Neil Young hangs up on reporter, insists he use Pono

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Fastnbulbous, Jul 4, 2016.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Fastnbulbous

    Fastnbulbous Doubleplus Ungood Thread Starter

    Location:
    Washington DC USA
    I found this at once comical and tragic. If this is Neil's idea of promoting a new album, he's going to have a bad time.
    Newsweek: Neil Young Hung Up on Me

    "Neil is going to ask you if you've listened to the album on Pono," I had been warned. I needed to have an answer. That answer needed to be yes.

    Neil Young was preparing to release his bonkers new live album, Earth. I was preparing to interview Young, ostensibly about Earth, the album and (perhaps) the planet. And, just as urgently, I was preparing to listen to Earth on the format Young required of me: Pono, the extremely high-resolution, "no-compromise" portable music player he's been developing for half a decade.
    ---
    Since I don't own a PonoPlayer—the price tag is somewhere in the range of $399—Warner Bros. Records invited me to spend a few hours at its headquarters listening to Earth on a Pono device there. “Just so you know, it's 97 minutes long,” a rep warned me, in a voice you might use to talk about an invasive dental procedure. Instead, I wound up receiving a loaner PonoPlayer and high-resolution headphones in the mail from Young’s manager’s office.
    ---
    When I steered the conversation towards Young's new album, I found that I was the one being questioned. "You've done many, many live albums before," I observed. "What was it about this tour that you wanted to document with a double album?"

    "Have you heard the record?" Young responded.

    "Yes, I've been listening to it on—"

    Before I could get out the word "Pono," Young shot back: "Have you heard the whole record?”

    “Mmm-hmm.”

    “Have you listened to it all the way through, from the beginning to the end?"

    "Yes, I have,” I answered.

    I briefly wondered whether there was a hidden message within the endless 28-minute recording of "Love and Only Love" that, when played backwards, would have answered my question perfectly.
    ---
    Then Young turned my attention to the vocals on the record. I let him direct the interview toward subjects he wanted to discuss. But his responses remained somewhat terse.

    Young: On some of the songs, you may have noticed some additional vocals. Did you hear those?
    Me: I did. Some vocals sounded like they were being fed through a processor or some sort of effect.
    Young: Umm. I'm just trying to think of which ones would be like that. Certain words were [put through] processors. Words like "GMO”?
    Me: Mmm-hmm.
    Young: Yeah. They were processed. Like GMOs are.
    Me: Those were overdubs that you added later?
    Young: Those were, yeah. There's a lot of overdubbing on this record.
    Me: So can you tell me about the animals that are included?
    Young: Uh, which ones?
    Me: All of them. Where did the idea come from? I’ve never heard a live album that features sounds quite like that before

    Click. We'd been disconnected. Weird—the landline connection seemed so clear. We'd been speaking for just over three minutes.
    I'm trying to think of some analogous scenario, like an actor who insists a reporter see he latest film on IMAX as a condition of consenting to an interview. But this would only work if the actor also had a major financial stake in IMAX. Also, IMAX's 70mm format has a record of high-quality presentation that goes back decades. Pono is an obscenely overpriced, poorly designed device that nobody needs, and very few people seem to want. It holds much less music than comparable devices and costs much more.

    Neil really should just beg off interviews from now on.
     
  2. aforchione

    aforchione Forum Resident

    Location:
    Englewood, Florida
    I don't think it comes as a surprise to anyone at this point that Neil Young is a bit crazy...but all the old rock stars are basically crotchety old men, just like most men in their 70's....it is kind of funny that he has been sitting on Archive 2 so long that there is now no mechanism to make money from it, and he just lost 50% of his money and his ranch, so he is probably pissed all the time.
     
  3. Rne

    Rne weltschmerz

    Location:
    Malaver
    Why are your recordings still released as CD's, then, Mr. Young?
     
