Greendale

[wolof]

Just picked this up yesterday. I wasn't sure what to expect i knew the premise but that was it. It is really great musically, i think Neil's raw sonic blues is at its best. As for the story, however i like it but it's gonna take me awhile. This whole album doesn't have lyrics just stories, it's different like everything he does, and i am  satisfied. Anyone see any of the shows or have any thoughts on this cd?

[lfish]

Yeah I saw ol' neil last year on his acoustic greendale tour.  He really tells a story of the family and every song is built up on the previous one.  It is indeed different than everything he has done before and that's why neil young is still one of the greatest rock'n roll musicians alive.  He is almost God to me.

[bishopsfinger]

Damn it, i though this was gonna be a post about the place where Postman Pat lives.

[SMc55]

Damn it, i though this was gonna be a post about the place where Postman Pat lives.

LOL! That's exactly what I thought when I saw this thread.

[bishopsfinger]

LOL! That's exactly what I thought when I saw this thread.

I don't think that anyone either below a certain age or not from england will understand what we're talking about though!

[wordawg]

I possibly qualify on at least one count, but won't admit to knowing what you are on about......"early in the morning, etc"

[wordawg]

and not a bloody mention of his black and white (Toon Army!) cat.

[lfish]

Hey I know Postman Pat, and I'm not from England but over here it's Called Pieter Post or something.

Cool series.

[bishopsfinger]

Fantastic! I never knew Postman Pat could bring so many varieties of people together.
And btw its not a toon army cat its a west brom one. well i reckon so anyway

[wordawg]

Deffo a Toon Army cat!

[SMc55]

I used to want to live in Greendale. Everybody is really friendly, and you might get a ride on a tractor.

[bishopsfinger]

I used to want to live in Greendale. Everybody is really friendly, and you might get a ride on a tractor.

A tractor? Wow! Where i live if you're lucky you'll get a ride in a police car / ambulance.

[Jellyfish]

I love Greendale.I think it is a great piece of work by Young.I know some people that don't care for it,though.

 The songs don't have a lot of melody and the words are recited rather than sang.

 I compare this to Roger Water's solo stuff.All the songs fit together like a puzzle at the end.

 It is very different form anything NY has put out before but don't we say that about all his albums.

 It's nice to see an artist willing to follow his muse no matter what kind of criticism it gets.

 BTW,the 2nd edition of the CD Greendale has a DVD with it that is called"Inside Greendale" that is required viewing if you are a NY fan.The whole entire CD is performed in his studio,with scenes from the movie entertwined.Check it out,it's worth it even if you already own the 1st edition.  

[CC]

any of you watched the movie yet?
saw it yesterday and it hypnotized me.
very weird in a good way...

[Jellyfish]

Yes,I have watched the movie more than a few times since I bought it.I like it a lot.Neil worked very hard on this,not slapped together like his some of his other movies(Journey Thru The Past and Human Highway).The camera work has that grainy feel to it.
 Ben Keith did a great job as "Grandpa" and my favorite scene/song is "grandpa's Interview".

[EC]

I saw it (finally) in Edinburgh in August.  It was in a really intimate theatre, but nice.  Big red plush seats.  There were about five of us - I think it was part of a festival (one of 187 festivals that happen in Edinburgh in August.)  

I was sitting there, had been away from home for a while, and I was thinking about how much I missed my Gram Parsons cd.  And.  Guess what the next song was?  $1000 Wedding.  And then, this is really not a lie, I thought about Cat Stevens, and "Trouble" came on.

So, I started to have one of those moments where you wonder if the Universe, as it exists, is really only a figment of your imagination, and you can make it happen as you want to, like lucid dreaming.  A very trippy way to enter into the film.

And, when I saw the concert, it was pretty amazing for me.  A bunch of us had just started this online magazine, and so I was going to review the show.  I took notes.  Well, I took notes for about six songs, and then I got high, and kind of forgot.  heh.

And then writing the article ended up being this big deal for me.  Because I was thinking about Neil, and about what he does and talks about, and I was thinking about what it would feel like to be Neil Young.  And those songs in greendale, some of them have these amazing mantra-like lines to them.  Like, "Some day you'll find everything you're looking for."  And I was writing the article really late at night because I was busy doing too much during the day, and I'd write it while being on the website, and there was this guitar riff that just played over and over.  And so now when I hear that riff (which is played in the film), I get that weird alternate Universe feeling of being present where I am, but also being somewhere else - where I was before when I'd been listening.

Anyhow, the film left me in this really calm, emotional (I know that sounds oxymoronic, but I can't explain it any better) state, and I had to walk around the city for a few hours.  I was pretty lonely, and I'd wished so much that I wasn't travelling on my own, and I'd got excited because these guys were sitting behind me, and I'd heard some of their conversation before the movie, and they sounded pretty smart and into the same stuff I was into, but then they left before I did (because I was so hazy).

It was really misty out, and cold, but not too cold, and Edinburgh's so damn moody, and if you're in that head space already, it can be pretty cool to just walk around there and let your thoughts happen.

And I loved the film.  But I have no idea if I loved it because of everything I mentioned, or because it's something amazing on its own, which I think it is.  I really appreciate Neil Young for a lot of the things he'd done and said and keeps doing, and it makes me really glad to know that he's still out there doing his thing and affecting so many people in the way that he does.  I feel that way about My Morning Jacket, too.  You go to the concerts, and the people are just so excited to be there.  It's like they just can't wait to see these guys, and there's a feeling of comeraderie and benevolence.  

What a long post this is, my goodness.  Okay, now I have to go to my bar job and serve people mojitos.  I wonder if anyone will want to talk about the importance of artists to do their thing and how much their work can affect people, and how amazing that is...

[CC]

wow EC,
you got that right.
makes me wanna walk around edinburgh tonight!

[EC]

Yeah.  You know what's crazy, too?  I went outside for a cigarette break, and it was an Edinburgh night!  No joke.  Totally misty and moody and all of the street lights were diffused and smokey.  It was beautiful.  And it only lasted a little short time because when I came out again, later, for another cigarette, it was gone.  The mist had lifted, or rolled, or had done whatever it does that mist does when it leaves.  But I saw it when it was there.

AND, it put me back into my nice moody place and reminded me of the summer.