home

Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President'

By Jeralyn, Section Media
Posted on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 10:08:07 AM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

Via Atrios, I see that Neil Young is releasing a new album with a song titled "Impeach the President."

Here are some Neil Young interviews on politics. From 2003:

This is a time, I believe, of great inner turmoil for the majority of the American people. There is a new morality coming out of this administration -- fundamentalist religious views; a holier-than-thou attitude towards the rest of the world -- that is not classically American.

I don't think Americans felt holier-than-thou in the twentieth century. We were happy and successful, with a great lifestyle. But something else is going on now.

The Dixie Chicks also deserve a lot of praise.

< Taxing Marijuana | Duke Lacrosse: Police Attempt to Interview Players >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' | 58 comments (58 topical)
    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#1)
    by jondee on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 10:28:29 AM EST
    This almost makes for him stumping for Reagan. Almost.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 11:03:32 AM EST
    Niel who?

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 11:06:36 AM EST
    Er, correct that to "Neil who?" And the Dixie Chicks? They didn't even Bush's home state right (Connecticut).

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#4)
    by jondee on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 11:12:45 AM EST
    But they did the whole state of Texas. So whats your point As?

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 11:41:15 AM EST
    They won't admit it, but you gotta think this one smarts. Americana/alt-country is, sadly, the official soundtrack of Wingnuttia (notice, for example, how often Mickey Kaus refers to Steve Earle or Ryan Adams). "Sadly" because the music deserves a better fate than to be the thinking man's Hank Williams, Jr. They'll say, "who cares what a rock star's political opinions are", but they weren't saying that when Neil recorded "Let's Roll".

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 11:54:26 AM EST
    Neil Young News Blog (features audio and video of "Keep On Rockin' in the Free World")--stay tuned. Maybe a CD album video and "Impeach the President" can be made available asap via downloads (e.g., Amazon and other online sites and podcasts) with pre-orders and ultimately will be featured in a similar way on the Neil Young News blog and other blogs. Hope to hear it soon. Think of all the play it could get on people's ipods via itunes (top ten songs)! Talk about mind control: it could become the antidote to the kind of "wild speculation" sound byte fed us routinely by presidential Q&As, "press conferences" and "gaggles."

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#7)
    by peacrevol on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 12:48:08 PM EST
    Well I hope Neil Young will remember...A southern man dont need him around anyhow. --Ronnie VanZandt
    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#8)
    by glanton on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 12:54:24 PM EST
    I wish more Republicans quoted Sweet Home Alabama. Especially the parts about Watergate not bothering them and about the heroism of george Wallace. At least Skynyrd was honest about what they were and where they were coming from. "Southern Man," meanwhile, is a great song, perhaps more relevant today than ever before. Disclaimer: I'm not a big Neil Young fan. And BTW: Annie Lennox does a gorgeous version of "Don't Let it Bring you Down." Download or buy it on the American Beauty soundtrack immediately.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 01:07:12 PM EST
    From Alicia's post on My Left Wing about her experience singing in the chorus of 100 in "Impeach the President." (Posted elsewhere by her as well.)
    I had the incredible good fortune to sing in a hundred-person choir on a Neil Young record yesterday, which turned out to be a classic protest album in the Sixties tradition. Every time new lyrics came up on the screen, a roar of approval came the choir. The first line of my favorite song is "Let's impeach the President for lyin'!" and went on from there. I believe a groundswell is beginning and it may not be as impossible as it has felt for a while.
    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#10)
    by jondee on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 01:44:02 PM EST
    Glanton - That is a beautiful version by Annie Lennox. Ohio was the right song at the right time too.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#11)
    by glanton on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 01:51:22 PM EST
    Jondee: Yes, Ohio hit the mark. Young's as good as it gets when it comes to calling out things for what they are. Hard to explain why I'm not a bigger fan of his music overall. But I appreciate what he has given, that's for sure. And I'm glad someone else on this site has treated themselves to the Lennox track. Every time I make a mix CD for a friend I include that song.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 04:27:54 PM EST
    Glanton: thanks for the tip. Unfortunately, Annie Lennox's version of Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down" is actually not on either one of the commercially-available soundtrack CDs (1) and (2) for the film American Beauty; but it is on her own Medusa CD. (See comments in the reviews sec. of the American Beauty soundtrack CDs) [There are music samples accessible online, as well as lyrics, via online vendors & other sites.] Fortunately, I own the DVD for the film, so perhaps I can listen to it later in full that way.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#13)
    by glanton on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 05:00:26 PM EST
    Susan, Thanks for the clarification. I downloaded it off of something-- limewire, I think, a while ago, and just assumed it's on the Soundtrack. I hate it when movie soundtracks leave off one of the best songs. But I guess there are copywright and other marketing issues. Ah, Wilderness!

