Charlie Rose

DaveW  10/24/2008 04:16 PM Report

People are posting that Neil is trying to find a perpetual motion machine, but NY never said that. He didn't want to be pigeon-holed or painted into such a tight corner so he said "something"--it could be hybrid, part flex car, part electric, part this or that (it's a work in progress), but something that's better than what we are now doing. I wish there was a way he could team-up with Bill Gates or Warren Buffett and pool their resources/money to help find this type solution. But whether that happens or not it doesn't matter, it seems Neil is open enough to find his own way. Long may you run, Neil.

Mark  10/17/2008 03:29 PM Report

Neil Young walks through his life with the muse holding his hand

jm-79  09/30/2008 05:56 PM Report

keep on rocking in the free world!

Rust Demon  08/23/2008 11:23 PM Report

Awesome, I love Neil Young so much. Isn't it funny that I work for a plant that makes lithium ion batteries that Ford is currently using for their Hybrid SUV's. Neil is spot on, we can't keep up with demand.

Kevin Cornwell  08/22/2008 11:36 AM Report

Perpetual motion engines? Good grief Neil, stick to music and humanitarian projects my friend.

Herb Wolff  08/21/2008 02:13 PM Report

Thanks, Charlie, for your interview of Neil Young. You enabled us to see the core of Neil's greatness - his connection to his source (his personal 'godness', or 'gift'), his connection to others (the 'bond' with all humans), and his connection to the planet (his desire to find a more earth-friendly alternative to gasoline-powered automobiles).

Aussie Maddog  08/17/2008 03:41 AM Report

Really great to see someone trying to make a difference to Large Vehicles, imagine if this works and all the Trucks on the Road change, pollution would drop immensely. Then add in to that Self-Employed workers (Builders, Plumbers, Phone Techs)in there Transit Vans being able to get 100 mpg. All those delivery vehicles on the road being less polluting and achieving long drives without the need to fuel up, in time prices of everything could drop (from Groceries to Commodities).

I guess in a way it is "Keep On Truckin' In The Free World."

sock puppet  08/12/2008 12:13 AM Report

After volumes of accolades for Neil Young, I'm embarrassed to say I never heard of him. (I'm also old - maybe I've just forgottrn.) But one of the entries made me uncomfortable as well as think. Repeating it here on the chance it will do the same for someone else. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------Comment by --- Dear Neil Young --- on Friday, Jul 18 at 05:26 AM -------------

I really appreciated what you said today and I'm really glad that -- for once on Charlie's show -- an anti-war voice like you was on for the entire hour. However, I am African American and I can tell you that Obama, as another "Good Cop" imperialist, has been *THOROUGHLY VETTED* by the U.S. imperialist ruling class (THE U.S. RULING CLASS DOESN'T LET ANY POLITICAL CANDIDATE ALL OVER IT'S HANDMAIDEN, MAINSTREAM, CORPORATE, INCLUDING PBS, TV, ALL THE TIME, WHO HASN'T BEEN THOROUGHLY VETTED) -- the same one that sends our country, or rather economic draftees, off to war [as they did before in Vietnam\ in the Middle East for oil -- and/or Israel & Zionism (representing another white-supremacist, originally European, settler-colonialist fundamentalist religious ideology, again toting the Bible and the gun, this time Jewish instead of Christian, against yet another demonized non-European *NATIVE/INDIGENOUS* people: the Palestinian people). ______ Check out Dissident Voice, online: “Progressives for Obama Fool Themselves", by Glen Ford [editor of Black Agenda Report\ / July 9th, 2008. ______ As I've said before, SOMEONE HAS TO BE ABLE TO SAY "I TOLD YOU SO" ABOUT OBAMA. (Of course, both Barack and Hillary are really "the good cop" versions of McCain.) Even so-called "change" can be a politician's PR election gimmick in America. _____ It's sad but understandable why so many Black-Americans have put their illusions in Obama, but not all of us Blacks are fooled by him. For example, Obama has repeatedly promised Israel that he will do "everything" to stand by Israel, but Obama hasn't promised Black Katrina victims (or Black police brutality victims or their surviving family members, or wrongly/dubiously convicted Black death row victims, or Black primary/secondary school educational racism victims) -- citizens right here in this country -- *anything*. Obama even said that Blacks must _respect_ the Sean Bell 'Jim Crow' court verdict in New York. _____ And Obama's appeal to white liberals/progressives is that he tells them exactly what they want to hear: that RACISM IS OVER! And if he's elected that's exactly what whites will gleefully and loudly proclaim -- and that for anyone Black, under-educated, un-/under-employed, and poor or incarcerated, it's their own damn fault -- just like Obama has been doing already against Black men, especially like only Black men are "unwed, irresponsible fathers".

