 - 2014

Liverpool, England - July 13, 2014

Photo by Paolo Brillo

And more on  Rick Rosas (AKA Rick "The Bass Player"): 1949 - 2014

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Shirt(s) of the Moment: California Coastal Dreamin'

Terry & Martin: California Coastal Dreamin' (Click photo to enlarge)

As we continue our Journey Through The Past, Present and Future, it makes us greatly appreciate how much time fades away so quickly.

Our Thrasher's Wheat 30th Anniversary Shirt(s) of the Moment are from Teri & Martin doing some  California Coastal Dreamin'.

As so many of you know,  Terry & Martin are concert animals.  Always at the venue early, always up front, always on their feet.  Always rockin' out to the music and scene.  Truly legend and always a joy to hang with.

Blossom Music Center @ Cuyahoga Falls - August 15, 2025

Farm Aid 2024 

Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) - Sept. 21, 2024

So see you guys down front soon ... Farm Aid 2026 in Virginia Beach, our hometown.

It's just a hippie dream, so let your freak flag fly & don't be denied! 

peace & love,

thrasher & thrashette

ps - so send us your photo flying the colors and we just might post it @ thrasher@thrasherswheat.org

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VIDEO: "Second Song" | Neil Young Archives

Second Song | Neil Young Archives
 (Click photo to enlarge)

The title track of Neil Young's upcoming album with The Chrome Hearts, "Second Song," now has an official music video release. 

The video is shot by Rick Rosas (AKA Rick "The Bass Player") on a drive into the Broken Arrow Ranch in Northern California.  It's unclear when the film was was shot, but the best estimate is sometime around 1990 when Rick was driving into record at the ranch studio. 

"Second Song" album will be released on September 18, 2026. 

More on Neil Young Announces New Album: 'Second Song'.

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T-Shirt of the Moment: Deep in The Heartland

Our Man John @

"a very famous building in the heart of Chicago, visited by billions & billions of locals & tourists"

 (Click photo to enlarge)
As we continue our Journey Through The Past, Present and Future, it makes us greatly appreciate how much time fades away so quickly.

Our Thrasher's Wheat 30th Anniversary T-Shirt of the Moment is from deep in The Heartland by John in Chicago,  "the city where a mild mannered reporter for a daily metropolitan newspaper ekes out a meager existence."

As so many of you know, John has contributed a number of articles to TW over the years -- all of which have been properly compensated with our standard writing fees. As to say pretty much zero, aside from a beer or 2 along the way.

w/ Reporter John, Minneapolis, Minnesota - Sept. 20, 2025 

Farm Aid 2025 Report: Forty Days and Forty Nights and Forty Years

photo by thrashette

More TW contributions by John Kwit, our Music Correspondent via Chicago:

• Concert Report: Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts - Chicago, Milwaukee and the One That Got Away - August 27, 2025 
• CSNY Family Weekend Featuring The Our House Band and Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuel 
• EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Neil Young Reveals  Summer 2026 Tour Plans - April 1, 2026
• Undressing Rock & Roll's Most Famous Cover-Up: Stephen & Neil’s Shared Sweater (Serape/Poncho)
• Gentle Request From A Beleaguered Neil Young Fan

So thanks for the memories, support, articles and beer John! Long may you run...

It's just a hippie dream, so let your freak flag fly & don't be denied! 

peace & love,

thrasher & thrashette

ps - so send us your photo flying the colors and we just might post it @ thrasher@thrasherswheat.org

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