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 06:01:50 PM EST
    Impeach him, no way, hang him is the best way. come on people Bush is a real popular hero for bin laden, in fact Fox the main drug dealer in mexico city loves bush.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#15)
    by jondee on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 06:08:35 PM EST
    Yeah what was Jims recipe for the insubordinate troops that he "supports"; "seventeen ropes for seventeen necks"? I think we could come up with seventeen.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#16)
    by Che's Lounge on Fri Apr 14, 2006 at 06:09:50 PM EST
    "Freedom" IMHO his best work. He's a story teller. Don't hear many of them anymore. I love to bug other drivers with his feedback.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#17)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 03:52:43 AM EST
    Posted by glanton April 14, 2006 01:54 PM
    I wish more Republicans quoted Sweet Home Alabama. Especially the parts about Watergate not bothering them and about the heroism of george Wallace. At least Skynyrd was honest about what they were and where they were coming from. "Southern Man," meanwhile, is a great song, perhaps more relevant today than ever before. Disclaimer: I'm not a big Neil Young fan. And BTW: Annie Lennox does a gorgeous version of "Don't Let it Bring you Down." Download or buy it on the American Beauty soundtrack immediately.
    Well, Glanton, I am a big Neil Young fan. I'm also a huge Lynyrd Skynyd fan - of the original band. The one that went down in a plane crash in Gillsburg, MS on 10/20/77. They were a force of Nature. I thought this had been cleared up over 30 years ago, but I guess not. It's like when George Will tried to get Reagan to swipe "Born in the USA" but Springsteen said, "No, thanks. I'll pass. Did you guys ever even listen to the words of the song? 'Cause if ya did, ya wouldn't ask." Bruce was never a Reagan man. Skynyrd were never Nixon or Wallace men. Ronnie recorded the thing in a Neil Young T-shirt, for Christ sake! "In Birmingham they Love the Governor Boo, boo, boo Now we all did what we could do Now Watergate does not Bother Me Does your conscience bother you Tell the truth" Somehow, people always miss that boo, boo, boo part. The Neil Young reference was to the fact that not everyone from the South is a dumb cracker, racist klansman and they didn't need a Canadian like Young to tell them that's an image they've got and is and has been a problem they've gotta deal with. Young used to join them on stage to do Sweet Home and Southern Man from time to time. He'd also given them some songs they were possibly going to record when their plane went down. Sweet Home Alabama was just a regional pride song sayin' they had rockers and hippies in that neck of the woods, too. After all, the name is a twist on Leonard Skinner, the Jacksonville PE Teacher who gave 'em a hard time about havin' long hair. When they did Gimme back my bullets, it's because they wanted a hit record as in number one with a bullet, not because they were gun nuts. Ya can't blame them because they were smarter than their audience. Look what happened when Dylan went electric. Look what happened when Lennon said they were more popular than Jesus. The truth hurts. That's the artist's job.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#18)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 04:43:31 AM EST
    Well, Jim's a shrub shill incapable of independent thought. The more he protests and tells me, you and the guy who reads the meter for the power company that he's a social liberal and he just cares about the defense of the Country, the more ridiculous he sounds. He's like some mother-in-law I used to know who swore she wasn't an alcoholic because she didn't drink before noon, but got up at 11:45 and shook and snapped at her Grand kids for 15 minutes for the last 18 months of her life. Jim, since these clowns are absolutely atrocious at defending the Country and every other aspect of government and no specific evidence exists of you going against shrub or the repos at anytime for anything. Oh, occasionally, you'll make some loud noises about these vague notions of being against the drug war and for universal health care, but when the chips are down and the rubber meets the road, NOTHIN'. ZIP. NADA. BUPKIS. Jim just shills for shrub. If shrub's for it, it must be good. If shrub's against it, it must be bad. If shrub says urinating on my alligator skin cowboy boots makes 'em waterproof and sterile enough for surgery just like it does my hands, that's good enough for me.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#19)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 05:13:46 AM EST
    Jondee, Keep on rockin' in the free world. Notice how Junior's not even pretendin' to carry on the tradition of dad's kinder, gentler, machine gun hand? Just 'cause Jim, Jeepster and the usual suspects choose to get a thousand pieces of lint pulled over their eyes don't mean the other 75 percent of the population have to.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#20)
    by Edger on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 05:38:29 AM EST
    Charlie: Sweet Home Alabama was just a regional pride song sayin' they had rockers and hippies in that neck of the woods, too. One of the best songs of the seventies! Me and the boys spent the last few years of that decade in a house on a beach on the pacific ocean, being party central, getting all the guys so drunk they'd pass out, and doing our best to keep their girlfriends smiling and happy. Second Helping, and Rust Never Sleeps were two of the many great albums that were our soundtracks for those years. BTW if you live in MA:
    Rust Never Sleeps:Next Scheduled Performance Saturday, May 6, 2006 at Johnny D's in Somerville, MA RUST NEVER SLEEPS is a unique, live rock show that celebrates the music, and musical career of Neil Young.