Robert Lock  08/06/2008 01:31 AM Report

Fusion is the only answer and as earthlings we don't have to waste time dreaming of exotic alternatives as fusion powers the universe so we know it works!

Todd Belcher  08/02/2008 11:26 AM Report

Most of us can feel for the suffering soldiers like Neil does. That's what we do as humans. But more of us have to learn to put (artistic) feelings aside and actually THINK about things like "the war." As much as I hate to say it, there is a logical chasm between the particulars of suffering soldiers and the universal ideals and agendas of nations who send them to fight. Neil and his old CSN&Y buddies are good at making us feel the pains of war, but assertions like "impeach the President" show that their ability to think is suspect.

Pat  08/01/2008 09:32 PM Report

Is it me, or is the video down?

Franco  08/01/2008 05:44 AM Report

Thank you Neil Young!

Alter egos...

Frank  07/29/2008 01:49 AM Report

Deborah(below) you are spot on!

Frank  07/29/2008 01:16 AM Report

What a wonderful, kind and down to earth fella

Lalie Madriguera  07/28/2008 09:37 PM Report

I would like to buy a copy of this amazing interview. How can I get it?

Thank you.

john cameron  07/27/2008 04:56 PM Report

keep on rockin neil

john, scotland

Linda Slattery  07/25/2008 02:19 AM Report

Dear Mr. Charlie Rose: Would it be possible for you to pass this message along to Neil Young and his buddy Jonathan Goodwin? Have you considered magnetic reconnection as an alternative energy source? According to Brian Sullivan's Dartmouth website: "Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental physical process occuring in a magnetized plasma, whereby magnetic field lines are effectively broken and reconnected, resulting in a change of magnetic topology, conversion of magnetic field energy into bulk kinetic energy and particle heating." Perhaps this type of energy can one day be directed for use in powering an engine. Thanks, Linda in Portland, Oregon.

Max Wilson  07/25/2008 02:07 AM Report

I can solve your energy problems.

sloaneK  07/24/2008 03:52 PM Report

He's right...this damn war will not end until we solve our energy crisis.

Diana Wilson  07/24/2008 02:20 AM Report

I have tried to buy the DVD of this interview from your web site but have been unsuccessful. where can I buy this interview---it was magnificent!

--- WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? ---   07/24/2008 02:08 AM Report

Comment by Diane Dickey on Wednesday, Jul 16 at 04:18 PM (re Allan Sloan, Gretchen Morgenson interview, 07/15/2008) : "... I strongly recommend to Charlie Rose and everyone reading this to rent the documentary, "Who Killed the Electric Car." For a preview, go to: http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/ (Charlie, maybe you could have the makers of that film appear on your show.) It's about how General Motors, in 1996, created a plug-in electric car (the EV1), and allowed consumers to lease the cars to test them out. The cars were a huge success. They were a compact size, not miniatures, and they were peppy and fast. The people who leased them, loved them. Then GM pulled the plug on them and pulled all of those cars back - even though the people leasing them begged and pleaded to buy the cars they were driving. All the cars were taken from them and sent to wrecking yards and shredded. (The truck hauling the EV1s had to drive through a picket line of lease protesters to deliver the EV1s to the wrecking yard.) The cars were new. (It makes me wonder what the oil companies whispered in the ears of GM executives while they were in bed together.) So now, when I hear that GM will need a couple of years to come up with an electric car, I bristle. They already have the cars designed. All they need to do is dust off the manual that contains the EV1 prototype, and manufacture them and bring them back into the market."

