Today, the Toronto Star opinions about Neil and his recent activities in Canada, giving a summary about his longrunning political attitude and actions as a musician and artist.
As The Passenger says: The music we march to didn’t just show up on the radar last year sometime. They all know that. Consolidate your feces dark siders, Neil Young has proudly represented workers for decades. [1]
Referring to a recent poll in the Calgary Herald “Most Albertans object to Young’s remarks” it is written:
Today Young is outraged again, only this time it’s with his home country. He hates the oilsands. He thinks it’s the world’s greatest environmental disaster and he believes the health of First Nations peoples, who live near the projects, is threatened.
On a recent visit to northern Alberta, Young gave voice to these opinions. The oil industry and their supplicants summarily dismissed his views. The aging rock star was said to have his facts wrong (even though we lack a widely accepted set of facts about the environmental and health effects of the oilsands). He was characterized as just another in a long list of celebrity activists who uncritically accept the views of those opposed to the oilsands.
Oh yeah, musicians should just shut up and play. For the cool and calm summary of Neil’s reply to these critizisms, Neil replied wonderfully in his “Calgary Adress“. Like music is a place devoid of emotion or discussion or revolution.
A lot of the polled people disagree with Neil’s points of views about the Oil Sands, the climate change, the environmental destruction and the “greed” Canada sells out to the Big Oil players. However, a majority is very concerned and believe the oilsands are damaging the Alberta province’s ecosystems.
“No matter how you feel, there’s a discussion going on around the breakfast table. That’s real, that’s big, that’s Canada,” Young said.
The T-Star concludes:
Big oil has spent tens of millions of dollars in advertisements and public relations gimmicks to convince Canadians and Americans of the unambiguous merits of the oilsands. This has been done in part to pressure the Obama administration to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline project. Whatever positive effect this expensive PR effort has yielded, Neil Young could wipe out in an afternoon of inspired song writing.
The message to Big Oil should be clear. When an angry Neil Young shows up on your doorstep, don’t dismiss him the way you do all your other critics. Give him the respect he deserves and consider his views carefully, lest he train his formidable lyrical and melodic arsenal on you.
A message from Neil, along with his address to the press before the Calgary show, specifically to the editor of the Calgary Herald. Jan. 19, 2014
Thanks to my friends in the First Nations.
Thanks to my crew, Thanks to all of the Canadians who supported our efforts to enable justice and truth for the First Nations living in Canada.
Our journey across the great expanse of Canada reveal…ed the beauty of the people and the land once again and brought back the old feelings of home.
To the leaders of Canada I say keep our word. Live up to the truth. Honour the treaties. To the foreign and domestic oil companies in our north, I say clean up your mess.
Stop complaining.
Talk to our First Nations and come to agreements to allow what you plan to do on their land, as it is represented in the treaties our forefathers reached with our First Nations.
Here’s a little short and sweet. The link here is to a cut-down version of a film produced by Lawrence Carota through the NFB (National Film Board of Canada). It speaks to many of the issues under discussion here. It’s not easy to digest but it is right on the money:
Crude Sacrifice
I keep looking for indie films that shed a good light on the tar pit. Something produced by someone other that CAPP (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers) or the Big Oil companies directly. So far it’s been very hard to find anything from independent sources. And the stuff produced by CAPP and Big Oil reminds me too much of the crap the tobacco industry spin machine flooded onto the marketplace when they were trying to convince us that smoking was a good thing.
Crude Sacrifice is the title of the film.
Onward The Passenger
More videos about this subect:
To the Last Drop: Canada’s Dirty Oil Sands
Residents of one Canadian town are engaged in a David and Goliath-style battle over the dirtiest oil project ever known.
– Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61X4IQqnmd0
Once pristine wilderness, Alberta is now a world of poisoned water, polluted air, and rare cancer. VICE travels to the oil sands of Canada to investigate the impact of digging for this previously unobtainable oil.
Tom Adams, producer of the now famous Carnegie Hall full crowd-sourced show from Jan. 7, 2014 posts an open message to Warner Brothers:
(and BNB supports this view)
” While Warner Brothers certainly has the legal right to remove the video I produced, I am frustrated that no one from the company contacted me directly.
Sure, I’m just a small fish in a gigantic pond, but I obviously touched on a nerve here. I simply received a standard email from youtube noting the copyright infringement.
I see the viral nature of this video as an opportunity for Warner Brothers to make a progressive move towards a more modern way of dealing with fan-produced media. I wish they would have seen this as a chance to take a leading role in the rapidly changing world of online media distribution… especially when dealing with one of the world’s most respected and prolific entertainers who, after 40+ years of performing, still has an amazingly solid connection with his fans.
I wish they would have considered an alternative way to preserve and present this magical event to Neil Young’s fans instead of just removing it. So if anyone out there in Warner Brothers-land is reading this, I’m all ears and just a click away: www.twitter.com/Reelife_Tom)
Young added lyrics to the song, which originally appeared on his album Ragged Glory. “Respect Mother Earth and her healing ways,” he sings. “Don’t trade away our children’s days.” The Honour The Treaties concerts –held in Toronto, Regina, Winnipeg and Calgary — raised funds for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Legal Defense Fund. It also sparked debate among Canadians about the oilsands and some criticism of Young.
“And find out how she felt
In the mornin\' on the fields of green
In the homeland we\'ve never seen. ” by -- Neil Young
Neil Young on Tour
Sugar Mountain setlists
Tom Hambleton provides BNB with setlists, thankfully. His website is the most comprehensive searchable archives on the Internets about anything Neil Young related setlists. Goto Sugar Mountain.
Today, the Toronto Star opinions about Neil and his recent activities in Canada, giving a summary about his longrunning political attitude and actions as a musician and artist.
Thanks to my friends in the First Nations.
memphish on 
Albert Stromann on 
liza on 
Baz on 
