Sunday, January 06, 2008

Decades Gone By


Does anybody remember the old Surfer Magazine interviews in the 1980s that asked people like Tom Curren and Martin Potter what their favorite music was? I distinctively recall Neil Young's Harvest and David Bowie's Alladin Sane among the lists. Of course, as a 15-year-old kid who just discovered Duran Duran, those picks fell on ears that were either deaf or full of day-glo Zinka.

Last weekend I downloaded the whole album Decade (Young's, not Duran Duran's) and I feel like I just uncovered a rare jewel. A lot of the songs are familiar, as they would be to any child of the '70s, but many are as fresh and relevant as anything Pitchfork reviewed last year. Everything old is new again. At least to me.

Neil Young - A Man Needs a Maid

Emily Haines - A Maid Needs a Maid

5 comments:

surferbrat said...

Oh, I'll never get tired of Neil. My favorite in particular-it's on that album too, is Cortez the Killer. Such a great song. I can't help it though--I'm biased--my boyfriend can play every Neil song ever written and often does. Enjoy that groove--he offers a peace that's hard to find elsewhere.

Squid said...

I get accused of playing guitar like Neil in his early days...
Sloppy and stoned...

Gazelle said...

Decade is an impressive collection. I heard a year or two ago that he was working on an updated, more extensive collection of his work. Check out this sweet tribute cd if you haven't already -

http://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Tribute-Neil-Young/dp/B000000HRF/ref=m_art_li_0/103-8531469-7795835

Anonymous said...

neil young is one of my childhood heroes. i must have "after the gold rush" somewhere on vinyl still....

Malcolm Johnson said...

such a classic set. gotta love that last verse of long may you run...