Living With War

It was 1983. I was 14 years old and I begged to go see Neil Young at the Worcester Centrum. He was on tour for an album called “Trans.” An experimental electronic folky concept album that angered a lot of his fan base. I loved it. It was a crazy amazing show…but I remember walking out of the show and hearing half the crowd saying how awful the new Neil was. While like another 30 percent were stimulated and another 20 like me LOVED it. This was a trend that continued throughout all of Neil’s albums and it is this artistic bravey that has made him second only to Bob Dylan in my book. I have never heard anyone play a guitar like him. I have never heard such raw emotion from anyone but him. A few years ago I went to see him tour for an album called Greendale. A concept album with live actors acting out the songs with community theater style scenery on the stage while the band went nuts. It was powerful and so different than anything I ever saw. After the show 60 percent hated it, 30 percent indifferent, and 10 percent loved it. I was again in the minority. Neil wrote a song called “Bandit” for that album that really got to me emotionally. Anyway, the fact is Neil is again challenging us all by opening himself up to that mysterious thing called inspiration. His album “Prairie Wind” was just out a few months ago but in the meantime he was inspired and recorded an album in like 3 days called “Living With War”. I’m sure it will be controversial but you really should listen to it for yourself and go to his site to read the lyrics. Since Neil has helped me so much in life I would like to thank him by taking this space to advertise his new album. It will be downloadable from iTunes next Tuesday and in stores as an old fashioned CD in a couple weeks. But you can listen to the album in its entirety right now. Neil insists that people who are gonna listen to it streamed over the internet do so by listening to it in order and as a whole instead of judging it by one “controversial” song or lyric. So sit back and enjoy.

No wonder

Its no wonder a lot of kids I talk to feel hopeless. Its no wonder so many kids feel disconnected. So many feel angry or disenfranchised from society. When we live in a nation that is constantly telling them that money is all that is important and supreme power is all that matters what do you expect. When every newscast spends all their time talking about celebrity marriages and missing suburban white girls on Spring Break perhaps we can see why the average kid looks at the reality he sees in his life everyday…and then the reality that the media, their bosses, and our leaders push on us…And they know its a lie. We are being lied to daily about alcohol and its devestating effects on our families. We are being lied to about drugs and addiction as the people in power just shove platitudes like “just say no” and scare tactics to “scare us straight.” Fear is their motivator. Fear. Fear. Fear. Granted some things are scary. Like the fact that 30% of all the kids that die from inhalants…Are doing it for the FIRST TIME. Thats scary! If I had a 6th grader you bet I would scare the living crap out of him….WITH THAT TRUTH! But the fact is we are getting these mixed messages. How can we say “No” to something if we have nothing else to say “Yes” to in our lives. If we are constantly being told that our lives mean nothing. This earth means nothing. My deeds mean nothing. Than we are bound to feel like Nothing. Like dirt!
The fact is we are all being told that our lives mean nothing by this government.
If they can send 160,000 kids to die overseas for some political power than to them we mean nothing.
If they can cut funding for schools than I guess our education and our brains mean nothing.
If they can reduce funding for medicare and medicaid than I guess all of us over 65 or who are disabled mean nothing to them.
If they can reduce funding for drug rehabilitation than all of us who have made mistakes mean nothing.
If they can allow more heroin to come out of Afghanistan and Mexico than EVER than we mean nothing.
And then today I read that the president is easing environmental laws on oil refineries and gas companies so that we can have cheap gas. In other words the businessmen who have recorded RECORD PROFITS over the past 6 years are saying that the only way to lower the price is to not make them pay to clean up their product. What a bunch of horsecrap! The fact is the oil companies will not pay but WE will! Why do we have those environmental restrictions in the first place? Because we need them. One fact to scare the hell out of you! The Glacier National Park in Montana 100 years ago had 150 glaciers…THERE ARE NOW 37! Every scientist worth his salt says this is mainly because of global warming. They say that if current trends are not halted or reversed by 2030 there will 0. Zero. Zippo. Gone. Nada. Suddenly this is not just some crazy conspiracy theory or some angry Kerry Voter or Massacusetts Liberal. Suddenly I have become in your eyes what I always was to begin with…A fellow resident of planet earth. And the thing is I want to enjoy my short time here and leave it a little better for all the school kids I meet and perform for every day. So I beg you and implore you young people to get involved with this. This is real. Dedicate some of your time and amazing talents to draw attention to this and when you become 18 vote your conscience. Vote your hopes. Vote your future. Not just in the big one every four years but the congressional and state stuff every two years. Its not just politics…its our lives. I’m telling you there is so much good stuff you can do to make this world a better place. There are so many things you can do for your friends to make their lives a little happier. There is so much you can do for yourself to make your life a little happier…And I can promise you that weed, alcohol, coke, meth…whatever will not take you on a path where you want to go. I will not use scare tactics with drug information…I will just simply tell you that if you have a vision of where you want to go with your life or even a vague notion of the type of person that you want to someday become, you will not get there any faster or easier…or maybe at all with drugs. I spoke with someone the other day whose words echoed in the caverns of head during my drive home from a gig. A soundman who had worked with countless artists like Bob Dylan, The Band, you name it this guy had seen it and lived it. The real deal. Rock n roll dude…awesome guy. Anyway, He was telling me his teenage daughter asked him about weed and his own history and he told me what he said to her:

“I just told her the truth man…I told her that I had smoked it in the past but I found that weed and all the other drugs that were floating around were just not taking me where I wanted to go”

Well said. So let us all think of where we wanna go and who are we allowing to drive this cab or bus we find ourselves riding. Grab the wheel. Follow your heart. And I hope to spend some time with you on this cosmic road trip that is so amazingly beautiful but all too brief.

Some comforting words

I used to want to be a preacher when I was a teenager. Since today is Sunday let me pretend and try out my sermon for all y’all.

Today amidst all the turmoil surrounding our nation and our world I call upon all of us to be strong. (”Amen brother”)
Take heart and comfort all ye people in the words that I will share with you below. (”Share it preacher”)
They are words that comfort me in the morning and soothe me to sleep at night. (insert your own spiritual shout of agreement from here on out)
When I hear mumblings on the street and chatter in coffeeshops I think of these words and they bring me peace.
They are comforting as scripture and I repeat them to all you who are weary.
Rejoice in our struggle and laugh in the face of fear y’all for these words will be a calm in your storm and a cool drink to your dry and thirsty soul.
These words come from our founding fathers and mothers and directly from the Constitution of the United States.
In the Twenty-Second amendment to this enduring document I have found these words upon which I will cleave to like a rock amidst the sea.
For when I read these words I wanna shout. I wanna dance. I wanna give thanks. I wanna fall on my knees.
For in the 22nd amendment to the Consitution I read these words:

“No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice”

“NO PERSON SHALL BE ELECTED TO THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT MORE THAN TWICE!”

“NO PERSON SHALL BE ELECTED TO THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT MORE THAN TWICE!”

“NO PERSON SHALL BE ELECTED TO THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT MORE THAN TWICE!”

HALLELUJAH!

That means in 2 years and 7 months and 7 days (if the crazy cowboy doesnt kill us all first) we shall be free!