TABS  07/23/2008 05:52 PM Report

At $10 a gallon for gasoline in the USA there won't be an economy left to transform.

Tod Swindell  07/23/2008 04:50 PM Report

Reading a lot of the comments about this Charlie Rose interview with Neil Young, it's interesting to note how much they differ. In a way they're like the crowd reactions to the CSNY Living With War tour. But Neil Young himself likely appreciates them all. To recognize one's own purpose is more the message he seems to convey. All he strives for, it appears, is to somehow contribute to making the world a better place for humanity. And he said something important humanity needs to realize: Until managing the world's energy problems are figured out, war will not likely go away. World War Two was more of a geographical and political philosophy human race war, compared to what's been happening since 9/11. Now, it's all about grappling over the control of oil energy, where such a control desire pits countries and religions against each other, and demands world powers to challenge in foreign regions where the most oil exists. That's basically what he's stressing, and he feels he can contribute to help solve the need for cleaner and more affordable energy problems in his own humble (yes, humble) way, by setting an example... of at least trying to conceptualize and even manufacture some self-energy producing components. Among his many song lyrics one will find the simple concept of 'trying' as a repeated theme. At least Neil tries. He has long been trying, and he keeps on trying to figure out answers to big questions by shedding different lights on less advertised, but still potentially possible solution ideas. The world needs more of this type of person around, to recognize, as Neil put it, how he knows everyone on the task teams he assembles is smarter than he when it comes to their working on humanity's energy need solutions... in non-violent ways. His idea, simply put, is to get as many of these energy-smart people in the same room at the same time, and have them all turn to the same non-violent solution page.

tony  07/23/2008 12:40 PM Report

Amazing musician, but don't quit your day job or 'invest' all your money in perpetual motion machines. Charlie you should have managed the conversation and saved him (and me) the embarrassment.

Charles Crystle  07/23/2008 09:46 AM Report

Paul,

I live in Lancaster, PA (population 60,000, County population ~ 460k).

http://www.google.com/search?q=lancaster+pa&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&so urceid=ie7&rlz=1I7IBMA

I used to live in New York, too--Seattle, San Francisco, London. I know about expensive places, and I know how hard it is to pay the bills some times.

It's a lot easier when you can share a car, walk to work, ride your bike, walk to the market, take a bus or train out of town.

$10/gallon gas is in your near future, so get used to it. It will in fact be transformative, and transformation can be painful, but it's going to happen in the next 5 to 10 years. Young isn't talking about a utopian vision, he's talking about inevitable necessity. We will be forced to change away from the oil economy simply through its scarcity. The longer people cling to it, the more costly it will get, and the more destructive it will be.

You vote with your dollars. Every dollar you spend on gas is an endorsement and support of the oil-based economy. Whenever someone chooses to live more than driving or biking distance from work, it's a choice to depend on the oil economy and to support it.

If you're spending--what is it now, $200/month on gas? If you're spending $200/month, that's $2400/year not getting saved. But 50% of your federal taxes go to the Pentagon, which is primarily focused on protecting the oil-based economy. So add that to the cost.

Then add the cost of your kids' athsma, environmental cleanup, etc, etc. and you start to see the real costs of supporting this system.

Then add India and China into the mix. India's middle class is now larger than the entire population of the US. And they just got a $2500 car from Tata--where do you think they are getting their gas? Same as us--it's a world commodity. What happens to gas prices as, say, 10% of them hit the road with their new cars? 30 million new cars will put a crimp in your gas-based lifestyle through higher gas prices and more pollution. And if India's middle class is anything like the US middle class, that number will exceed 100 million in 10 years. Then we're really screwed.