    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#21)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 06:48:51 AM EST
    Edge, My buddy who works for the Eagles lives in Somerville. It's about 2:45 down the road for me. He keeps talkin' about comin' up. I keep talkin' about goin' down and he's a couple of weeks away from a Summer on the road. Rehearsals start in LA in like 2 weeks, so to make a long story short, I probably won't get to see it any time soon. Second Helping was the first one I got. I sure wish I'd gotten to see them. I never did. I saw The Allmans and Marshall Tucker, but never Skynyrd. Second Helping is just loaded from start to finish. Sweet Home's just one of those magic songs that's just pure synchronicity like another eponymously named one of a decade or so later. You know what I mean. They just take on a life of their own. The rest of that album just smokes. If you're a guitar player, you know. Those guys were all good in their own right, but the way they put their parts together and put the songs first, was just a joy to behold. A lotta guys tried to play like Duane Allman or Clapton when they shouldn't have. They'd play for five minutes when they ran outta things to say in the first 30 seconds. The Skynyrd boys could play there butts off and always left you wanting more. Street Survivors was a gem, too. Stevie Gaines was such a find. Great singer, writer and player. He really lit a fire under that band and shook 'em outta their doldrums. Their best work was ahead of 'em. That's what's so sad about it.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#22)
    by Edger on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 07:19:17 AM EST
    Second Helping is just loaded from start to finish...Street Survivors was a gem, too. You Got That Right. The Ballad of Curtis Lowe is one mournfully bittersweet piece of great melancholy blues. Makes you want to live with the hound dogs for the rest of you natural born life, if you're a Simple Kind of Man and happen to like Swamp Music, and you're not too busy Workin' for MCA. When Tuesday's Gone just Gimme Three Steps cause I get so sick of listening to that poker faced Mr. Saturday Night Special. Dont' Ask Me Know Questions about him and I won't tell you no lies cause I just had enough of That Smell. Just Call Me The Breeze cuz typing this is so much fun so I'll have to just keep on rollin' down the road... Even though my Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch and a wheel on the track. (Thought I never make the connection, huh?) ;-)

