Quote:
Originally Posted by Canuck-Hater
Neil Young doesn't have to say anything to stay relevant. He will always be relevant even after hes dead. The same can't be said for Stephen Harper or Joe Oliver.
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Decades ago, Neil Young was already feeling irrelevant and trying to re-establish his relevance when he wrote this lyric (trivia: quoted by Kurt Cobain's suicide note).
My my, hey hey
Rock and roll is here to stay
It's better to burn out
Than to fade away
I don't appreciate Neil's use of inaccuracy and hyperbole in his cause célèbre. He really isn't being fair in his condemnation and mis-characterization of the situation. He seems to be trying to support the blue-collar worker while condemning the suits but doesn't understand that large economic projects such as these are one of the greatest opportunities in the world for social mobility. I think social mobility is one of the most important causes and an indicator of standard of living in modern countries. Of course, hippies were never really for social mobility of the lower classes. For them, it was more about taking the establishment down to their level which I think is counterproductive to civilization.
As far as Neil Young staying relevant whereas politicians won't...what kind of metric are we using here? Politicians and their policies arguably could have more far-reaching decades long impact that a musician. That said, I did not grow up with Neil's music. I play some of his songs but they mean little to nothing to me so perhaps I do not understand what his impact really is.