Katie and I, with the help of Glide Magazine, created Strangers Almanac, a column devoted to singer-songwriters, two years ago, and we’ve had a lot of fun writing about some of our favorite singer-songwriters like Tift Merritt, Ryan Adams, Neil Young, Jenny Lewis, Regina Spektor, and Jeff Tweedy. It’s pretty crazy that we’re already on … Read more
First off, congrats to Neil Young on winning his first Grammy award yesterday. Not sure if it means anything, but it’s sort of funny that he won it for his Archives project, something that was supposed to come out every year since ’92. Or whatever year it was first rumored to be “in the can.” … Read more
Halloween is once again upon us. Yes, it’s that time of year where “grizzly ghouls from every tomb are closing in to seal your doom.” RIP, MJ. Sometimes, though, it’s not the music video zombies or the ax-wielding goalies that raise the hairs on our arms and tingle our spines. Very often, we are fully … Read more
“Remember that the life we share is nothing but a song.” There was a period of three or four years when all I would listen to was Neil Young. Not a bad thing, but I thought the only great albums that existed were After the Gold Rush, Zuma, Harvest, and Harvest Moon. I never would … Read more
I lost some people I was traveling with I miss the soul and the old friendship How beautiful is this song? I thought I knew, but after watching this video of Pearl Jam performing “Walk With Me” with Neil Young at this past weekend’s Bridge School Benefit Concerts, it’s taken on a different meaning. Walk … Read more
Last week, we posted that The Kissaway Trail is set to release Sleep Mountain, the band’s second full-length album on April 6, 2010. Now, we’re excited to present the first in a series of Speakers in Code interviews with artists we absolutely adore. The guys in The Kissaway Trail talk about the band’s unique moniker, … Read more
There are a few things that people who grew up in places like North Carolina understand that others may not. The first is it’s not really summer until the sound of cicadas drown out any other noise around. Second, fall smells differently here – and most of us spend the year looking forward to that … Read more
RollingStone.com is reporting that Neil Young’s next album will be produced by Daniel Lanois, a surefire dream pairing that will most likely result in a “very heartfelt record,” according to David Crosby. Lanois produced Emmylou Harris’ breakthrough album, Wrecking Ball, which was named after one of Young’s songs. As you might know, Young is set … Read more
When Liz Phair released the song “Bollywood” from her new album, Funstyle, on her website in July, it caused a few Twitter waves. And these waves had teeth. They were “how could Liz Phair rap and release this song?” waves. People were pretty sure Liz Phair had rabies, or something. On first listen, I didn’t … Read more
I love you baby, can I have some more? There’s darkness in that lyric. Of course, it comes from Neil Young’s “The Needle and the Damage Done,” one of the best songs off Harvest, a great album from 1972. And yes, he wrote it about it about Danny Whitten, the original Crazy Horse guitarist whose … Read more
Photo by Jason Gonulsen Here’s why it’s a bad idea to talk about what Neil Young might do before his show begins. Actually, I told three young women from Houston what he will do. This was during Grace Potter’s set, and Sarah, McKenzie, and Colleen were contemplating whether to see Neil or Weezer. They asked, … Read more
Never thought I would see a man dressed up in GMO corn telling Neil Young, “old man take a look at your life,” but hey, stranger things have happened. Enjoy these clips!
Pegi Young | Photo by Tom Bejgrowicz As we’re winding down our twenty-minute chat over the phone, Pegi Young pauses and, calmly, gets to the heart of the matter. “This is my life’s work, and it has to survive,” she tells me. “It’s too important, and it’s made a huge difference in so many people’s … Read more
PHOTO BY JASON GONULSEN Neil Young won’t quit. And only Neil would do this: “Ninety-eight uninterrupted minutes long, EARTH flows as a collection of 13 songs from throughout my life, songs I have written about living here on our planet together,” says Young. “Our animal kingdom is well represented in the audience as well, and … Read more
Artwork credit: Alyssa Shapkoff Want more? Check out the entire list of albums here. (And don’t forget about best songs here). Delorean | Subiza (True Panther Sounds) [buy] The Spanish electro-synth quartet Delorean has come a long way from its early punk rock roots. 2009 brought about this punk-to-dance transformation with the Aryton Senna EP. … Read more
Pegi Young makes her return to St. Louis on Wednesday at The Demo, where she will be performing with her band, The Survivors. This is her first trip to St. Louis since 2007, when she opened for her husband, Neil Young, at the Fox Theatre. Young recently appeared on Letterman, and you might notice that … Read more
Hello, and Happy Friday! Today’s playlist brings you the title track from Neil Young’s upcoming Peace Trail. We also have Jim James, Jack Grelle, Adia Victoria, John Paul White, Amanda Shires, and more!
