Neil Young | Bob Schwartz

Tag: Neil Young

October 24, 2025

O Canada: An unprecedented musical moment of Neil Young + The Band + Joni Mitchell

It is a day to honor Canada.

The Toronto Blue Jays begin the World Series against the Dodgers.

Trump has another temper tantrum over Canada:

Trump says all Canada trade talks ‘terminated’ over ad criticising tariffs
US president accuses Canada of ‘egregious behaviour’ after release of ad featuring Ronald Reagan criticising tariffs
Guardian

I’ve written about the irreplaceable place of Canadian artists in popular music:

Without Canadian artists where would we be?

To honor the Blue Jays, the Trump tantrum, etc., I offer a once-in-a-generation musical moment.

Martin Scorcese’s The Last Waltz (1978) is a documentary about the last performance of The Band, accompanied by many musical friends, at Winterland in San Francisco. The movie begins with the words “This film should be played loud!” and it should be.

The Band, all but one of them Canadians, were joined by two other legendary Canadians, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.

Here are Neil Young, The Band and Joni Mitchell performing Young’s Helpless.

February 27, 2025

Music: Without Canadian artists where would we be?

Among the treasures recorded by k.d. lang is Hymns of the 49th Parallel, an album of covers of songs by her fellow Canadians—the artistry of Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, and others. And of course k.d. herself.

This should give you a clue to just how important Canadians have been to popular music and other arts. If Canada was represented by just one of these extraordinary artists, it would be enough. Taken together (need I add The Band, The Guess Who, Arcade Fire, Celine Dion, Alanis Morrisette, The Weeknd, Shania Twain, Drake, Rush and more?) it is a banquet of music. (See Rolling Stone’s 50 Greatest Canadian Artists of All Time. No surprise that Joni is #1, Neil #2, Rush #3, Leonard #4. Okay, maybe I’d move Leonard Cohen up a notch, but that’s quibbling.)

Listening to just Canadian artists until this madness is over is asking too much. Listening to lots of Canadian artists, maybe having one Canada-only day each week, is not punishment and would be a joy.

Since I often include one video track in my music posts, I have a quandary. Look at the list above. Just the ones named add up to hundreds of tracks. So if I offer just one or two, that doesn’t take away from the mountain of song. O Canada!