This 2006 election truly felt like rain in the desert. The LP and tour felt just in time in 2006, as American voters finally snapped out of a post-9/11 collective fog and finally realized what a flimflam bill of goods they had bought wholesale for five years. And then, like a one-two punch, CROSBY, STILLS, NASH, & YOUNG’s accompanying tour, which both pushed that LP to the forefront and also tied into all their old Vietnam-era protest songs, proved a valuable reminder that musicians have been speaking up for a long time and should still be! Amen!ģ) Although Young’s LP and CSN&Y’s tour had as little to do with the 2006 election results as the “Rock For Change” tour could be blamed for the debacle of 2004, it felt like it nevertheless reflected and refracted a larger breakthrough that was taking place in U.S. (I will cover this in part two next time.)Ģ) After spending the whole of my comments last year complaining that I hadn’t heard a record that I loved that spoke for the times (I had to settle for KANYE WEST’s welcome tirade on the NBC Red Cross fundraiser), I felt galvanized and utterly inspired by NEIL YOUNG’s no holds barred protest record. And for once, I got the sense that the rest of the country that pays attention to non-commercial music had the same reaction that I did. Of course, you probably know where I stand on that question.Ģ006: NEIL YOUNG/CSN&Y PRESAGES THE ELECTION, THE DECEMBERISTS, AND OPTIMISM AT LASTĢ006 was a much better year for music for me than my somewhat gloomy 2005 for three reasons.ġ) My previous crush on the music of THE DECEMBERISTS bloomed into a veritable love affair vis a vis The Crane Wife. But you can safely read the second part next week. Note, do not read this first part if you have absolutely zero interest in the intersection between popular music and contemporary politics, sociopolitics, and world affairs. (Those sections will run here in part two.) Anyway, here it is. This was composed for the Village Voice Pazz and Jop poll, and I am tickled to note they ran two long excerpts in their issue last month. It’s too long to run at once, so here is part one, and part two will come soon.
#Young iggy pop series
OK, that done, before we ran the recent series of guest reviews in this space by PATRICK LUDDITE on last week’s Noise Pop Festival in San Francisco, I promised I would post my comments about the previous year 2006 in this space, so let me do that now. I have not written anything of note for Spin in 20 years, but the direction of the magazine under DOUG BROD is more to my personal liking, and I was enormously glad he asked me to do it. Just as a taste, on the cover of the magazine it says, “Iggy: ‘I tried to snort the floor.’” (True at the Redondo Beach Motel in the mid-’70s, but you’ll have to read the interview to find out how and why!) There is also a photo of yours truly on the “contributors” page in the early going, which I couldn’t be more pleased by. You just have to feed him a few inside tidbits from his wild past and the anecdotes fly fast and furious! And hilarious, too. It’s actually one of my favorite interviews I have conducted in some time, not because of anything to do with me, but because the Ig is so funny and so honest. For those interested, I have a piece on the immortal and apparently ageless IGGY POP, primarily on his days with THE STOOGES, in the current March issue of Spin Magazine (with FALL OUT BOY on the cover).
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