Neil Young And Crazy Horse, "Like A Hurricane"
Squalling, crashing walls of sound, that epic roaring screech of Neil Young's guitar blasting like gusts of screaming wind across a shuttered window while Crazy Horse keeps the beat hammered down. Just one of the greatest guitar solos ever, it always is whenever he plays it.
And probably all you're thinking is, "Why the fuck are there Jawas on the stage?"
I think the answer can be reduced to two probabilities:
Obviously, I can't narrow it down any further past these two, and clearly we can only speculate which one of these scenarios is more likely, though I will offer this much: you saw a lot of brown robes and glowy eyes in various advertisements and TV specials and things from 1977 to around 1979, and then later not-so-much. And yet Neil Young, like a lot of people in his industry in those days, was probably still doing drugs. On the other hand, if a group of robed aliens with luminous eyes put together enough money to finally fly back to their homeworld, you'd expect to see their presence diminish and eventually vanish (with the possible exception of the occasional Jawa who stayed behind, married an American citizen, and moved to the suburbs).
I think the inference is clear.
Part of me thinks posting this could be in poor taste: it was inspired partly by the fact Hurricane Irene may be visiting my home state this weekend. I guess by that rationale, I might have posted Carole King's "I Felt The Earth Move" earlier this week, except I'd never do something that tacky: Carole King really irritates me for some reason I can't explain and I generally don't like her stuff, at least not when it's performed by her (I'm sure a diligent music buff could find a Goffin/King number I love somewhere--I mean, they only wrote about ninety-eight million songs, and that's just for Phil Spector). But, whatever: hurricane's coming, I like Neil Young, I can't think of anything in particular to write about: here you go. Plus, this version has those Jawas, and that really is fucked up. I mean, really--Jawas?! Okay, Neil. Hope you got a bulk discount on the LED glasses for everybody.
Still, rockin' song.
And probably all you're thinking is, "Why the fuck are there Jawas on the stage?"
I think the answer can be reduced to two probabilities:
- After the release of Star Wars in 1977, the smelly, junk-scavenging extraterrestrial hominids found themselves out of work and all-but-ignored by George Lucas, who brought them to this planet with the promise they would be big Hollywood movie stars. This obviously didn't pan out, and the Jawas found themselves out of work and largely homeless (as the sandcrawlers they prefer to reside in could meet neither California's stringent vehicle emissions standards nor the state's housing code). Famous for his humanitarian pursuits, Neil Young decided to give the aliens work as roadies during his 1978 tour as a way of helping them earn money towards passage on an FTL freighter back to their homeworld or towards retaining the services of a really good immigration attorney, whatever they wanted. As an added benefit, the Jawas were non-union.
- Drugs.
Obviously, I can't narrow it down any further past these two, and clearly we can only speculate which one of these scenarios is more likely, though I will offer this much: you saw a lot of brown robes and glowy eyes in various advertisements and TV specials and things from 1977 to around 1979, and then later not-so-much. And yet Neil Young, like a lot of people in his industry in those days, was probably still doing drugs. On the other hand, if a group of robed aliens with luminous eyes put together enough money to finally fly back to their homeworld, you'd expect to see their presence diminish and eventually vanish (with the possible exception of the occasional Jawa who stayed behind, married an American citizen, and moved to the suburbs).
I think the inference is clear.
Part of me thinks posting this could be in poor taste: it was inspired partly by the fact Hurricane Irene may be visiting my home state this weekend. I guess by that rationale, I might have posted Carole King's "I Felt The Earth Move" earlier this week, except I'd never do something that tacky: Carole King really irritates me for some reason I can't explain and I generally don't like her stuff, at least not when it's performed by her (I'm sure a diligent music buff could find a Goffin/King number I love somewhere--I mean, they only wrote about ninety-eight million songs, and that's just for Phil Spector). But, whatever: hurricane's coming, I like Neil Young, I can't think of anything in particular to write about: here you go. Plus, this version has those Jawas, and that really is fucked up. I mean, really--Jawas?! Okay, Neil. Hope you got a bulk discount on the LED glasses for everybody.
Still, rockin' song.
Comments
Although to give you your due, I rate the likeliest answer as...
1. Drugs.
2. Lots of Drugs.
3. Dude, I can totally see your brain colors glowing outta your ears and some of your words just drifted up into that tree and got eaten up by that puppy with the butterfly wings. Got any more Cheetos?