It's good to hear that Neil Young still has a heart of gold. If I recall correctly, he endorsed Reagan, at least for a time, back in the '80s, but redeemed himself by taking aim at Bush the elder in the classic rock anthem "Rockin' in the Free World." (1989). Truth be told, it seems as though the song is older than that, which only goes to show I'm aging. The "We got a thousand points of light/For the homeless man/ We got a kinder, gentler/ Machine gun hand" line definitely dates it a George the 1st-era tune.
The next lines, though, fit just as well today, with Big Oil again running the country: "We got department stores and toilet paper/ Got styrofoam boxes for the ozone layer/ Got a man of the people, says keep hope alive/ Got fuel to burn, got roads to drive."
If I were singing the song, I'd change "department stores and toilet paper" to "Wall Mart stores and... buried Nader" and substitute "styrofoam boxes" to "SUVs 'n' Hummers." Jeff, maybe the next time we get to see each other you can get out the gee-tar & humor me.
But the reason I've got Neil Young on the brain, and on the stereo (a 1987 live bootleg that I picked up in Italy), is that the man is about to release Living with War, a new LP which includes a song for Dubya. The song's titled Let's Impeach the President.Could this be the Indedpendence Day anthem of '06?
After treatment for a brain aneurysm in 2005, it appears as though Young is recovering well. He certainly has been busy. He released Praisrie Wind last year and now Living with War. I wonder if a brush with death inspired him to write some anti-Bush-regime protest rock?
Perhaps the Dead Kennedys could redo "Let's Lynch the Landlord" with lyrics updated to better reflect the realities of Dubya's 'ownership society'?
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The next lines, though, fit just as well today ... "Got styrofoam boxes for the ozone layer"
Eh, this was already dated in 1989. CFCs have been phased out for decades, and were not used in styrofoam production in 1989.
Styrofoam is of course non-biogradable. Reusable containers are the best for the environment, so I'm not going to advocate the use of any disposables.
But what did they come up with in place of styrofoam? Plastic-impregnated paper, which is non-recyclable (in principle, styrofoam is) and non-biodegradable, and which is an inferior insulator, which is why they added those sleeves for holding the cup.
Sorry for the mini-tirade here, but the styrofoam issue strikes me as the epitome of style over substance pop-environmentalism. If we really want to save the planet, we've got to teach people how to think about the impact of their activities, not just to follow fads.
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