When Howard Stern was asked who would you most like to interview… he always said, “Neil Young”. The much anticipated interview finally happened today.
Here is a link to the Rolling Stone article that lists the “12 Things We Learned From Howard Stern”
After listening to the interview myself, I thought the following of special interest to TBR Ramblers…
1. The reason I can’t find a recording of Buffalo Springfield that is as awesome as their reputation…is because (as Neil says) the band’s producers did a lousy job capturing their magic on tape. Too much parting in the the studio for the guys in the booth.
Also, interesting to hear Neil turned down a Buffalo Springfield appearance on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show. This was unheard of at this time. He had a different vision than the rest.
2. As a young man, Neil says music allowed him to be himself.
3. (It never gets tiring hearing this…)
The chemistry of Crazy Horse is unique and the perfect example of a band being greater than the sum of its parts.
4. Rick James was the singer in one of Neil Young’s first bands (The Mynah Birds) when he lived in Toronto.
Rick James and Neil Young were quite young at the time (both under 20 years old) and had the wonderful experience of recording with their band at Motown Studios. Hearing Neil talk about the interest Motown producers had in the way he played guitar riffs inside an R&B song structure was very interesting.
I loved hearing that while in the studio, guys like the Four Tops would “pop in” to do background vocals. Neil says it was a big family atmosphere.
5. Howard asked Neil why he doesn’t listen to more new music. Neil says he lives “in his own head” and hears plenty from friends music players that keeps him engaged. He likes to hear whatever is in the “air”. He then made a weird (but super cool) reference to having JJ Cale on all the time.
6. The CSNY chatter was a snore, especially the spat with David Crosby (which has become the focus of social media…shame on you)… what I loved hearing was that he and Stevie Stills are true “brothers” and have that musical bond that could never be busted up.
7. Pono Music has finally caught my interest. He says it makes people “feel” the music significantly more than conventional digitized music.
I loved his analogy that hearing a great song on an MP3 player is like looking at Xerox copies of a famous painting in a Paris museum. I will check it out (when I can get my hands on one of course).
Here is a link to Relix, which posted the full interview.
Here is the full interview on YouTube. Enjoy.
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