{"id":1212,"date":"2010-05-31T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-05-31T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2010\/05\/thanks-to-neil-young-music%c2%a0for%c2%a0mondays\/"},"modified":"2017-01-24T19:02:27","modified_gmt":"2017-01-25T00:02:27","slug":"thanks-to-neil-young-music-for-mondays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2010\/05\/thanks-to-neil-young-music-for-mondays.html","title":{"rendered":"Thanks to Neil Young (Music\u00a0for\u00a0Mondays)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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Neil Young is in town! Neil Young is in town! That was what the sign on the Civic Auditorium said last Thursday night. It\u2019s always big news when a big name comes to a small town. Not like I could go to the show or anything. My wife was hosting her book club meeting and although baby-sitting duty would kick me and the kids out of the house, I\u2019m not quite ready to take them to a rock concert. I took them go-karting instead.<\/p>\n

But I wanted<\/em> to go to the show. So I did the next best thing. I hunted around for Neil Young songs on You Tube and started posting them on my Facebook page. See, I\u2019ve always liked some of his songs, even when Ronnie Van Zant from Lynyrd Skynyrd\u00a0 told me that I shouldn\u2019t like him. Sorry, I couldn\u2019t do that Ronnie, because Cinnamon Girl<\/em><\/a> rocks, man. (I can\u2019t believe my wife has never heard of it. Sheeeeeeesh!)
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\nEven so, before I became a Catholic, I was more close-minded. Which means that after I became a Catholic I became more open-minded.\u00a0 Whaat?!<\/em> Yeah, sounds like an oxymoron to be an open-minded, yet orthodox follower of the faith doesn\u2019t it? But that is the way it is.<\/p>\n

You hadn\u2019t noticed? I can\u2019t explain it all to you here, music fans, because that is way beyond the scope of a post like this. Suffice it to say that Neil Young is an interesting character<\/a>, a non-conformist, and yep, you guessed it,\u00a0 a contrarian.<\/a> Is he a Catholic? I have no idea. But is he godless? I don\u2019t believe so. Heck, some people think<\/a> he may even be a prophet. I really can\u2019t say. I do know that a few videos here don\u2019t even begin to scratch the surface of Neil\u2019s artistic and philanthropic work. I just know that I like Neil Young\u2019s music and his character.\u00a0 He isn\u2019t perfect, but he knows that too.<\/p>\n

Now then, what we have here are the makings of the longest Music for Mondays<\/em> posts ever at YIM Catholic. Good thing that it is a holiday (here in the US at least), because this way you can crank up the speakers and sing along with Neil (and me).\u00a0 Just be careful, because some of his tunes will melt your speakers down to the wires, which I think is a good thing too.<\/p>\n

Why hasn\u2019t Neil ever been awarded a Grammy? That is the question I\u2019m asking myself too. I don\u2019t know (ed. this has since been rectified!). No matter, come along and follow me for a taste o\u2019 Neil Young<\/em> and remember the wise words of Crash Davis<\/a> from the movie Bull Durham<\/em>: \u201cDon\u2019t think. It\u2019s bad for the ball club.\u201d Just enjoy these along with me.<\/p>\n

First up, Neil\u2019s folksy side:<\/p>\n

Heart of Gold <\/strong> \u201cPut me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore, so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride but I saw more interesting people there.\u201d <\/span> Thankfully, before Neil headed for \u201cthe ditch,\u201d he recorded a show for the BBC in London and played this new song for the audience. Check him out as he fumbles around, in a very charming and relaxed way, for the harmonica in the correct key (key of G, in case you want to blow along with him) to accompany the song. This was Neil\u2019s first and only #1 hit on the Billboard Charts and it is a beauty.<\/span><\/p>\n