    2trackmind, moops, agundy and 9 others like this.
  4. You said it pretty good. Plus, the guy is bat schit crazy- he always has been. I'm sure age only adds to it. My question is just how long can these old men trounce around till they fall dead on stage, or something happens where they can't "work" any longer. What then? Those are questions we all will have answered sooner than later
     
  5. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    The more of these "crazy old Neil" stories I hear, the more I am convinced that he is slowly slipping into senile dementia like his old man did. I mean, I love Neil Young but his already erratic/eccentric behaviour has become that much more erratic/eccentric these last few years...
     
  6. dtuck90

    dtuck90 Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Neil said in Waging Heavy Peace that doctors have picked up on early signs of it
     
  7. weavzy

    weavzy Needle Dropper

    He was in good form and spirits on the WTF podcast hosted by Marc Maron. Even though Maron tended to finish a lot of his sentences. And i wanted to hear about the Harvest era. But he was still happyband forthright.
     
  8. Remurmur

    Remurmur Music is THE BEST! -FZ

    Location:
    Ohio
    Don't step on his grass, Sam...:)
     
    dadonred, Vinyl Addict and rodentdog like this.
  9. Remurmur

    Remurmur Music is THE BEST! -FZ

    Location:
    Ohio
    (CLICK)...
     
  10. Wright

    Wright Forum Resident

    Yet on his current tour, he seems more sharp than ever - pulling all kinds of things out of his hat...
     
  11. Scott S.

    Scott S. lead singer for the best indie band on earth

    Location:
    Walmartville PA
    Big deal. Neil is real unlike many artists.
     
  12. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    He has gone a bit kooky, hasn't he?

    But the sour grapes at the end of the article is unfortunate. Pono has been reviewed in Stereophile as being an outstanding product.
     
  13. Harvest Your Thoughts

    Harvest Your Thoughts Forum Resident

    Location:
    On your screen
    I'd probably hang up on that interviewer too. Give Neil a break.
     
  14. Nielsoe

    Nielsoe Forum Resident

    Location:
    Aalborg, Denmark
    Maybe, just maybe, something went wrong with the connection.
     
    LarsO, Mateo Sanboval, ARK and 8 others like this.
  15. Olompali

    Olompali Forum Resident

    Here is the thing about aging. One sees the cycles of life and they can get a bit tiring. In this instance, NY is on his 10,000th interview. Imagine that.
     
  16. Tom Campbell

    Tom Campbell Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Interesting that the writer includes all that build-up about Pono, but then Neil never actually asks him about it. He only wants to know if the reporter has really listened to the new album.

    Given the current state of music writing and criticism, IMO that is an understandable concern for any artist going into an interview.
     
  17. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    He may be dumb, but he's not stupid.
     
  18. CxgVxc

    CxgVxc Active Member

    Location:
    New England
    nowhereman87 likes this.
  19. Rne

    Rne weltschmerz

    Location:
    Malaver
    Then he should release Time Fades Away on CD :realmad:
     
  20. proudy

    proudy Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Dallas, Texas
    "Young: Umm. I'm just trying to think of which ones would be like that. Certain words were [put through] processors. Words like "GMO”?
    Me: Mmm-hmm.
    Young: Yeah. They were processed. Like GMOs are."

    :laugh: This is Spinal Tap material
     
  21. tubesandvinyl

    tubesandvinyl Forum Resident

    Good for Neil.
     
  22. jedstar

    jedstar Well-Known Member

    Location:
    woodstock
    when I saw him on the Late Show recently he seemed high.
    He was very "scattered"

    Colbert was respectful
     
    olsen, mayfield and mr._mojo_filter like this.
  23. DTK

    DTK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Or Rassy, his mother...McDonough broaches the subject in Shakey...
     
  24. Zongadude

    Zongadude Music is the best

    Location:
    France
    That's your opinion, right ?
    I respect that, but as an owner and user of Pono, I can tell you that my opinion about Pono is exactlty the opposite of yours. :)
    I'm not Pono obsessed, but it's just that I haven't yet found a device that equals it for the same price.
     
  25. johnaltman

    johnaltman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Alabama
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine