Feeling better about myself

So I heard a neil young song on the radio the other day, the “new” one… it’s a anti-war protest song. Now, I’m not really fond of the current administration or the war, and I guess it’s sorta expected that a guy that played at woodstock would be against it, but I have a problem with this song.

He basically used the exact same tempo and beat from “rockin in the free world”. Completely ripped it off. I mean, I know the original was his, so he’s entitled to, but it just seems lazy. Now, I’m sure there’s a bit of irony in there somewhere that he’s protesting a war who’s supposed purpose is to overthrow a dictator and bring in democratic elections, but that’s not what I care about.

What I care about is this-
* Neil Young can’t sing. I don’t think anyone will disagree there.
* Neil Young isn’t that good of a guitarist. Listen to the riffs from free world and this new song. Sloppy and very boring.
* Neil Young isn’t that good of a writer. read the new lyrics:

Back in the days of "mission accomplished"
Our chief was landing on the deck
The sun was setting on a golden photo op
Back in the days of "mission accomplished"

Not exactly inspiring for me. They actually feel pretty limp. Now, beyond all the political BS that this is wrapped up in, strictly from a musical point of view…

Why the hell in Neil Young so popular?

The reviews I read of this CD were all shouting “OMG he wants to impeach bush!!!” and not “this song is a good song, and here’s why.” The lyrics feel forced and clunky, the guitar is the same way, and as I mentioned earlier, the beat is recycled…

But anyways, the point of me writing this is to say that I feel better about myself. I’ve been trying to write these well thought out, composed songs with reasonable lyrics and a nice hook. I see that to get a song on the radio, you don’t really need good lyrics, excellent musicianship, or even talent. I thought that was confined to pop music, but I guess I was wrong. Thanks Neil Young for cluing me in!