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#23)
    by Edger on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 07:33:23 AM EST
    Ain't got nothin' but my name And I'm the only man I know to blame But I'm livin' I'm happy and I'm free Just listen to the wind blow Let it blow let it blow Sand over my trail and I... Heard it in a Love Song

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#24)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 07:49:43 AM EST
    Well it ain't no good life not the one that I lead cause the more I fight the sadness it only seems the more that I grieve Well I don't need change baby I need foldin' money Well I wanna lover I don't need a buddy Lord I don't need nobody. Now, that's LowDown. Saturday Nite Special is the best pro-gun control song and That Smell is the best anti-Substance Abuse Song ever written. How ya gonna top Whiskey bottles and brand new cars oak tree you're in my way. There's too much coke and too much smoke One more drink fool would drown you Yeah, You Ooh that smell Can't you smell that smell Ooh that smell The smell of death around you. The smell of shrub around you.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#25)
    by Edger on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 07:53:46 AM EST
    :-) I rode in to town today and in my heart I said "Lord I'ld love to stay" But somethin' in me said "Boy move along" Don't know what it is The good Lord bred it in my bones ... And I'm searchin' for a rainbow

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#26)
    by jondee on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 07:55:06 AM EST
    I saw em on thier last tour and met, purely by fluke, Ronnie and Leon after the the show and had a hilarious, high school kid "we're not worthy!!" few moments hanging out. Very nice guys. The band from that era that really lit a fire under my a** was Little Feat. They never made it quite huge enough to headline "da big rooms" but nobody - nobody, wanted them to open for em. Too tough an act to follow. Lowell George was one of a kind and the rest of the band was nothing but tight, imaginative and ready to go anywhere.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#27)
    by Edger on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 08:00:53 AM EST
    really lit a fire under my a** was Little Feat Oh yeah... under mine too Jondee. Lowell and the band were in a class of their own! Still too tough an act to follow.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#28)
    by jondee on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 08:04:22 AM EST
    I got turned onto another all-too- unsung-hero from that era, J.J Cale through Skynyrd. Fantastic,quirky, and unique singer, songwriter, and guitarist.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#29)
    by jondee on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 08:05:10 AM EST
    Dont get me started on music.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#30)
    by Edger on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 08:06:13 AM EST
    Don't ever try to get me stopped on music. :-)

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#31)
    by Edger on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 08:07:11 AM EST
    It's like air... you die without it.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#32)
    by Edger on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 08:19:07 AM EST
    'cause the more I fight the sadness, yeah It only seems the more that I grieve ... Just don't let nobody tell you, oh what you oughta do

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#33)
    by glanton on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 08:37:52 AM EST
    Charlie, Thanks for disabusing me of my reading of "Swet Home Alabama, and Skynyrd in general.I have seen something of that argument before, but not articulated nearly as well. Another unfounded bias ditched, it's been a great morning! The SPringsteen analogy, BTW really brought your point home. Well done.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#34)
    by Edger on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 08:43:45 AM EST
    Glanton, Charlie, I always suspected they wrote Sweet Home Alabama with that little twist to sucker the rednecks into thinking the song was written for them cause they knew they'd never listen or comprehend...

