It wasn't until recent years that I discovered the great wealth of quality Neil Young music. Back in the 80's, I was first introduced to Neil on an old UHF TV program called Teletunes. It was a music video show that played less-than-mainstream artists usually, but occasionally something I recognized. At nine, I didn't know about Neil Young. His 'Wonderin' video came on one day. My brother and I thought it was charmingly lame and bizarre, but kinda catchy. The tune stayed in my head for days. I just assumed it was some obscure one-hit-wonder like so many of the other artists of the day.
So years later I realized that Neil Young is a well-loved artist with lots of great records. Young enthusiasts would say stay away from the 80's stuff, which were seen as a string of lps created as curve-balls for the record labels. Fitting in with the Duran Duran crowd didn't sit well with Neil, so he tried his best to stay clear of the trends, even if it meant releasing a 25 minute lp of rockabilly tunes in a "waver" climate. Many fell into the trap, especially other great artists who rose to fame in the 60's or 70's. The 80's were CRUEL. Look at Mr. Bowie and his Goblin King get-up. Yes, many folks I've spoken to over time only know and love him from Labyrinth. Next to his duet with Mick Jagger and Never Let Me Down, it's about the lowest point of his career. But I only knew him as the Let's Dance guy originally, so there you go. The same goes for George Harrison and Moody Blues and a bunch of others who got ruined during that era. My point is: try not to judge someone based on their crappy 80's hit(s).
Neil Young's 'Wonderin'"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I'm with ya, I think we talked about this once (about the kinks?) and ever since then I try not to be judgmental about the "80s years"...
I say be judgmental! After all no one held a gun to their heads and told them to make crap music. They either had to make money because of their massive coke habit or jumped on the synth bandwagon because they thought it was cool. Either way, they could have held fast to their music scruples but opted not to and therefore they should be blamed.
Post a Comment