Mid-Week Songs & Happy Birthday

 

The happiest of birthdays to rock and roll giant Neil Young, his 80th.  Through roughly 60 years of creating great songs, Young has maintained his integrity and consistency, winning new generations of fans each decade.  He's been inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a solo artist in 1995 and as a member of Buffalo Springfield in 1997.  He hasn't hesitated to speak out forcefully and repeatedly against the Malignant Fascist and his regime either, and has demanded that his music not be used by them.  He has a group, Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, and our first selection is their song "Big Change."  Our second is his classic song "Heart of Gold" from his multi-platinum, Grammy Hall of Fame Album "Harvest."  Happy birthday, Neil, and keep on rocking in the free world. 

Weekend Music Ocean Twofer

 

Rock icon Neil Young has been performing recently at the Sen. Sanders/ Rep. Ocasio-Cortez "Fighting Oligarchy" rallies.  The dual U.S. - Canadian citizen has been an activist for causes near and dear to his heart for his entire career, and fighting the oligarchic fascism descending on America is his latest passion.  We went back to 1995 to his highly acclaimed "Mirror Ball" album to select a hidden gem, the fierce rocker "I'm the Ocean" (Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder assists with background vocals), to pair with another "ocean" song by The War on Drugs. 

On Wednesday, we featured a song by Craig Finn that was produced by The War on Drugs' Adam Granduciel, so today we're featuring a high-octane song written by Granduciel.  "An Ocean In Between The Waves," is from their 2014 album "Lost in the Dream," and rounds out our watery theme today.  Hope you enjoy.

Weekend Music

 

A little nostalgia today.  The Beatles had their 13th number 1 U.S. single, "Penny Lane," on this day 55 years ago in 1967, which is perhaps why we always associated it with Spring.  Five years later, Neil Young had his one and only (so far) number 1 U.S. single, "Heart of Gold," with backup vocals by James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt.  Hope you enjoy.

 

Weekend Passages Music

 

The Buffalo Springfield/ CSNY/ Crazy Horse, etc., musician and songwriter Neil Young turns 76 today. As one of the most influential artists of his generation, Young is also well-known as an environmental, anti-racist, small farm activist.  "Rockin' in the Free World," from his acclaimed 1989 album, "Freedom," and an early Buffalo Springfield composition, "On the Way Home," from 1968"s "Last Time Around," are our Young tribute songs today.

Also, we're noting the passing of the only original founding member of the Moody Blues still active, drummer Graeme Edge at the age of 80. Edge is the only Moody who played on every one of their albums, starting with 1965"s "Go Now," the title track of which is our tribute to him.  R.I.P.

Weekend Young Music Twofer

Yesterday was two- time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Neil Young's birthday, still going strong at 75 (!). With a nod to that milestone, we've got "Old Man," from 1972's "Harvest" (that year's best- selling album in the U.S.). But we also want to capture his youthful exuberance with one of our favorite Buffalo Springfield songs, written by Young when he was 22, "On The Way Home," for their 1967 album "Last Time Around." Btw, that's the last song Buffalo Springfield recorded as an intact group, with Young sharing lead vocals with Richie Furay.  Hope you enjoy.

 

  

 

Mid-Week Song: Classic Young

Venerable rock icon Neil Young observed his 74th birthday yesterday. A winner of several Grammy awards as well as being inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Canadian-born Young had a successful career with the LA-based folk rock band Buffalo Springfield, before going solo. The so-called "Father of Grunge Music" has been in the news recently for his fight to obtain U.S. citizenship, which he claims is being withheld due to his acknowledged use of marijuana.

Here, in a 1971 live performance on the BBC Four channel, is Young performing two of his classic songs, "Old Man," and "Heart of Gold." Enjoy.

Weekend Old And New Year's Music

Before we turn the page on this year, we just want to say, once again, R.I.P. George Harrison and Tom Petty.*



* And Lou Reed, and Richie Havens, et al.

Weekend Music

Time to feature one of our favorite Canadians (and we have plenty of those), Neil Young. This is "Rockin' In The Free World" from his 1989 album, "Freedom." Hope you enjoy.

Damage Done Mid-Week Song

Neil Young recorded this song in 1971 about two addict friends, Danny Whitten and Bruce Berry, who later died of drug overdoses.  The sad death of the remarkable actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman this past weekend drove home the fact that an epidemic of heroin use is killing anew, and has to be reversed.

From The Music Desk….

We stumbled upon this item about a new Neil Young recording, "Live at the Cellar Door," which brings back memories for those who were in the D.C. area circa the late 1960s and 1970s.  The Cellar Door was a music club in Georgetown for, at first, folk acts, and then other acts who were comfortable playing in a room that barely seated 200 patrons.  Artists like Joni Mitchell, John Denver, The Byrds, Miles Davis and many others performed there, often for multiple nights.  Regulars Bill and Taffy Danoff (of the Starland Vocal Band) wrote "Take Me Home Country Roads" while working there, and let John Denver record it -- his most recognizable hit recording.  (The song was inspired, by the way, not by West Virginia's beauty, but by a drive along the side roads of western Montgomery County, Maryland).

Sadly, the Cellar Door closed back in 1981, but Neil Young's recording is a wonderful tribute by a great artist to a great, intimate venue for music.

Hey Hey My My, It's the Weekend

"Once you're gone,
You can't come back.
When you're out of the blue
And into the black."

A beautiful (IMHO) acoustic version with typically fierce harmonica.