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#35)
    by jondee on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 08:46:32 AM EST
    I love how Springsteen basically told Raygun & co to stick it. I wish all those people that played at that arms dealers ten million dollar Bat Mitzvah party had done that.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#36)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 11:20:51 AM EST
    Steve Gaines taken before he could even get going. Great hands. So sad.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#37)
    by jondee on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 12:01:22 PM EST
    He sung lead on one song on that last album didnt he? They were doin nothin but gettin better.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#38)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 12:11:26 PM EST
    "Young raps on Bush and the damage done", as filed Saturday, April 15, 2006, 1:00 a.m., by Nicolaas Van Rijn, Staff Reporter, Toronto Star. Once again the blogosphere leads the MSM. But Van Rijn cites and credits only Harp Magazine's article published online. He could have perhaps given his readers more information if he followed up the leads in Alicia's posts with e-mail and a phone call. (If a staff reporter wants to be an investigative reporter, he's got to take more of the initiative, I would think. But maybe the Toronto Star's editorial policies prevented his referring to blog entries. ???) In the comments posted on her blog, Alicia has gotten some heat for disclosing information about the session prior to the album's release. Some think she's revealed information that should have been kept under wraps until the album is released; that as a professional hired to take part in the chorus, she should have kept her knowledge and experience private, not blogged publicly about it. I wonder if, as part of her working conditions, she had to sign a non-disclosure agreement, or if there was none, and she was free to talk about her experience. Even so, some might say that doing so in a manner that quotes a line from the unreleased (unpublished) song is indiscreet. I wonder what people here think about that. And I wonder whether Neil Young would object to such advance publicity for his album and that particular song on it, or whether, especially given its content and (at least in part) its nature as apparently-political dissent, he and his publicists would welcome it, or what his actual stance on such might be. Maybe he'll comment in interviews soon in the MSM and online.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#39)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 12:11:36 PM EST
    Evidently, the 10 million dollar Bat Mitzvah was at the request of Management, Irv Azoff. Talent wasn't too thrilled from one degree to another. Stevie Gaines was a mother. That boy just smoked. I know a little, Ain't no good life, You got that right. The boy was a monster talent and he didn't grow up with 'em so he wasn't intimidated by Ronnie. He thought he was an equal right away which was good for both of 'em as well as the band.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#40)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 01:04:19 PM EST
    Posted by glanton April 15, 2006 09:37 AM Posted by glanton April 15, 2006 09:37 AM
    Charlie, Thanks for disabusing me of my reading of "Swet Home Alabama, and Skynyrd in general.I have seen something of that argument before, but not articulated nearly as well. Another unfounded bias ditched, it's been a great morning! The SPringsteen analogy, BTW really brought your point home. Well done.
    Glanton, Happy to do it. Now if I can just get you to realize that the best club to beat the repos with is the Democratic Party, I'd be a happier man seein' how the Sox just got shut out by the Mariners which leaves them a mere 7-4 but in first place. Oh, my God! It's almost Easter! There's only 151 games left to play!

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#41)
    by jondee on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 01:08:40 PM EST
    They say you didnt want to get Ronnie pissed, but when I met him you couldnt ask for a nicer guy. We saw them in Springfield Mass. and tried to beat the crowd on the way out by pushing through one of those doors with the alarm. Ronnie and Leon were standing on the sidewalk drinking Bud and probobly waiting for thier ride and almost no one else was around. That was a real kick.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#42)
    by glanton on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 01:12:11 PM EST
    Charlie: Did you see the Fox link I provided on the Open Thread? If not, please check it out. And then tell me how exactly you think the Dems are going to respond, if at all. Be honest, even if it means brutalizing the ones you love. I'll be on the lookout for ya. p.s. Schilling. 'Nuff said.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#43)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 01:12:56 PM EST
    If he wanted to (and he may already be doing so), Neil Young could make his song "Let's Impeach the President" and his album Living with War accessible to the general public online asap (to be purchased via downloads and as advance pre-order CDs), with a part or all of the proceeds to be donated to some specific international anti-war and peace activist organizations or some other charities geared to helping the victims of war (parallel to Farm Aid and other mass relief efforts relating to the victims of 9/11, the Tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina). Related news: Stop The War has planned "an international day of action against an attack on Iran" for May 6th: Don't Attack Iran. (One can sign the international "Petition Opposing Attack on Iran" and leave supportive comments here.)

