I’ve been in my mind, it’s such a fine line That keeps me searching for a heart of gold And I’m getting old. This song is great because of its quality of universal yearning for a pure and true love. In 1971, Neil was more willing to directly talk to you. Today Neil is a bit of a Sphinx where context and meaning and inspiration must be divined by your listening. The reason this performance is so stunning is because Neil is so young and he explains his music while chatting with you about his harmonica. We’ll start in 1971 with Neil’s heartfelt “Heart of Gold” performance on the BBC. To help my students understand Neil’s importance, I presented to them, and now to you, The Neil Young Primer: Why Genius Never Fades as irrefutable evidence of his greatness as an artist in three choice songs. When I used Neil’s song “The Needle and the Damage Done” to teach issues in Public Health to my graduate students at UMDNJ, I was met with blank stares and questions. If you were born in the last 30 years or so you probably have no idea who Neil Young is or why he’s important to you now as he was in 1971 when he burst upon our lives in a glorious golden crash of stardom from Canada. When you’ve experienced a Neil Young song in that manner you don’t look at other musicians the same way because not only can they never inspire you they cannot even inspire their own spirit. Neil Young makes me cry in the noble, touching, way genius creates art that erupts into an intellectual and emotional explosion of the senses in a single moment of blinding understanding.
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