Neil Young
Neil Young, Margo Price, Dave Matthews and More to Play Farm Aid 2020
Willie Nelson, Margo Price, Dave Matthews, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and more will be ringing in Farm Aid’s 35th anniversary with a special virtual livestream concert to bring awareness to farmers around the U.S. and the continuous struggles they face, especially during the current pandemic. “This pandemic and so many other challenges have revealed how essential family farmers and ranchers are to the future of our planet,” Farm Aid founder Willie Nelson said in a statement. “Farm Aid 2020 is going to give the whole country a chance to learn about the important work of farmers and how they’re contributing to our well-being, beyond bringing us good food.” Matthews, who is a Farm Aid board member, talked about the importance of the farming community, emphasizing that their voices shoul...
The 25 Best Soundtrack Albums of the 1990s
In the 1980s, music and film collided for cross-promotional blockbusters both transcendent (Purple Rain) and transcendently cheesy (Footloose). In the ‘90s, soundtracks continued to sell in the millions, capturing cultural moments like the Seattle grunge of Singles or the Britpop and electronica of Trainspotting. Auteurs like Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson reached deep into their record collections to set the mood while movies like Above the Rim and Menace II Society pioneered the concept of soundtracks as hip-hop mixtapes. A great soundtrack can propel an unsuccessful single, like Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose,” to the top of the charts, or revive a decades-old hit, like Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It can also push a cult singer-songwriter like Elliott Smith or Aimee Mann to an Oscar perf...
Neil Young Shares Cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘The Times They-Are-A-Changin’
Neil Young hasn’t dropped a Fireside Sessions livestream in a while, but he did share a remanent from the past. On the July 1 stream, which featured songs like “Alabama,” “Campaigner” and the recently released “Lookin’ for a Leader 2020,” Young has now released another song from that “Porch Episode.” Young has been covered Bob Dylan in the past, but this was only the second time that he performed “The Times They-Are-A-Changin,’” with the only prior time being According to Young’s Neil Young Archives website, the session was recorded on June 23 and was produced by Young and Niko Bolas, who are billed as the Volume Dealers. You can listen to Young’s cover here. This is the latest release in what’s been a busy year for Young. He recently announced that he’d be dusting off thr...
Neil Young Announces Three New Archival Releases
It’s been quite a year for Neil Young. Between his battles with Trump, Fireside Sessions and everything else, it’s hard to see how he’s had time to do anything else. Yet, Young has three new archival projects on the way, due out later this year. Way Down in the Rust Bucket will chronicle Young and Crazy Horse’s gig at Santa Cruz’s Catalyst Club in November 1990, around the time of Ragged Glory. Young has previously aired snippets from the show on his site, and he’s also planning to release a live set from 2003’s Greendale tour on Nov. 6. Hardcore fans will be pleased to learn that Young is finally ready to release Neil Young Archives Vol. 2 on Nov. 6 as well. The box will pick up where Vol. 1 left off when it was released in 2009. “In these days, l...
Neil Young Says He’s Spending $20,000 to Remove Facebook and Google From Website
A week after filing a lawsuit against President Donald Trump for copyright infringement, Neil Young is addressing a potential problem. On Tuesday, an email (which was obtained by SPIN) was sent to Neil Young Archives members detailing Young’s decision to disengage Google and Facebook from his website. “Facebook knowingly allows untruths and lies in its political ads to circulate on the platform, while bots sow discord among users,” the statement reads in part. “Sowing dissent and chaos in our country via political disinformation is something we cannot condone. Simply put, Facebook is screwing with our election.” Young’s gripes with Facebook go back years, and he’s been outspoken about the social network. The statement notes that it will cost “almost $20,000 to disen...
Neil Young Sues Trump Campaign for Copyright Infringement
Over a week after writing that he’s “reconsidering” legal action, it looks like Neil Young is suing the Trump campaign. On his Neil Young Archives website on Tuesday morning, Young posted what appears to be a draft of a lawsuit that claims the Trump campaign did not have a proper license to play two of his songs: “Rockin’ in the Free World” and “Devil’s Sidewalk.” “Plaintiff in good conscience cannot allow his music to be used as a ‘theme song’ for a divisive, un-American campaign of ignorance and hate,” reads the suit, that will be filed in the Southern District of New York. Young’s attorney confirmed to SPIN that the suit has been filed. We also reached out to the Trump campaign for further comment. The d...
