Got your attention, men. I thought so.
Woody Haut today reviewed a book by Richard Lange called DEAD BOYS. In it, he quoted a passage where the author wrote about how deadbeat men gravitate toward Neil Young.
It has been my experience that most men/boys identify with Mr. Young's music. Do you? And if so, what is it about him? Explain it to someone who has spent a lot of time listening to him and saying, "Huh?"
22 comments:
When I was much younger than I am today, say 1970s, I thought Neil Young was God. Not so much anymore...not even close. In fact, I'd dare say I fell out of love with Neil Young in the later 70s as a result of the punks. I think what made me leave the Young flock was what I perceived as pointless jamming...noise for noise sake. And I have nothing against noise...it just didn't grab me when it came from Young.
However, I do like the acoustic/more countrified Young that has shown flashes over the past ten years. Not enough to idolize him like I did at one time...but enough to appreciate him again.
Whew! I am not a dead beat. His music is ok and I get it but I don't particularly identify with it. Except for 4 dead in Ohio.
So it was more about the music than the lyrics. And that's exactly when I stopped listening to most rock music. When it became all about riffs and twanging sounds.
I couldn't pick Neil Young out of a lineup, physically or musically. That says more about my strange adolescence than anything else. I got involved in the school jazz band and didn;t discover rock until I was in my thirties, and never acquired much of a taste for it, outside of groups that show their R&B influence, like The Who.
I'll listen to Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Rich, and Tower of Power all day, though.
In Neil Young interviews I've heard, Young calls his voice, "An acquired taste." I own a couple of his GREATEST HITS CDs and a concert CD. Neil Young is a gifted musician. You can hear him sizzle on the latest Booker-T CD, POTATO HOLE.
I have to admit, over the years I have developed more of a tolerance than I had in the early days. I think his voice does require getting used to--like olives or red wine.
I always thought Neil Young sounded strangely like Jerry Lewis on acid.
I'm a self confessed Rockfiend (even if I find my ears tuned more into Country and Folk as of late) and while there are a few Neil Young tunes that I like, he's like the beatles to me, I'm just not drawn to the music. I'd rather listen a whole host of others.
I like a fair amount of Neil Young, although he's a bit on the soft side of rock for me. One song I don't like is "Southern man," where he preaches at us. My wife likes him more than I do.
The point the narrator in Lange's story was making was that male junkies, and not just deadbeat men, have a jones for Neil, most likely because of wounded voice and blinkered vulnerability. Myself, I still have a soft spot for him, but can't say I've listened to him all that much over the years. Though the other night I was playing music with some friends, and someone suggested we play Young's Only Love Can Break Your Heart. I couldn't but think of Lange's story. Still, I have to admit the tune has been haunting me ever since.
cheers,
Woody
Honestly, most of the deadbeat men I've known cared more about Pamela Anderson than Neil Young.
Interesting note: my wife is the Young fan while I am the casual fan. We saw him play an acoustic concert, surrounded by about a dozen guitars, organ, and wurlitzer. Great show but he's not one of my favorites.
I agree with Tribe about the pointless jamming that afflicted Young after a certain point in his career...but for me there's still real power in much of his bitterly melancholy songs. Spiritually I am a deadbeat, always have been and always will be and maybe that's why I still identify with Young.
Okay now ONLY LOVE CAN BREAK A HEART will finally take the place of The Wiggles, "Fruit Salad. (Yummy, Yummy) Thanks.
Joe-she was just meant to get your attention. But I guess she did.
Scott-I almost get that more because he is very touching.
Ed-Bitterness and melancholia get to us every time. And I do see it in your writing.
Yep. You got mine.
Young has had his ups and downs (most of the 80s, for instance), but he's been a fierce and original force in rock music for more than 40 years. Think of anyone you like right now who's come along in the past ten years. The White Stripes? Arcade Fire? Or, god forbid, today's pop tarts. Think they'll be around and making music worth hearing in 40 years?
Michael-just what my sons says.
Neil Young's Harvest Moon is one fine album. He's written some great love songs to his wife Peggy. He says that his best band to play with is Crazy Horse, and he's right. "Powderfinger", "Hey Hey, My My", "Cinnamon Girl" "After the Goldrush"-- all great songs on Live Rust with Crazy Horse. Where Young is weakest is his Kent State dribble (he's criticizes Nixon but does a RS interview in 1984 and praises Reagan, WTF!), "Southern Man" (Young needed to listen to Randy Newman's "Rednecks" ), "Rock in the Free World", and that other jingoistic one about 9-11, "Let's Roll" or some crap like that. Ugh! Artists should stay away from politics. The only overtly political art that ever worked for me was Gurnica by Picasso, otherwise you have to approach the subject like Newman in Good 'Ol Boys, a stellar album by the way...
good blog question; great lead photo!
pd
You are getting a lot of attention on the Neil Young question. However, your threshold comment (coupled with the image--no pun intended), might say something more about one of your previous posts in which you pondered what it is about blogs that attracts readers and comments. If you had posted a photo of Neil Young, would you have gotten similar traffic with people delving into the posting itself? Just something to ponder.
Now, as for Neil Young, he remains a part of my past (and much of that remains a singular blur--especially the 60s and 70s (but that's another story)--but your question about Young does bring to mind a curious phenomenon: People now in their 50s and 60s are gobbling up tickets to concerts featuring long-in-the-tooth performers from the 60s and 70s, almost as if these middle-aged rockers are unwilling to let go of the past (or unwilling to embrace the music of the present); Neil Young and others like him have become something like the Lawrence Welk and big band revival phenomenon that so mesmerized an earlier generation.
Well, those are just some random thoughts and observations. And for whatever it is all worth, rock on!
I looked long and hard for a picture of Neil Young reading but came up empty. Getting pics of any musicians reading is hard.
A few years ago, I saw Neil Young in Michigan doing his Greensville(?) concert. Did not leave a favorable opinion with me. But I did admire his nerve.
P.D.-who are you?
I never much cared for Neil Young's music.
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