So yes, it will be painful if we linger on the oil-based economy. And the people who will get screwed the most are poor and middle-class Americans.

I'd suggest taking a deep look at what you care about, what you value, what your principles are, and then look at your budget and see how well they align. My guess is you'll be looking at Lancaster, PA and other great small cities and towns pretty quickly.

We'd welcome you here!

http://lancasterliving.com/

Paul  07/22/2008 01:29 PM Report

To respond to your comment, Charles, I don't begrudge Neil Young one penny of the money he has earned. He has been one of my favorite musicians since I was very young. I have seen him perform at least 20 times. It's just easier for someone who has a lot of cash to say that we should be paying $10 a gallon for gas. For him to spend $150 to fill up his car vs. the $60 or $70 he is spending now is no big deal. For most people it is. The simple point I was trying to make was that $10 a gallon (in the real world of today, not in the utopian world that Neil so admirably has his sights set on) would cripple families that are struggling already to make ends meet. The effect on agriculture, trucking, the airline industry, small businesses, etc. would be catastrophic and would set this country into an economic tailspin that we might never pull out of. I agree that we are a wasteful society and that we have been spoiled by the low cost of gas relative to the rest of the world, and I think that phasing in higher gas prices--while transitioning to alternative energy sources--is the way to go. It's happening, just not fast enough. Oh, and where is this mythical city that you live in that is cheaper than the burbs? New York City, where I work, is one of the most expensive places in the world to live.

Bob C  07/22/2008 12:38 PM Report

It is really a great feeling to have had this idol for more than 30 years and then over and over Neil demonstrates a depth of character that rivals his music. Better to burnout, then to fade away.....

Charles Crystle  07/21/2008 11:06 PM Report

The suggestion of $10 a gallon isn't a bad thing. It's not about what he can afford--it's about what we as a world can afford. We can't afford CHEAP gas. We don't use it responsibly. The least productive thing you can do with oil is burn it--it has so many amazing applications, some damaging, some constructive.

$10 gas makes us think HARD about how we use gas. And it makes us think about where and how we live. I live in the city. I choose to live here because it's easier, cheaper, more vibrant than the suburbs. Cheap gas and cheap loans created the suburbs. Suburbs are a relatively new invention--completely inefficient.

Neil Young is his own man, not to be compared with Dylan. He's a worker and a thinker. And who cares if he's wealthy from his gifts?

John McPherson  07/21/2008 05:55 PM Report

This interview with Neil Young was outstanding!!! I admire Neil as a person, musician, and for his demeanor. Thank you Charlie Rose for interviewing one of the best singer/songwriters ever. I enjoyed every second of it, but do not wait too long to get Neil back on the show again. I love your show Charlie because you keep the show's guest list diverse.

John McPherson

Lubbock, Texas

Paul  07/21/2008 02:56 PM Report

I love Neil, but it really bothers me when I hear someone like him, for whom money is not an issue, comment that he thinks it would be better for the environment if gas cost $10 a gallon. I admire his goals and his ambition, and I agree that we need to solve our energy problems, but for the average family $10 a gallon is devastating.

Ray  07/21/2008 12:03 PM Report

Charlie really tried (several times) to get Neil to talk about his music but Neil "stayed on message". He was there to talk about his latest passion - energy and war. Good thing to be passionate about, but I wish Neil would "give a little" on the music. He did give good insight into how he writes (but "I gotta follow the muse" is not news to serious fans). I would have wished him to talk a bit more about how he reconciles his acoustic side and his electric side ("sometimes it's distorted, not clear to you.."), how and why he uses his guitar tone and bit more about the iconic "Old Black". Why he still tours. He came close when he talked about throwing out the set list. What songs of his won't he play anymore and why? Why not release "Time Fades Away" on CD? How does he keep music fresh? How does he decide what musicians to use on recordings and tours? A little insight into the recording process from his perspective might be neat.

marc  07/21/2008 11:54 AM Report

Wow

briljant interview and clips............

