Video: Neil Young – “Fork in the Road”
Gotta love Neil, webcam stizz. Chomping on an Apple, scoffing at his earbuds. Old coot! The chorus is typical Neil: “There’s a bailout coming but it’s not for you.” But he gets even more specific with a verse in the middle:
I’m a big rock star
My sales have tanked
But I still got you
Thanks
Download this
Sounds like shit
Keep on bloggin’
‘Til the power goes out
Your battery’s dead
Twist and shout
On the radio
Those were the days
Bring ’em back
Cantakerous old codger! Love you, Neil. Now please go work on the CD version of the archives. Thanks!
Viia Music News Net.
Cranktabulous!
The NME and other music news orgs are speculating that the release of this video means that the Archives are being pushed back indefinitely.
“The Archives Guy” (remember him?) says this is not true:
I’m a) happy to hear there will be a CD version, and b) annoyed but hardly surprised that the February 24 is not settled.
i like a good neil tune as much as the next guy, but i’m a bit tired of his schtick. if you’re album sales are tanking and you want some cash, get on the road. or do a pepsi commercial. or sell out your songs to some tv show or film. maybe depends could use a new spokesman. “old man, buy a pair of depends. i’m a lot like you are.” maybe the boys of lynard skynard were right after all.
I agree with vitas. The last time I felt this ambivalent about Neil Young was during the Geffen years.
There’s a bailout coming but not for you? Is he talking to those poor saps that forked over $175 a ticket for one of his own shows?
I was one of those “poor saps.” I’ve never missed an opportunity to see Neil live since the Weld tour. Don’t know how many miles he has left, but it’s still a fun trip.
Fork in the Road is a typical throw away. Good for a laugh. No harm in that.
I started a thread on the boards to allow more for an argument. My immediate thought is that this isn’t a throw away, but the title track of a new album. If it’s this type of quality, then my hunch is that the entire thing will be a “piece of crap.” And if you’ve got the finances to fork over $175 to see Neil then fine. I wouldn’t pay that much and there are VERY few artists in which I would. For that price, Neil better give me a train set along with some seats up close to the gig. More importantly, it makes him look like a hypocrite (more on the boards) and prevents potential new fans from discovering his body of work. The only ones that are going to pay that kind of money are the firmly entrenched fans who can afford it.
GA floor tix weren’t totally out of this world. (Also, in Canada you can apply for a govt. grant to subsidize Neil Young concert tix. j/k) And there’s nothing to stop kids from borrowing Rust Never Sleeps from the public library.
PS, I forgot to mention something that was pretty cool about the show I saw back in October: tons of kids w/ their grandparents! It was one of the most diverse audiences (agewise, anyway) I’ve ever seen. And it rocked. Neil tore the f’ing strings off old black (literally) during the encore.
So I finally got around to listening to this and–I know this is old hat here but I can’t resist–Neil is now just the laziest songwriter in the world. There is nothing interesting or insightful about hearing how his day is going unless he happens to be A) Working on the revisionist history of the Bush years with David Addington and Dick Cheney; B) A spaceman on a secret Mars mission with Scarlett Johannsen; C) Actively engaged in running guns and drugs across the Mexican border.
I hate to say it but from what I have heard in the last ten years Neil Young has an amazingly boring life.
Oh shit…What if that’s the point!? What if all these albums are part of a larger artistic endeavor illustrating the blandness of American life. So much so that it’s co-opted one of our best known and beloved Canadian singer-songwriters! What if this is all so very META!?!?!