Don' t think too many people have seen the movies.
Apparently he bought himself a Super 8 one day.
Journey Through the Past--indra should love this one. One of the ultimate stoner films. Let's see the best word to describe it--uh, meandering. It's a great film to watch at a midnight showing. Actually I like the film a lot once you get past the point you're not going to really find a point--great footage of young Neil, young CSN. Great scene with this guy walking slowly beside his driverless moving car on the beach, talking to it like you would to a friend on a slow walk on the beach. I'm not describing it well, but it's pretty funny. (In my defense, his films do defy description
)
Human Highway--Jerry Lewis on honey slides? Neil plays a really dorky, inept gas station/mechanic named Lionel Switch. (Aside, my good little businessman musician owns 20% of Lionel Trains. Major model train fanatic. He even designed a few things for them) Noted for its rather bizarre use of Devo as workers at a nearby nuke plant. The movie is pretty slapstick. But it's got that Neil dreamlike, weird quality about it.
(Next aside: some of Devo used to be advertising guys who were working on an ad campaign for rust remover, using the line "Rust Never Sleeps" in its ad. Voila, Hey, Hey, My, My or
My, My, Hey, Hey whichever version you prefer.)
Greendale--Hey, it has a plot. None of the actors have any speaking parts. They act out to the soundtrack. It's actually better than it sounds. Started out not liking the CD, but it grew on me.
The guy is pretty funny, though. Don't believe humor is one of the first things people think about when they think about Neil Young, but listening to him over the years from whatever bootlegs I can get my hands on, a lot of his asides are hilarious, dry, slow. Perceptive. Anecdotal. But he can kill you with that perfect line.
I don't think he is always consistent on record, but I always, always look forward to what he is going to do. And some of the records I've hated the most are the ones I end up cherishing the most. He takes second and third listens to catch the nuance.
(However, I'm not going to pretend all of it is great. Just enough of it is.)
(Next aside. One time, drug agents were searching his boat, while he is chatting with them, rolling around marijuana seeds on the table as he is talking. Oddly enough, they did not find anything.)
I think his voice is what first attracted me, then his attitude intrigued me, then I fell for the guitar. To quote his friend Stephen Stills, he is an "enigma of intuition".
He can be a hardass, though. He is an extraordinary blend.
A definite original. I kind of like when the guy who wrote Shakey got Neil's approval to do the book. He sent him to talk to all the people who were angry with him. He said if you're going to do the book, might as well get the whole picture. Then he sued to delay publication. Nobody said it was easy to deal with him.