Neil Young has long been one of my favorite artists. He even used to live near me, along with Crosby, Stills & Nash, Joni Mitchell and Jackson Brown, back in the late ’60s, early ’70s. My groupie friend and I would look for them whenever we were traveling through Topanga Canyon on our way to the beach. I was told that Neil Young used to play at a club there, but I never did get the chance to see him perform live.
OHIO – Music Video:
Some of the very first songs I learned to play on the guitar were written by Neil Young- Needle and the Damage Done, Southern Man, Down By the River, OLd Man, and many others. I liked his style, and playing his songs helped me learn some fingerpicking and flatpicking techniques. As I improved, I began to incorporate some of these techniques into my own songs.
One of the things I like the most about Neil Young though, is his tendency to “tell it like it is.” His music becomes the vehicle of expression when he feels strongly about something. You can hear evidence of this in songs like Southern Man, where he addresses the Civil Rights issue, and Ohio, where he sings about the massacre that occured at Kent State University during a Viet-Nam War protest.
Neil is still very active politically. In 2001 he wrote a tribute song for the victims of 9/11 after the attack on New York City called Let’s Roll. In 2006 Neil released the Living with War album, which is “full of protest songs” directed at George Bush and the war in Iraq. And his song Rockin In The Free World (another favorite of mine) was used at the end of the movie, Fahrenheit 9-11.
But the most interesting news is that now there is a Neil Young Spider! How funny is that?
A biologist by the name of Jason Bond discovered a new species of spider which he named “Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi” in honor of Neil Young! He said he did it because Neil Young is his favorite musician. Read more…
Guess that’s one way to be remembered, but I think his songs really say it all!
Till next time…
Keep practicing!
guitarcoach
