Sunday, September 27, 2009

Comment of the Moment: Spirit Roads & Travel Logs

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Lots of positive feedback last week on the Comment of the Moment: Encountering Neil Young by astrololee. And here's a followup by Shittyhorse:
Awesome Comment Astrolee, I agree whole-heartedly on your feelings about the Archives and the man himself. I believe it may take a few years after the man himself expires or retires (hope neither for a REALLY REALLY LONG TIME) for the world at large to really and truly understand and appreciate this great artist and human.

What Neil was able to do so well in his career and with the Archives is let us into his soul- not into the intimate details of his personal life (as this is not important to their art nor their sanity), and not by planting stories in the press but through his art, his writing, his singing, guitar playing and even his movies. And Neil Young does this really, really, well.

When Neil sings we listen because he can sing about his life and world better than anyone. Neil’s best material is the personal stuff. This is not self-indulgence; this is his heart and soul laid out on the table, which only the greatest artists were able to do well.

Neil Young is a solo artist...could it have been any other way? Neil is writing his story, and its true he will never need to write an autobiography because he has and continues to tell us his life through the best and most direct medium possible - music. Neil’s best music cuts though the bullshit and speaks to our soul - directly. This man has given so much of himself to us, and I think few of us really realize this today. Afterwards, when the story is written, the monuments built and the archive boxes are placed side by side on the shelf the world will know what Neil has accomplished.

And I believe he will be placed above his so-called “contemporaries” in rock, except, along side with (I’m sure some may disagree here and that’s okay) Lennon, Dylan, and Cobain. But also with Picasso, Kerouac, and a few others- fearless in their art of baring their soul and appearing so vulnerable because of it. Neil has created his own genre of music…. Soul Rock, Neil has more soul than Motown. Neil is on his spirit road he lets us read his travel logs.

Rock on Neil!

Thanks Shittyhorse!

And in case you missed it, here's astrololee's Comment of the Moment: Encountering Neil Young.

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2 Comments:

At 9/27/2009 11:21:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"...I believe it may take a few years after the man himself expires or retires (hope neither for a REALLY REALLY LONG TIME) for the world at large to really and truly understand and appreciate this great artist and human...."

Uh, not so sure about that. Neil has been in the public spotlight for 40-plus years....it's not like he's new to the scene. Neil has attained legend status, every crack of his career has been examined and exhumed....why will it take his death for people to UNDERSTAND him more?

it's not like Neil is some new phenomenon.

_Anon

 
At 9/28/2009 12:12:00 PM, Anonymous Mother Nature onthe Run said...

Very nice article. Love that "Spirit Road" song and love even more seeing him perform it on stage.

His songs may be messages from the future and lessons from the past, but Neil, the artist, has always lived in the present.

 

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