Lot of depth

Neil for president !

Imogene  07/21/2008 09:17 AM Report

Does Neil travel around on the wings of a dove? He doesn't mind 10 Dollar for a gallon of gas, he's got the money. The whole interview is mindless dribble and no, Neil is not Dylan, not even close.

grammar  07/21/2008 06:37 AM Report

thanks charlie for hour with neil young!

Jeanette  07/20/2008 09:26 PM Report

Geeze... love talking and hearing about all this. Love Neil, he speaks to my heart.

I used to work for a utility company and believe in turning the lights on, but hate the idea of expiring fossil fuels. I really think that there is enough wind in Wyoming to support the entire world, but, how does someone who runs their own small business that is being KILLED by gas prices that are artificially inflated by witholding oil exploration in America and offshore ... stand a chance? I have to use gas, I have to deliver my product, I am as green as they come with my policies but gas prices are devastating my business in a multitude of ways.

I appreciate Neil's creativity -- he wrote a song that is all about me --Unknown Legend-- but what can his soapbox do to help me survive!?!?

RM Netherlands Europe  07/20/2008 04:46 PM Report

As a lifelong follower of Mr. Young, I found this to be a very good interview.

It is good to hear there are Americans (Canadians) who make their fellow countrymen aware of the fact that in Europe the prices for gas have always been high. Do these Charlie Rose shows air on National TV?

Today I paid US$ 12,00 for a gallon (EUR 1.65 per litre).

It is indeed time that new sources of (natural) energy are going to be used in everyday live.

Keep on making music with a message!

Bruce Spiegel  07/20/2008 03:44 PM Report

What a wonderful interview. Our band, The Neil Deal, performs Neil Young's music in the western states. This interview is one of the best I've ever seen. You were even able to get him to smile & share about some of his passions. He is truely one of the renaissance men of our time, 'long may he run.'

Bruce

neildeal.com

annie  07/20/2008 10:33 AM Report

If only there had been another 2 hrs with Neil.I have followed Neil since Buffalo Springfield,so it was nice to finally hear him in conversation.However,I would have loved to hear more about the CSNY DejaVu film, his family and his life with his best band(my opinion),Crazy Horse and his times with CSN.That's why we needed another 2 hrs!Thanks, Neil, for giving of yourself to all of us for so many years(I've seen you 8 times in concert..awesome!).Thanks,Charlie,you've always been the best.I've watched your conversations for 25 years.This was great!

Steve Trask  07/20/2008 07:19 AM Report

I don't think I recall this many posts after one of your interviews.

That was just fantastic!

He really is always thinking. You can see it so plainly.

Thank goodness the doctor's found that aneurism before we lost such his conscience and genius.

Hope Neil and his team comes up with that revolutionary drive train.

Great to see you open up in this way after all these years.

chris  07/20/2008 05:24 AM Report

That was brilliant.Sat totally enwrapped even though on shift work on and should be in bed- could not tear myself away.

Great interview Mr Rose.

Neil, an inspiration,a leader, & a most human human.

Even if great songs can't, visions & dreams can change the World.

hb  07/20/2008 01:30 AM Report

Never nothing wrong hearing a couple of old bad-asses riffin' at the end of the day. Thanks boys.

Jon  07/20/2008 12:46 AM Report

It is so refreshing to hear a conversation that gets away from the debate over democrats vs republicans and talks about the larger problems that everyone needs to care about. History will record Neil as one of the great contributors of his generation - beyond his music - that inspired others to try and reach for the stars and succeed.

