Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) said Neil Young doesn't give a fuck!

Flea antara sebab kenapa aku dengar Red Hot Chili Peppers. Walaupun gitaris, John Frusciante keluar tapi kalau Flea pun ikut keluar memang punggah. Mana boleh bayang tengok Red Hot Chili Peppers kalau bukan dengan aksi dan bunyi letup-letup bass dia.

Flea (tengah)

Biarpun aku bukan boleh dikategorikan sebagai peminat tegar (hanya mempunyai 2 album RHCP) tapi impak lagu dia memang aku terasa apatah lagi bila kaset player kereta aku rosak. Pengalaman memandu memang tak sama bila tak dengar lagu RHCP.

Berbalik kepada tujuan aku tulis entry ni, aku nak kongsi Flea punya pendapat pasal Neil Young. Pendapat dia bukan sekadar pasal muzik tetapi juga kepada pendirian Neil Young dalam berkarya.

There's a rare contradiction in Neil Young's work. He works so hard as a songwriter, and he's written a phenomenal number of perfect songs. And, at the same time, he doesn't give a fuck. That comes from caring about essence. There can be things out of tune and all wild-sounding and not recorded meticulously. And he doesn't care. He's made whole albums that aren't great, and instead of going back to a formula that he knows works, he would rather represent where he is at the time. That's what's so awesome: watching his career wax and wane according to the truth of his character at the moment. It's never phony. It's always real. The truth is not always perfect.(READ MORE)

"Hitchhiker" live at Farm Aid (2010)

Aku memang setuju dengan pendapat Flea. Masa mula-mula dengar album terbaru Neil Young, Le Noise (2010) aku mengerutkan dahi. Aku rasa lain macam, walaupun majoriti lagunya didominasi oleh gitar elektrik yang berat bunyinya, tapi tiada langsung bunyi drum dan backup band.

Selepas aku tengok video dia perform lagu "Hitchhiker", barulah aku faham. Walaupun tiada tepukan gemuruh daripada penonton masa mula-mula main, Neil Young tetap dengan gaya dan aksi dia. Memang pelik tetapi lagu tu disampaikan dengan superb dan ditamatkan dengan begitu indah sekali, kena dengan maksudnya..

After hearing Neil, I appreciated simplicity, the poignancy of "less is more." - Flea