All photos by Jason Gonulsen When it happened, or, rather, when it started to happen, I was stunned. Neil Young walked out in the darkness, stage right, sat down at his upright piano, and began playing “After the Gold Rush.” A few days before the tour opener in Milwaukee, a plan was conceived. Via Rolling … Read more
Written by Jason Gonulsen “It’s a bad day to do nothing,” Neil Young sings on The Monsanto Years’ opening track and best song, “A New Day For Love.” The rock ‘n’ roll icon’s band could be mistaken here for Crazy Horse, but it’s Promise of the Real, which consists of Lukas and Micah Nelson (sons … Read more
Well I want a cup of coffee but I don’t want a GMO If you haven’t heard, Neil Young is going after Monsanto and GMOs and we love him for it. He’ll be on tour this summer with Promise of the Real, an LA-based rock band fronted by Lukas Nelson (vocals/guitar), along with Micah Nelson … Read more
Neil Young said at CES on Tuesday: ” “I didn’t listen to music for the last 15 years because I hated the way it sounded and it made me pissed off and I couldn’t enjoy it any more. I could only hear what was missing.” UPDATE: Paul McCartney Reboots Beatles Catalog for Neil Young’s Pono … Read more
PHOTO BY JEFF ALLEN Stills, Earle, & Young. (No Crosby/Nash). Last night in Hollywood for Stills’ annual Light Up The Blues concert to benefit autism. We love it. More details at Thrasher’s Wheat. “Keep on rockin’ in the free world…”
I’ve been down the endless highway I’ve passed on the solid line Now at last I’m home to you I feel like making up for lost time Good to see you Good to see you again Good to see your face again It’s good to see you Starting from now until the end of time … Read more
Photo by Jason Gonulsen “The thing you have to be willing to do, and you have to really be able to embrace it and accept it, and really welcome it into your life with open arms in a wide, wide vision…is failure. Be sure to welcome failure. Always say, “you’re okay with me, failure, come … Read more
PHOTO BY JASON GONULSEN you know it ain’t easy you got to hold on Shovels & Rope will release Busted Jukebox Vol. I, a collection of cover songs spanning from Neil Young to Guns N Roses. Today we’re featuring their cover of Neil Young’s “Unknown Legend,” featuring Shakey Graves on vocals.
Photo by Christine Taylor Last December, Seattle Weekly published an essay by Jesse Sykes titled “It’s A Wonderful Life,” where she talked about life on the road, and Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse, who took his life in 2010. It was sad. It was real. It was one of the best essays I’ve ever had the … Read more
“As if I didn’t know that/ As if I didn’t know my own bed…” I heard this song for the first time in years last week, and damn, it hit me hard. I thought of how great a songwriter/musician Paul Simon is, and how he might even get overlooked at times. I thought of how … Read more
According to this report from Rolling Stone, Neil Young is set to launch his first U.S. solo acoustic tour since 1999. It appears tickets will go on sale March 27th for most shows, although the full schedule hasn’t been announced yet. Bert Jansch will open the shows. I went to two shows on the 1999 … Read more
Almost a year ago, Laura Burhenn, one half of the now-defunct Georgie James, traversed the country, set up shop in Oregon, and recorded the debut album of her new band, The Mynabirds. Burhenn, “always want[ing] to make a record that sounded like Neil Young doing Motown,” does the blue-eyed soul genre proud on “Numbers Don’t … Read more
Described as a cross between Neil Young, Gillian Welch, and Martina McBride, singer-songwriter, Jennie Arnau, mixes her down-to-earth Appalachia upbringing with the gritty New York City, her current home. On the surface, “Bouncing Ball” is a refreshingly simple bit of alt-country, given the plucky banjo and Arnau’s cheerful doo-wahs. But dig a little deeper, and … Read more