Neil Young on the problems with corporations

[ificandream]

[MichMan]

1. He has been saying it for a long time....

Singer/songwriter Neil Young has certainly never backed down from a debate or fight, and he has been outspoken on any number of topics, including the poor state of music streaming quality. Back in 1988, he released the video for “This Note’s for You,” the title track to his 16th album. The song satirized how big money had been infecting rock ‘n’ roll during the decade of decadence. As an artist who came of age in the ’60s, his slant made complete sense, and the video would become prophetic.

Unfortunately for Young, the suits at MTV became nervous because they worried that his representations of Michael Jackson and Bud Light canine spokes-pet Spuds McKenzie might inspire copyright infringement lawsuits. Jackson’s lawyers allegedly made legal threats. Let’s face it—the Gloved One drew in legions of viewers to the network and had more clout.

“Corporate sponsorship had become rampant in rock and roll. The Rolling Stones were sponsored by Jovan perfume, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood were selling beer, Michael Jackson had been bought by Pepsi for $15 million. And Young, to the dismay of MTV and some of his peers, decided to poke fun at it.

“The video was directed by Julien Temple, who would create Young’s slickest videos in the years to come. Temple matched the tone of the lyric perfectly. The spot opens with Young somberly walking the streets, mimicking Clapton’s beer commercial. As Young croons about having ‘the real thing,’ ghoulish celebrity look-alikes prance about, with Whitney Houston using a brew” – (actually, what looks like a can of Pepsi) – “to put out a fire on Michael Jackson’s head. Then comes a devastating parody of Calvin Klein’s obtuse perfume ads: ‘Neil Young’s Concession for men.’ Finally a sardonic Young peers into the camera, exhibiting a beer can labeled SPONSORED BY NOBODY.”

https://americansongwriter.com/the-neil-young-video-that-was-banned-for-criticizing-corporate-america/

[BoRaGard]

3. Another short shitload of evidence to prove Young's point

Charles Koch's network launches $20m campaign backing Trump tax breaks

Source: The Guardian Mon 27 Jan 2025 07.00 EST

Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the flagship political arm of the rightwing network formed by the fossil fuels billionaire Charles Koch and his late brother David, is launching a multimillion-dollar campaign backing Donald Trump’s plans to extend tax cuts and roll back federal regulations.

A private fundraising letter from AFP to its secretive list of donors, seen by the Guardian, outlines the organization’s strategy for the first six months of the new Trump administration. The eight-page document, made public here for the first time, promises a “herculean undertaking” in which AFP says it will press for renewed and deepened tax cuts and an “unwinding [of] as many of the growth and innovation killing regulations as possible”.

The group, which has played a significant role in shifting the Republican party to the right in recent years, has announced a $20m campaign to extend the tax cuts introduced by Trump during his first presidency that are due to expire at the end of this year. The donor appeal calls for even bolder tax cuts for corporations that would directly benefit Koch Industries, the energy and chemicals giant from which most of AFP’s funding derives.

AFP’s donor pitch, presented as a 2025 “prospectus”, outlines a vast “lobbying and grassroots effort” – replete with digital adverts, phone calls, social media posts, podcasts and on-the-ground door-knocking – to boost core Trump ambitions. As such, it speaks to the oligarchy of “extreme wealth, power and influence” coalescing around Trump, which Joe Biden warned about in his final address from the Oval Office.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/27/koch-americans-for-prosperity-trump-tax-breaks