Went with some folks last night to see Greendale, Neil Young's latest film project. Shot on a 16-mm underwater camera, it's the visual and narrative equivalent of his music: raw, gritty, loud, simplistic, elemental, activist. As a piece of filmmaking, it's B-/C+ work; as a music video, it's A++. I think if it's watched as such -- as a translation of music to screen, and not as a narrative film -- it could redefine the whole notion of music videos. The music itself feels like an extended cut of "Mother Earth: Natural Anthem" (from Ragged Glory) to which a story and visuals have been added.
At any rate, in this Wired interview Neil says:
One of my pet projects is to run the next Greendale tour on biodiesel. It gives off 80 percent less emissions. I'll drive the hugest SUV and 90 percent of the people who are yelling at me will be polluting more than I am. We'll show everyone that we can move in this capitalist system, deliver the goods, and not pollute. If we travel with a giant thermos-bottle truck with biofuel written on the side, the TV people will come. Then I'll be able to prostitute myself for something positive, instead of just selling a record.
Although it's hard to imagine two men more different from each other, it sounds like Neil is channelling Robert Fripp's liner notes from Let the Power Fall:
Commitment to an aim within an inappropriate structure will give rise to the creation of an appropriate structure.Posted by Chris at March 25, 2004 11:18 AM