Neil Young Trademarks MP3-Replacement Audio Format

Legendary guitarist Neil Young appears to working on new audio formats. Young is a vocal critic of MP3 quality – he doesn’t even like CD audio, particularly – and has designs on something better.

Rolling Stone reports that Young applied for six trademarks in June 2011: “Ivanhoe,” “21st Century Record Player,” “Earth Storage,” “Storage Shed,” “Thanks for Listening” and “SQS (Studio Quality Sound).” Included in the filing is a description of the trademarks: “Online and retail store services featuring music and artistic performances; high resolution music downloadable from the Internet; high resolutions discs featuring music and video; audio and video recording storage and playback.”

The trademark process could take a year, providing that there are no challenges to Young’s application.

What will it mean? Well, tech experts have variously suggested this could pave the way for high quality audio to be provided to users via a “cloud”-based system. And that the quality of the audio will be closer to the original studio recordings, rather than the hugely compressed files that are sold on sites such as iTunes or Amazon.

Neil Young: digital guru? We never saw that coming.

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Neil Young to Release Two New Albums with Crazy Horse

Neil Young has confirmed that he’s completed a new album with Crazy Horse, and that a second album with the band is “in progress.” The veteran rocker said he hopes to release both discs this year.

Young made the revelation at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, were he and director Jonathan Demme are presenting Journeys, their latest concert documentary, which was filmed in Toronto in May 2011.

Members of Crazy Horse last recorded with Young on his 2003 album, Greendale. The last Young album on which the entire band was featured was 1996’s Broken Arrow. In a 2005 interview with Performing Songwriter, Young described his work with Crazy Horse as “cosmic,” and as something he treated with “a special kind of respect.” “My work with Crazy Horse stands alone, in its own way,” he said. “Sometimes it needs to be replenished, sometimes it needs to be revisited, and sometimes it needs to be left alone.”

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Neil Young is a Mumford & Sons Fan

Neil Young may have criticized the sound quality of contemporary rock music in an interview with MTV News, but did express his admiration for two current acts. According to NME.com, the Canadian rocker said: “Mumford & Sons and My Morning Jacket are great bands. I love them both and I know them well. I feel good about saying that.”

So what’s Young’s issue is with sound quality in modern rock?

“I’m finding that I have a little bit of trouble with the quality of the sound of music today. I don’t like it. It just makes me angry. Not the quality of the music, but we’re in the 21st century and we have the worst sound that we’ve ever had. It’s worse than a 78. Where are our geniuses? What happened?”

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Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young Team with Pearl Jam

Rock stars of the highest order are contributing to Pearl Jam 20, a book that looks back on the grunge band’s two decades of existence. The tome will be available September 13, and will coincide with the release of the Cameron Crowe-directed documentary of the same name, according to NME.com.

The book was put together by editors/authors Jonathan Cohen and Mark Wilkinson and is being called an “aesthetically stunning, definitive chronicle of the band’s past two decades.” It will feature interviews with Pearl Jam’s friends and collaborators, such as Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl and Neil Young. Crowe wrote the foreword and selected songs for a companion album.

Earlier this year, Crowe said that Pearl Jam 20 will include, “the best souvenirs of the past, some fabled footage you’ve heard exists but have never seen, and some interviews.”

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Never-Released Neil Young Album Coming in June

Neil Young will release a new live album, A Treasure in June. The 12-song live album comes from Young’s 1984/85 U.S. tour with his band The International Harvesters, in support of Young’s country album Old Ways.

The International Harvesters featured longtime Young collaborator Ben Keith (who died last year), Rufus Thibodeaux on fiddle, Spooner Oldham and Hargus “Pig” Robbins on piano. A vinyl edition of A Treasure will be released on June 7 and the CD and CD/Blu-Ray edition will follow a week later.

Tracklisting:

1. “Amber Jean” (9/20/84) Nashville Now TV — Nashville, TN
2. “Are You Ready For The Country?” (9/21/84) Riverbend Music Center — Cincinnati, OH
3. “It Might Have Been” (9/25/84) Austin City Limits TV — Austin, TX
4. “Bound For Glory” (9/29/84) Gilley's Rodeo Arena — Pasadena, TX
5. “Let Your Fingers Do the Walking” (10/22/84) Universal Amphit — Universal City, CA
6. “Flying On The Ground is Wrong” (10/26/84) Greek Theater — Berkeley, CA
7. “Motor City” (10/26/84) Greek Theater — Berkeley, CA
8. “Soul of a Woman” (10/26/84) Greek Theater — Berkeley, CA
9. “Get Back to the Country” (10/26/84) Greek Theater — Berkeley, CA
10. “Southern Pacific” (9/1/85) Minnesota State Fair — St. Paul, MN
11. “Nothing is Perfect” (9/1/85) Minnesota State Fair — St. Paul, MN
12. “Grey Riders” (9/10/85) Pier 84 — New York City, NY

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Wilco and Elvis Costello Pay Tribute to Neil Young

Last year’s MusiCares concert featuring all-star covers of Neil Young’s songs will be released on DVD and Blu-ray by Shout! Factory on May 31. MusiCares honored Young with the title of Person of the Year last year, feting his career with a tribute performance by artists like Elton John, Wilco, Elvis Costello, Neko Case, Norah Jones, Dave Matthews, and Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Prior to going on sale, the concert will air on MTV’s Palladia channel during Memorial Day weekend.

All DVD proceeds will go to benefit MusiCares, which provides a place for musicians to turn to in times of need.

The full DVD tracklist for A MusiCares Tribute to Neil Young:

1. Keith Urban, John Fogerty and Booker T. Jones: “Rockin’ in the Free World”
2. Lady Antebellum: “Only Love Can Break Your Heart”
3. Dave Matthews: “The Needle and the Damage Done”
4. Norah Jones: “Tell Me Why”
5. Dierks Bentley and Booker T. Jones: “Cinnamon Girl”
6. Josh Groban: “Harvest Moon”
7. Ben Harper: “Ohio”
8. Jackson Browne: “Don’t Let it Bring You Down”
9. Wilco: “Broken Arrow”
10. Jason Mraz and Shawn Colvin: “Lotta Love”
11. Elvis Costello: “(When You’re On) The Losing End”
12. James Taylor: “Heart of Gold”
13. John Mellencamp and T-Bone Burnett: “Down By the River”
14. Crosby, Stills & Nash: “Human Highway”
15. Elton John, Leon Russell, Neko Case and Sheryl Crow: “Helpless”
16. Ozomatli: “Mr. Soul”*
17. Everest: “Revolution Blues”*

*Indicates bonus performances

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