Oregon daily emerald., May 16, 2002, Page 9, Image 9

Pulse brief
Neil Young biography
takes dim view
of offstage persona
Neil Young got his nickname,
“Shakey,” because of the physical
ailments that led to onstage fainting
spells and convulsions. But the
name takes a broader meaning in
Jimmy McDonough's 788-page bi
ography of the Woodside, Calif.,
singer-songwriter.
Young, the 56-year-old artist
whose four-decade career ranks in
the highest sphere of popular mu
sic, has been about as shaky and
unpredictable as an earthquake in
his dealings with those around
him: band mates, managers,
friends and wives.
“Neil's not going to do what you
think he's going to do or what he
said last week,” says one of Young’s
tour managers, Bob Sterne, in the
book. “It's not a good place for the
average person to be. The people
who are looking for a paycheck
don't last long.”
What emerges in McDonough's
book is a portrait of an artist who
is not only fanatical about his mu
sic, but who rarely compromises,
even in a recording industry built
around watering down the singu
lar vision to make it palatable for
the masses.
“Neil’s run by his art,” his long
time manager, Elliot Roberts, tells
McDonough. “If Neil perceives he's
being jive, he can't do it.”
Young has rolled over people
around him with little regard, usu
ally because they got in the way of
his vision of the moment. Musi
cians who hoped to tie their for
tunes to him found themselves
dumped out on the highway.
— Brad Kava (KRT)
Blackalicious
continued from page 8
evolution of hip-hop. The song is
impressive because each Gift of
Gab, Saul Williams and Lyrics Born
have a go at the microphone and
contribute their style to the song.
Gift of Gab and Chief X-Cel met in
high school and worked together
on and off through their days at the
University of California — Davis,
releasing their first album “Melodi
ca” in 1993. Blackalicious’ sound
has continually matured and be
come freer since their first album.
Both 1999’s “A26” and 2000’s
“Nia” sold well and were helped by
the fact that they both included the
song “A to G,” which became a
huge underground hit with its fast
paced crescendo of vocal stylings.
Like most modern hip-hop, the
group accentuates its sound with a
variety of eclectic samples. The
most poignant one is the title track,
which includes a short sample
from the song “Me and my Arrow”
from the children’s movie “The
Point,” a trippy morality cartoon
narrated by Ringo Starr. Gift of
Gab’s lyrics are interspersed with
the joyful chant, “Me and my arrow
/ straighter than narrow / Me and
my arrow / taking the high road.”
On “Sky is Falling,” Gift of Gab
explodes with a melodic wave of
rage. The song continues to build in
intensity as Gab chants “Children
in high school rollin’ and smoke in
they classes up and people that is
rich don’t be checking for what is
happenin’ degrading the women
knocking them up leavin’ 'em
smackin’ 'em up there is no way to
reach us we sleeping like hell’s
masters.” It then it dissolves into a
frantic sample, “Rain and thunder
and lightening crumbling.”
The album is perfect for dancing,
chilling, driving and studying.
Blackalicious will be coming to
the WOW Hall on May 27.
E-mail reporter Alix Kerl
at alixkerl@dailyemerald.com.
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