Mark C  07/19/2008 09:39 PM Report

This was an interesting interview with a terrific musician with a conscience. It is always entertaining to hear how an artist approaches his or her craft, and in this case, Neil didn’t disappoint. The real value, however of this interview, relates to Neil’s views on the connection between energy and war, or energy and the future prospects of our planet. I’m thankful that Neil has leveraged his celebrity for the purpose of a BHOG (big hairy audacious goal) for eliminating “roadside refueling.” Hopefully, his commitment towards this goal can light a fire for the rest of us to examine things we can do to improve the future of our lives on this planet.

ole You know who  07/19/2008 08:14 PM Report

Charlie that was a beautiful show. Here's to all the suckers for love.

mary  07/19/2008 06:15 PM Report

This comment is regarding the beginning of the interview. Neil Young was describing his reaction to the USA Today front page photo of wounded and dying soldiers being operated on in a plane hurtling through the sky. It was heartbreaking (whichever political side one might be one) to listen to Neil tell what he was thinking - to really imagine what it must be like to be mortally wounded and also what it must be like for the docotrs, and WHY? for WHAT? What is this life? It was a heavy moment. I wanted to hear more about how Neil FELT, not his view particularly, but an ARTIST's view. At that moment of deep emotion and heartbreaking imagery Charlie Rose asks something stupid like 'which do you write first the lyrics or the music'. Oh for Pete's sake! What a dolt. What issues of the heart were lost for such a stupid, uninteresting, hackneyed question which poured like sawdust from Mr. Rose's mouth. Sheesh.

David Chowes  07/19/2008 06:04 PM Report

Quite fulfilling to finally "meet" Neil Young, if only for an hour and only via a television program.

I have been following him for many years (since CSN&Y) and he is an artist lacking the hype, marketing and ego which charactertize many other R&R song writers and performers. He just "does it" they way he feels it and wants to express himself.

There are two performances which I remember most endearingly and viviidly: the Martin Scorsese film documentary -- THE LAST WALTZ [the final gala concert of Bob Dylan's sometimes back-up band and, which also gave independent performances and made many recordings\, "THE LAST WALTZ." (Have seen this film many, many times.)

Also, at the celebatory 30th Anniversary of Bob

Dylan's association with Columbia Records at Madison Square Garden. WOW! Saw it live and played the video probaby 25 times.

His comments on the war and saving the planet via a substitute for gasoline vehicles: unlike other celebrities, I found his comments heartfelt -- and, not driven in any way to enhance his ego, become more popular, to sell more tickets to his concerts or sell CD's or to enlarge his musical career.

To be concise: he is who he is. Ergo, authentic!

I knew that he had gone through serious health problems -- but, did not realize that they were life threatening.

The most touching part of the interview was when he spoke so glowingly about his wife and marriage of 30 years. A R&Rer married for 30 years, to the same woman and he obviously adores her? Even the unusual does happen -- but, rarely.

If only we had more people like Neil Young in this world. We would not be facing the overwhelming problems we deal with: personal, domestic and global which are choking us all.

Wonderful interview and program. Mr. Rose, you are so knolegable about so many aspects of our world. A veritable protean host.

Jack Kaiser  07/19/2008 05:57 PM Report

You can't stop a free spirit.....

Dick Mantell  07/19/2008 04:39 PM Report

I live in England and have been privileged to see Neil twice in concert over the last few months and he was sensational.I have listened to his music for 40 years and I cannot imagine my life without it.The internet has enabled me to enjoy this excellent programme.I have rarely heard him interviewed.It was a very interesting conversation and marvellous to hear Neil talk on subjects close to his heart.There are a lot of problems in this world but with guys like Neil around we have a chance.Keep on Rockin' Neil and come to England with CSN soon please.

Bobonze  07/19/2008 03:06 PM Report

What an incredible insightful interview with Mr. Neil Young! I've been a long time fan of his music, and to see this side of Neil was wonderful.

Thanks for the full hour of Neil Young!

Wanda  07/19/2008 02:17 PM Report

Mr. Rose,

Thank you for having Neil as a guest on your show. It was a thoroughly enjoyable hour that allowed him to express himself concerning a variety of subjects close to his heart in a relaxed setting and enabled your viewers to wonder, cry, question, dream and sing along.