Neil Young might be the “Old Man” now, but he still has something to say. A few weeks ago, he gave Spotify a choice: “They can have Rogan or Young, not both”. This was in protest of what he called “fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them .”Initially, I wrote this off as the latest demonstration of celebrity virtue-signaling. Then I remembered Neil Young,  who he has always been: singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and someone who gives a shit. Neil Young has always touched on what makes us human. Neil writes about death, he writes about time, and he indeed writes about love. These are things all of us have in common, but they aren’t always easy to think about, so many of us don’t until we have to. But Neil also writes about other people’s experiences and the things in this world that we can choose to be ignorant of. Neil Young never shied away from the tough subjects like racism (“Ohio,” “Southern Man”), addiction (“The Needle and The Damage Done”), or inequality (“Keep On Rockin In The Free World). Whether he chooses to be more observant or introspective, Neil Young is always authentic. He writes real songs, not easy ones, because, unlike many in pop culture, I have always gotten the sense that Neil Young has little interest in telling us that the world is a better place than it is. He doesn’t want you to downplay or ignore all the hurt out there; he wants to shed light on it, do the best he can, and help you do better by others and yourself. Don’t let your politics or personal opinion about Neil Young, COVID, or Joe Rogan keep you from appreciating his musical genius or even the JRE. It seems like every day, we get closer to a “with us or against us” mentality where we allow the things we don’t like about someone or something to prevent us from seeing the things that we would like. You don’t have to like Neil Young’s politics to get something out of his music. As someone with mixed opinions, I would like to introduce or perhaps reintroduce you to three Neil Young songs. These are songs from different stages of his career that cover all the things that make Neil unique. These are not necessarily his most commercially successful work, but they paint a complete picture of a man who listens first but then speaks with a voice that is as unique as it is intentional.

“Ohio” – Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (CSNY) were one of the first “supergroups,” meaning each group member had achieved some degree of commercial success elsewhere before the group’s formation. The group began as a trio in 1968 with David Crosby, who was previously with the Byrds, Graham Nash, who was in The Hollies, and Stephen Stills, who was in Buffalo Springfield alongside Young, where they had a hit with “For What its Worth .”CSN became CSNY in 1969 when a search for a keyboard player led to them somewhat reluctantly bringing Neil Young into the band. Commercially, “Déjà vu” was their most successful effort, with three her hit singles including “Woodstock”. That said, I think “Ohio,” released as a single in 1970, is the most essential Neil Young-driven song of that period. Writing credits go to Neil alone, who wrote the song in response to the Kent State Shootings in 1970. “Ohio” peaked at number 14 on the billboard hot 100, but it became a counterculture anthem that has cemented its status as a radio classic. The song is blunt, particularly for its criticism of the Nixon administration, and in true Neil Young fashion: pretty angry. It shows that even as a younger man, Neil was aware and felt for the world around him.

“Cortez The Killer” – Zuma

I don’t think most people give Neil Young enough credit for his guitar playing and how his style on the instrument was the precursor to the grunge sounds heard in the 1990s. Neil’s guitar playing is not the “cleanest” from a technical aspect. Yet, in the same way, you know if it’s Neil Young singing, his guitar playing is as unique. He plays like a man desperate to connect with his audience who has no patience for people who don’t “get it .”He almost exclusively plays d “Old Black”: a bastardized 1953 Gibson Les Paul that Young painted black, changed the pickups, and was equipped with nickel hardware. If there was a way to mess with this guitar, Neil probably did it.

Nevertheless, the thick (warm) tone of the Les Paul played through as much distortion as he could find is the primary canvas for Neil’s electric work. His string-bending (vibrato), frantic, stop n start, pentatonic heavy soloing never fails to carry a melody. Think of it as a story with way too many grammatical errors, but the meaning is never lost. There are too many songs that feature Neil’s choppy guitar playing ( check out “Woodstock,” “Down By The River,” and “Rockin In The Free World,” but “Cortez The Killer” is the standout for me. Even if historically inaccurate, the words are great, but the guitar carries the song. Almost five of the nearly eight-minute music are Neil doing some of his very best work at the electric guitar. It sounds like he is holding back the urge to just explode into a pentatonic fury, but yet he never does. The tension it creates makes the melodic lines that much more exciting. There is no instrument as capable of self-expression as the electric guitar, don’t argue, so it makes perfect sense that Neil’s voice on six strings is just as unique and just as memorable as everything else he does.

“My, My, Hey, Hey (Out of the Blue)” – Rust Never Sleeps

I don’t think Neil Young ever set out to write the most iconic line of all time, but he did just that in “My, My, Hey, Hey” when he told us that “it’s better to burn out than to fade away.”It’s the kind of song that pushes a particular headspace, but the specifics are different for everyone. In a broad sense, I believe it’s a reminder that time moves only in one direction and that the things we love come with a catch. Even if they don’t, they will leave us one day or forget about them. Yet Neil also tells us that “rock and roll can never die” and that “there’s more to the picture than meets the eye .”I don’t think “rock and roll” are meant to be taken literally here. I think we all have a “rock and roll” in our lives, something that will always be there for us or remain true at every stage of life. We all have different pictures because we all have other lives. But I think Neil is trying to tell us to look for deeper meaning or purpose in each of our lives because there is always something we may have missed.

These are uncertain times but remember that regardless of where you find yourself in the political or social landscape, we all have something to say, and we are all the better off when we listen as well. There is more we have in common than most of us think. You don’t need to be in love with every aspect of a person to appreciate their value, more importantly, their story. You can hate his music, and you can hate his opinion. Neither changes the fact that Neil has always cared, he has always listened, and he has never veered from doing what he believes is right.