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#44)
    by jondee on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 01:15:55 PM EST
    I saw it. And Im going to get a drink in a few minutes. lol.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#45)
    by jondee on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 01:20:42 PM EST
    Gaines was thier best straight blues player I think. He had it down and goin on. As the young people say.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#46)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Apr 15, 2006 at 01:59:38 PM EST
    Glanton, yeah, I saw it. They have nothin' to run on but fear itself. What else is new? What do you mean by respond? Do I think they're gonna start a bean ball war and get our best hitters and pitchers thrown outta the game? No, I don't. That's exactly what the repos want. It works to their advantage. Frankly, it's the only thing that'll save their sorry butts. Or to change sports, drop the puck, drop the gloves and have a good old fashioned bench clearing brawl and administer some frontier justice to those slimy swift boat scum bags. They've certainly got in comin'. The chicken hawk patriots like Jim who diss the likes of Max Cleland and Kerry for fightin' in the war they say they supported but didn't have the stones to fight in need to go. Music and film is about art. Politics is about results. I'm interested in one thing. The shortest distance between two points. Here and the end of the 43rd reich. Ya know that footage when they blast the Swastika off the top of the Reichstag? I wanna see the symbol of these swine get the same treatment. Metaphorically speaking.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#47)
    by jondee on Sun Apr 16, 2006 at 01:33:52 AM EST
    Imprison the PNAC signatories. Every last one of them.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#48)
    by Edger on Sun Apr 16, 2006 at 05:49:34 AM EST
    I've been a miner for a heart of gold. It's these expressions I never give That keep me searching for a heart of gold And I'm getting old. ... I've been in my mind, it's such a fine line That keeps me searching for a heart of gold
    ...life is not supposed to be endless war, endless tyranny, endless poverty, endless suffering and then global warming; there must be a light at the end of this dark tunnel. There is:
    "When you put a thing in order, and give it a name, and you are all in accord, it becomes."
    --From the Navajo, Masked Gods, Waters, 1950

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#49)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Apr 16, 2006 at 10:01:39 AM EST
    Living with War (title song)

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#50)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Apr 17, 2006 at 01:02:01 PM EST
    Other blogs and newspapers all over the world have been citing Alicia's blog entry about her experience recording the Neil Young album Living With War. I noticed an article in the London Independent Online today (one of longer articles in the MSM picking up this story), which went to the trouble of calling and interviewing her, and checked her blog to see if she was commenting on it. Here is her update featuring a link to the article. In contrast to recent flaps about bloggers not being cited by the MSM in relation to Plamegate, many people are citing this particular blogger's firsthand account and, in the case of the London Independent Online at least, following up to interview her as a news source (as, I pointed out earlier, the Toronto Sun reporter had not done). This story has been getting a lot of attention and, as the release of the album and the song get closer, the attention to them may increase. (One hopes. . . .)

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#51)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Apr 18, 2006 at 08:10:37 AM EST
    "On His New Album, Neil Young Calls for Bush's Impeachment," by Jeff Leeds, published in the New York Times today. Neil Young's official website, Neil's Garage, has been updated again (possibly to meet popular demand) so that the message from Neil Young and the lyrics of the title song "Living With War" are back to scrolling across the bottom of the home page screen. Leeds cites a phone interview with Young's manager and gives the title of the song about impeaching the president as "Let's Impeach the President."
    Elliot Roberts, Mr. Young's longtime manager, said the album would be "more about soldiers" and "what it's like to all of a sudden be 18 and on the line." . . . . Mr. Roberts said that he did not know exactly what had inspired Mr. Young to record the new songs, which were written and recorded in a span of roughly two weeks, but that "I know he watches the news." He added that he believed the album's sentiments would resonate broadly, adding that "it's not a political, Democratic versus Republican feel."
    Leed's next paragraph beginning
    The album comes at a time when major record companies and radio stations appear to have developed a degree of comfort with bluntly political material
    is especially interesting.

