Really After the Gold Rush

Neil Young appeared for the first time on stage with Crosby, Stills and Nash on this day in 1969.  But for me, Neil’s best stuff had little to do with Crosby Stills.  For example, check out  his take on the corporate marketing of rock music “This Note’s for You.”  It was somewhat controversial at the time of its release in 1989. 

Making fun of Michael Jackson and  Whitney Houston was one thing; but for Neil to also mock Budweiser’s Spuds Mackenzie, now that was really crossing a line.  Messing with Spuds, you can see why MTV banned it.   (Little side note here, Spuds was actually a female named Honey Tree Evil Eye.  Unlike her two co-stars in Neil’s video, Honey Tree did not die from drug abuse but from kidney failure.)  

Following is Youtube’s description of Neil’s classic video:


The video for the title track famously included a Michael Jackson look-alike whose hair catches fire. The video parodied corporate rock, the pretensions of advertising and Michael Jackson in particular. It was initially banned by MTV after legal threats from Michael Jackson’s attorneys (although the Canadian music channel, MuchMusic ran it immediately). After becoming a hit on MuchMusic, MTV reconsidered their decision to yank the video and put it into heavy rotation, finally giving it the MTV Video Music Award for Best Video of the Year for 1989.