Neil Young Rips Trump in New Version of ‘Lookin’ for a Leader’
Neil Young hasn’t held back from unleashing his anger on President Donald Trump in recent weeks. First, there were tweets, then several letters, and now, an updated version of a fiery song. The Godfather of Grunge released a new version of “Lookin’ for a Leader,” a track that, in its original form, appeared on 2006’s Living With War. At the time, that record was a sharp rebuke of the George W. Bush administration. Now, well, it seems pretty obvious who he’s targeting. The song praises Barack Obama and the Black Lives Matter movement, urges Americans to get out and vote, and expresses hope that change is around the corner. A video for the song was directed by Daryl Hannah. You can watch the clip here on Young’s website. The lyrics for the song were posted here. On Monday, Young wrote i...
Robby Krieger Explores Jazz for His Upcoming Solo Project, But With ‘a Little Zappa, a Little Doors’
The album — the guitarist’s first in a decade — will arrive Aug. 14. One of Neil Young’s best-known lyrics — “It’s better to burn out than to fade away” — can be applied to numerous casualties of ’60s rock n’ roll. Yet despite the turmoil he has experienced over his career, Doors guitarist Robby Krieger has neither burned out nor faded away. Krieger wrote some of The Doors’ best songs, including “Light My Fire,” “Love Me Two Times,” “Touch Me” and “Love Her Madly.” And for the past 10 years, he has written jazz, blues and rock music from his home studio; guested on other people’s albums; formed the charity Art for a Cause to sell prints of his colorful paintings; and performed both Doors tunes and his solo material on tour. Now, a decade since his last album, ...
Neil Young Writes Open Letter to Donald Trump Following Mt Rushmore Rally
Ahead of a speech at Mt. Rushmore, President Donald Trump played several of Neil Young’s songs, including “Rockin’ in the Free World” before and after he left the stage. Neil Young, as you might imagine, wasn’t happy about it. Now, Young has written another open letter to Trump, which was posted on his Neil Young Archives site. “Although I have repeatedly asked you to please not use my music because it indicates that I support your agenda, you have always played my songs anyway at your gatherings, with no regard for my rights, even calling me names on twitter,” Young wrote. “Because you are in charge of the Covid 19 response here in the USA, I will not sue you, (as certainly is my right) potentially distracting from your important work at hand protecting and saving American lives,” he cont...
Neil Young Denounces Use of ‘Rockin in the Free World’ Ahead of Trump Speech
President Donald Trump had a speech scheduled at Mt. Rushmore ahead of the 4th of July holiday. At the event, Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” “Like a Hurricane” and “Cowgirl in the Sand” were blaring over the speakers. Needless to say, Young was none-too-pleased. “This is NOT ok with me…” a tweet from Young read (Neil Young Archives is his official account). He also said that he stood with Lakota Sioux, who have said that Mt. Rushmore is carved into an area that is considered sacred land. If that wasn’t enough, Trump ended up playing “Rockin’ in the Free World” as he walked off stage, which is a move that is likely to get Young to respond again. Young is the latest musician to denounce the Trump campaign’s use of their music. In May, the Village People’s Victor Willis denoun...
Dave Grohl, Neil Young, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga and More Send Letter to Congress in Support of Independent Venues
Dave Grohl, Neil Young, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga led a group of artists urging Congress to send aid and to answer the National Independent Venue Association’s request for government assistance. Overall, over 600 musicians and comedians signed the letter. These venues asking for support have been hit especially hard by the coronavirus pandemic. “Independent venues give artists their start, often as the first stage most of us have played on. These venues were the first to close and will be the last to reopen,” the letter began. “These venues were the first to close and will be the last to reopen. With zero revenue and the overwhelming overhead of rent, mortgage, utilities, taxes and insurance, 90% of independent venues report that if the shutdown lasts six months and there’s no federal ...
Neil Young Shares ‘Vacancy’ From Upcoming Homegrown Archival Release
Next week, Neil Young’s long-awaited (and it’s long-awaited) Homegrown album that he recorded in 1974 will finally be released. Young previously shared “Try” from the album that he once considered way too personal to release. That song featured Levon Helm and EmmyLou Harris. Today, he’s shared another tune from the collection. “Vacancy” is a stompy rocker that is more accustomed to the impending era with Crazy Horse that would come to define the latter part of the ’70s that is sharply reflected on Live Rust. This tune would have been at home on that collection. Though he hasn’t released one in a few weeks, Young has been active during the quarantine. He’s shared five Fireside Sessions livestreams, including the last one that featured guest appearances by ...
