Neil Young has just posted his new video “Shut It Down,” which holds a pretty brutal mirror up to the COVOID-19 pandemic. The song comes from Young's most recent album with Crazy Horse, titled Colorado, and features clips of the band in the studio, with what is essentially the state of world — actual footage and photos of families separated by quarantine, hospital workers without appropriate gear and protection, spring breakers ignoring the call to self-quarantine, empty parking lots, towns, and highways.
Young posted a message to fans on his official website, NeilYoungArchives.com, writing, “Ignore the actions of world leaders who are too vain to wear masks. They are not leading. Putt (sic) your own vanity away for the good of your fellow man; wear a mask in public to stop the spread.”
Neil Young explained what Crazy Horse brings to him as a songwriter and a musician: “They make me play better and I've known them for so long, they make me play better when I play with them. It's just a certain kind of music I play great with Crazy Horse. It's more free. Crazy Horse is a very simple sound, it's mostly emotional and not very technical — so, I like that. 'Gives me a chance to expresses myself.”