Let me hear the magic in my heart.

This one's for the jukebox, because since I saw Neil and Crazy Horse last week I've been reminded time and again that love is it.



This one's for you, so you can feel what it was like last Thursday in that temple built for and by money. It was recorded only a couple of months ago.




Love almost broke it down. But Neil and CH, they did break it down, huddled as if against a windstorm beneath the towering Fender stacks they resurrected from the Rust Never Sleeps tour, miniature but ferocious. I was wholly stunned by the their tightness, by the raw, dream-of-the-90s wall of guitars, by the intensity of Neil, whose face often looked as if it should be hovering over a post hole digger instead of a Gibson Les Paul.

When he sings "give me strength and set me free," it's more like

GIVE ME STRENGTH AND SET ME FREE

I thank the universe that Neil Young walks and completely fucking rocks out on this earth.

Must Play Loud: The Way We Stand

Every bit of this is awesome, from the Electric Company logo-ripoff held too long in the frame (step away from the line you're doing in the booth, producer) to the accelerated live performance of this usually laconic track, to the furry animal tails and legs (LEGS) hanging off of one Brother Johnson's leather nudie suit. And Lightnin' Licks (yep, that's Brother George's name) is getting those buzzsaw grooves out of Gibson Les Paul, my favorite. It's just so pretty. And it would look good on me.

The other brother's name? Louis--or Thunder Thumbs.



And don't tell me the mid-70s weren't flush; Burt Sugarman clearly had enough money to emblazon the name of the groups that performed on his show in a garish, prodigious neon sign, no matter if the groove was really, really white, or super-white, or ironically white. To wit:

KC.

Manfred.

Steve.

Well, that last one's neon sign seems a little cheaper, chiseled out of a big LED screen...but still.

It's Friday, at last.