Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Keep on Rockin'...

... in the free world...Today in rock history, in 1989, Neil Young released 'Freedom,' his best album in a decade. A blistering performance of the opening track, "Rockin' in the Free World," on 'Saturday Night Live' is regarded as one of that show's best performances. Even though it is an intense performance, Neil never liked doing TV: Just the look on his face was enough. He really seemed insane. YOUNG: 'Yeah, well I was. I don't like TV. Never have. It always sucks and there's nothing you can do about it. You can't just walk on and do 'Rockin' in the Free World,' or you'll look like a fuckin' idiot. To perform that song the way it's supposed to be performed you have to be at peak blood level, everything has to be up, the machine has to be stoked. To do that I had to ignore Saturday Night Live completely. I had to pretend I wasn't there.' So Young developed 'a brand new technique for doing TV' - a half-hour before going on he worked out with his trainer, lifting weights and doing calisthenics to get himself wired. "

Since I must have been under a rock at the time and missed it, and since it is one of my most favorite Neil Young songs ever, now is the time to enjoy it one more time! Thanks to http://rockhall.com/story-of-rock/today-in-rock/ and http://thrasherswheat.org/fot/ritfw.htm for the info, and, well, you know what to do!


NEIL YOUNG / ROCKIN' IN THE FREE WORLD
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