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#52)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 19, 2006 at 02:30:56 PM EST
    Update: Some more details provided by Howie Klein at Huffington Post.
    Instinctively, Neil must have known the song is going to cause an uproar and become the focus of the album. So he crafted an absolute masterpiece, immune from the barbs and arrows that will surely come. Let's impeach the president for lying Misleading our country into war Abusing all the power that we gave him And shipping all our money out the door He then goes on to lay out a case as strong as anything Henry Waxman is going to do -- maybe not as specific -- but a lot more poetic. The song discusses the Regime's criminality, spying, the mess they made of post-Katrina New Orleans, hijacking "our religion" for partisan purposes, as well as how they have used divisiveness and racism to further their political agenda. Neil backs up his lyrics with Bush's own words, turning his inspid/Orwellian words on tape against him as the song is transformed from a hard rocker into a soaring gospel inspirational.
    [Read the whole post.]

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#53)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 19, 2006 at 02:43:23 PM EST
    Here's the direct link to the original version of the entry posted by Howie Klein on his blog DownWithTyranny. He refers to it as his "review" of Neil Young's album "Living With War": It's entitled "Neil Young Is Living With War. Can He Rescue America, and the rest of the World, from It?" (He has been adding updates on to his first entry about it.)

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#54)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Apr 20, 2006 at 09:41:53 AM EST
    Don't miss the new official Living With War blog, providing a direct link to a (ShowBiz Tonight) video interview with Neil Young, and other related links. In the interview, Neil Young articulately explains his views and provides information about the planned quick release of the CD and how they are and will be using the internet to communicate its contents. [Please check NeilYoung.com and the blog Living With War for further updates, including additional song lyrics from Living With War.]

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#55)
    by Edger on Sat Apr 22, 2006 at 01:23:48 PM EST
    That's really cool. Thanks for posting that Susan!

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#56)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Apr 24, 2006 at 10:57:40 PM EST
    Neil Young's blog Living With War now has an unofficial version entirely in Spanish: Neil Young Noticias. The lyrics of the songs from Living With War that are already posted at Neil's Garage are now translated into Spanish on that blog. Lyrics of eight of the ten songs posted thus far on those sites; the 10th is "America the Beautiful." Latest lyrics posted are those for "Flags of Freedom" (track 6). Note the allusion to the sister of a soldier watching a parade while (on her headphones) "Listening to Bob Dylan singin' . . . "In 1963. . . ."

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#57)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 26, 2006 at 03:08:10 PM EST
    There's perhaps a bit of a scoop hot off the press in Robert Everett-Green's account "Neil Young lets loose a war cry: . . . The World awaits Young's most powerful album in years, a disc fuelled by outrage at Washington. The Artist's brother gives Robert Everett-Green a sneak preview" (Toronto Globe and Mail)[registration may be required to access full story]). "America the Beautiful" (track 10) is already scrolling on Neil's Garage; "Let's Impeach the President" is track 7 (the only one not yet posted) and about to appear perhaps tomorrow on the website. Some more of the lyrics are quoted by Robert Everett-Green:
    "Let's impeach the president for lying / and leading our country into war," Young hollers, "abusing all the power that we gave him / and shipping all our money out the door . . . Let's impeach the president for sping / on citizens inside their own homes / breaking every law in the country / tapping our computers and telephones."
    [The article is linked on some blogs accessible via Google Blog Search.] [Re: the allusion to "our money": Before anyone else points out again that Young is Canadian; when Young replies to that common remark raised by the CNN interviewer, he observes that he has lived in the US and paid US taxes for forty years. So, given that, and, of course, given that he is also a citizen of the world, he's entitled to use "we" and "our" throughout the album.]

    Re: Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' (none / 0) (#58)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Apr 26, 2006 at 03:20:50 PM EST
    And here, in case anyone missed it, is Rolling Stone's cool take on the internet previewing of Living with War and, specifically, on track 7: "Let's Impeach the Preisdent":
    This track has already drawn the most media attention, with its battle cry for an end to this administration. As if at a rally, Young is joined by a choir on nearly every word. Contradictory Bush sound bites about "weapons of mass destruction" and the Patriot Act are sampled while Young and his choir call out, "Flip! Flop!" It's unlike anything we've ever heard in a rock song. His barely restrained rage at the current state of American politics is palpable on this song, as throughout the album.
    Neil Young: New Song 'Impeach the President' | 58 comments (58 topical)