Neil Young - The Monsanto Years - out on 16 June 2015

I'm going to have to see how this stuff sounds in the studio before I jump to any conclusions. One thing is for certain, Neil's stuff is always recorded well. No bad DR values.

 

There is a point when an artist releasing albums that don't inspire many anymore is really no different than me releasing an album on iTunes that isn't going to inspire many either. At this point the fact that anyone would care so deeply about what Neil Young is currently doing only does so because of what Neil Young once did.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teen_Babes_from_Monsanto

 

I wouldn't compare Lulu or The Raven by Lou Reed to anything NY. Those albums are ambitious and a lot of preparation and hard work went into them even if you don't like them. They were not quickly dashed off like most NY albums.

But it's personal too. Have developed a real dislike för NY as a person.

 

Wouldn't drug use negate the the benefits of Neil eating non GMO and organic foods?

 

Sure I want Archives Vol. II and all the other promised releases. But hell, I will pickup what Neil puts down.

 

While I don't particularly enjoy Neil's preachy political songs, I see nothing wrong with him addressing and questioning the dangers of GMOs. The reason it becomes political is because our government has empowered and stimulated production of GMO crops and allowed Monsanto to conduct their own testing, which may or may not be biased.

 

This reminds me. I remember a stand-up comedian years ago--I forgot who, but it was on a late night TV show, maybe Carson--poking fun at the California celebrity lifestyle where "they do cocaine all night-long, but then get up in the morning and jog and health food all day."

 

depends on which drug, i suppose. nothing wrong with a little herbage.

 

This is precisely why the issue is so confusing .The government does all sorts of stupid things, like preach about the dangers of smoking tobacco, make it illegal (and subject to fines) to smoke in most public places, and fund anti-smoking crusades---all the while subsidizing tobacco farmers in the states where tobacco is a huge cash crop. And then they count on a percentage of the population to keep smoking in order to reap the revenue the highly-taxed cigarettes bring into the government coffers (coughers?).

 

you know, i mostly agree that neil's prime years are behind him, but as far as i can tell he's not doing anything radically different than he's always done. he has always written and recorded in the blink of an eye. some of his "greatest" (highly subjective, of course) songs are like that. "like a hurricane", anyone??

it really seems that you have an axe to grind with neil these days. no big deal though, ol' neil don't need you around anyhow.

 

Well, maybe you should talk to him about it next time you're at his house.

 

I agree--and I was getting ready to comment-that some of Neil's best work was immediate, and was done quickly in a tossed-off "let's let the chips fall where they may" attitude. But things change as you get older, and there are many things a younger person can do "in the blink of an eye" that require preparation , consideration and time for an older person. And sometimes with artists, the Muse isn't always on call 24-hours a day, and perhaps because Neil Young got away with being spontaneous (and good)for so long, he thinks the very nature of his spontaneity will continue to carry the day....

 

Spontaneous used to work for NY, but he clearly doesn't have the inspiration or mental capacities to pull that off anymore.
I get where you're coming from, you probably discovered NY a few years ago and find him fascinating. But that blinkered, elitist attitude that you display is typical of a certain strain of NY fans and it's really off-putting. The kind of fans that will defend and celebrate whatever Neil puts on the market - next time probably a bag of organic poo. Stroke of genius. Innaresting. Enjoy.

 

Archives II?

What the hell ever happened to Decade II? ...

 

Hey. A new Neil Young album...

So... I will do what I always have for Neil.

I will give it a serious listen and either be :

Astounded

Mildly impressed

Luke warm

Indifferent

Bemused

Perplexed and Confused

Pissed off


Those are your potential choices when you patronize an artist and Neil....love him or hate him..is truly an artist ...

 

I

I've always thought that Decade II was all we Neil Young fans ever really wanted. Followed by Decade III, Decade IV and Decade V. In other words, we would have been happy with anthologies -of ten-year increments- of the best of his released tracks--along with some well-chosen, key ,unreleased songs following the blue-print of the first, excellent Decade from 1977., How the project morphed into Archives--basically a reiteration of his released albums with a few rare tracks and mixes, and juvenilia ( The Squire tracks are historical, but non-essential) we'll never know....

 

yeah, no. i discovered neil young in 1989 via my mom's cassette of "freedom". i don't celebrate, or even enjoy, everything the man has done. but my point stands....he is still doing the same thing he has always been doing.

anywho, i thought you were done here?

 

not related to this thread, but here is neil and a bunch of other folks from last night. dare i say....dude still brings it live.

 

As I said, enjoy. The ever diminishing results of NY doing what he always did means I'm out of here, definitely

 

yeah, let's see if you mean it this time. i'm glad you stuck around long enough to play armchair psychologist regarding my neil young fandom. that was nice.

 

You're welcome. Hope it helps.

 

I thought Dino77's commentary was quite astute, actually. I await my insult.

 

never met him so I couldn't say either way

 

Exactly. That was really all I really wanted or needed. I recently read an old Rolling Stone article from quite a few years back where Neil made a point of mentioning Decade II and how well it was progressing.

I actually bought the CD (not blue ray) version of Archives when Borders was going out of business as it was considerably marked down.....and they honored my 50% off coupon, so I got it practically for a song...just so I could have the Squires stuff.

Haven't listened to The Squires stuff much since. But still there is a single, tingling OCD neuron somewhere in my brain that is nevertheless, happy that I own them ..

So it goes ....