Neil Young is stoked about his '59 LincVolt car that he has converted into an electric hybrid. So he's made an album all about it. Most of the songs on this wonderful piece of crap record are about how he digs his car. "Fuel Line," "Get Behind the Wheel," "Off the Road," "Hit the Road," "Fork In the Road"...you get the idea. This is a new record from your crazy Uncle Neil who lives up in the mountains somewhere. The one who your mother is afraid will show up to the family holiday party and do something really embarassing...and you really hope he shows up just to make things interesting.
Neil has long been a master of odd, tossed off records that come close to saying "F*** You" to all but his most loyal fans. While this isn't quite Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music, I could see how some might say this comes close to it in intent.
In recent years Neil has perfected a new type of rock record: the record that is as immediate, topical and forgettable as a blog post. Several years ago he put out the angry rant of a record Living With War, which was an ultimately boring but admirable screed against the Iraq War. Now he's thrown together another quickie about his hybrid car, but this time around his tunes are so raucous that it is a much better and more fun record than Living With War.
Does Neil have contempt for his legacy? Does he have contempt for his fans or the music industry? Does he just not care? I don't know, but I'm loving this. I had so much fun listening to this today. Neil is keeping the spirit of true garage music alive and well. It is immediate, rocking, loud, irreverent and beautifully disposable. Throw some riffs together and jam out and sing about your cool car.
Check this great verse out from the hilarious and incoherent "Fork in the Road": "I'm a big rock star / My sales have tanked, but I still got you / Thanks! / Download this / Sounds like shit / Keep on bloggin' till the power goes out, and your battery's dead / Twist and Shout's on the radio / Those were the days, bring 'em back / There's a bailout comin' but it's not for you." What makes the song somewhat irrestible is the garage groove he's got going underneath as he's mumbling/talking these angry old man lyrics ("Forgot this year to salute the troops / They're all still there in a f***ing war" and "I've got hope, but you can't eat hope"). "Fork in the Road" and the ridiculous "Cough Up the Bucks" are Neil at his most caustic and fun. I generally don't like quoting Rolling Stone magazine, but I love how their reviewer characterized "Fork in the Road" as an "awesome old-coot tirade." Couldn't say it better myself.
But amidst those silly and gritty rockers he'll throw a pretty gem in there like "Light a Candle," where he addresses with optimism and in a much more eloquent way the possibilities that his hybrid car represents for the future of the environment.
I can't get it to post here, but follow this link for an absurd and funny video for "Fork in the Road" (where you can see what Neil thinks of iPods and digital music in general as he plugs his earbuds into an actual Apple and takes a big bite and then tosses the apple aside, dancing around the entire time).
For regular listeners: probably a ** out of *****
For Neil fans who love his absurdist projects: ****1/2 out of *****
2 comments:
Very witty and thoughtful post. You make me want to learn more about Neil.
Thanks, I appreciate that. I must confess, Neil Young is probably my favorite rock artist ever, so I give him a lot of slack. But, I am not such a fan that I won't criticize him when it is warranted. There are several of his records that are truly terrible listens. But this new one has struck me as such a whimsical toss-off, if you listen to it with that in mind it is a fun listen.
If you are new to Neil, definitely don't start with "Fork in the Road." It is hard to go wrong with any of his work that he released in the 1970's. I'd start there and then work both backwards and forwards.
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