Neil Young and United 93: Are Either Exploiting 9/11 Attacks?

There was an understandable impatience for protest songs in the wake of 9/11. Brutal attacks on our people will do that. The more thoughtful and pragmatic recording artists, hoping for a career lasting longer than a Top 40 countdown, will hold out until the time is right. They will make their powerful statements and stand up to be counted, but they will not be rushed. Neil Young’s “Let’s Roll,” and Paul McCartney’s “Freedom” were poorly written, innocuous miscalculations that played on emotionalism and abandoned any chance of becoming anthems. Writing something in a rush will do that to a song.
 
Many of us remember an earlier Neil Young song that still proves itself an exception to that rule. “Ohio” was written, recorded, and released in the weeks after the brutal May 1970 slayings of four war protesting college students on the campus of Kent State. It was an angry, forceful, and even catchy rock anthem that served as a call for action for those still unsure about where they stood regarding the Vietnam War. When the order is made to draw fire on peaceful protesters, all bets are off. Decorum and diplomacy takes second place to the cold power of a great song.
 
Thirty-six years later, Neil Young returns to protest form with the release of “Living With War.” This new release, which Young is now streaming on his website, was reportedly written and recorded in March. It’s a strong collection of electrified, fuzz-rock anthems with titles like “After The Garden,” “Living With War,” and “Shock and Awe.” For forty years, this is an artist who has rarely compromised when it comes to left-wing hippie ideologies, and if only for this he should be lionized. Grizzled and high-pitched and angry [especially in “The Restless Consumer,”] this is a collection deep from the heart.
 
Early mixed media commentary on “Living With War” has been understandable. Like most rock stars of his vintage, Neil Young is a better performing musician than he is an interview subject. Nervous footage of his recent appearance on CNN will speak to that. “Let’s Impeach The President,” one of the more controversial songs in this collection, is an interesting yet poorly structured lyric saved only by clever audio of Bush and chants of “Flip/Flop” to underscore the point. “America The Beautiful,” ingrained in all of us, ends “Living With War.” Hearing it in this context is as heartbreaking as you might expect.
 
 “Living With War” will probably not receive airplay on anything but the most adventurous satellite radio programs. Videos will not be played on “TRL” We will be saved from the pointless spectacle of understanding these songs between ads for beer and perfume, and this is as it should be. Accusations of Neil Young exploiting tragedy here should also be applied to the creative minds behind the new film “United 93.” There is room for both at our long, crowded ideological buffet table, and we need to start sampling from these meals.

Christopher J. Stephens is an adjunct college English instructor for Northeastern University, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Western New England College, and Corinthian Colleges, Inc.