Neil Young on Neil Young: Advice on how to make music and live life
If you ask me who my favorite current musician is, my answer would probably surprise you. It’s Neil Young. Yeah, I know you’re rolling your eyes over the word current, but in the last decade, Young has released nine studio albums. That sounds like a current working musician to me.
A few weeks ago, I was at a local library. On the new non-fiction shelf was the book “Neil Young on Neil Young.” Released late last year, it’s a series of interviews that date from his Buffalo Springfield days in 1967 through 2019. In them, you’ll find his thoughts on music, filmmaking, relations, life and death.
Most of the things I read in the book, I had seen at other outlets. However, there was one quote of his that hit home with me:
“Music is my life. I just do what I want to do. And I’ve been searching around for a long time, trying everything I can to make me feel good or to try to keep me from being bored. That’s why a lot of times I do different things. And I sometimes do it in styles that people don’t understand or they don’t want to understand. But that’s the people’s hang-up. It’s not mine. My thing is I’m creating a life’s work.”
This is one of the reasons I like and respect Young so much. He mixes it up. From country and folk music to grunge and blues. From solo concerts on acoustic guitar, harmonica and piano to full-blown guitar-centric albums with the band Crazy Horse. Young does it all. You never know what’s coming next. It keeps it interesting for his fans and more importantly, himself.
It’s not only a great way to make music, but it’s also a wonderful way to live. You don’t laser focus on only one specific thing, but find multiple interests that keep you active and busy.
If Neil Young can still do this at age seventy-six, what’s the excuse for the rest of us? There is none! So let’s get ready to mix it up. Let’s live life like Neil. The time to get started is now!