A Look Back at the Second Life Neil Young Archives

Circa 2007, the Second Life Neil Young Archives had a barn, a little stage, and a whole lot of info about the musician himself. Photo by Kat.

An old friend, of sorts, has been in the news this week. To be clear, Neil Young doesn't know me in any way conceivable. I one time briefly spoke to him on the phone at work, yanking the call away from a tech support rep at an audio equipment manufacturer, and another time sat near him at an awards banquet in the '90s, and listened and laughed while he railed mercilessly about the shitty audio quality of the Compact Disc directly in front of the Sony executives from Japan who were responsible for it. That's the extent of my personal contact with Neil. It's not much.

So no, all I am to Neil is one of millions of people from multiple generations who appreciate his music. And frankly, as a person who makes it a point not to idolize musicians or other famous folks, I don't put Neil up on some pedestal. He's a dude whose music I like and whose outlook -- politically, socially, and so on -- happens to align well with my own.

I really wouldn't have predicted that in 2022, this guy would be dominating the news cycle, but it's a strange world in which we live.

What's Going On with Old Neil?

A lot. In November, he turned 76 years old. In December, he released his 41st studio album. It's called Barn, and he's back with the current version of Crazy Horse, which is a whole lot of most other versions of the band, with Ralph Molina on drums, Billy Talbot on bass, and his old cohort Nils Lofgren taking the role of rhythm guitar, piano, occasional accordion and backing vocals. Just last week, he premiered a film about the making of the album. It was cool. His ladyfriend Daryl Hannah directed it. I watched the premiere on YouTube.

But the reason that Neil has been in the news in recent days has nothing to do with any of that. He chose to have his music pulled from the Spotify music streaming service because of their continued support of the Joe Rogan podcast and its continued misinformation campaign about COVID-19 vaccination. Interestingly, as a result, I'm seeing a ton of people discovering Neil's music, talking about Neil, and looking into alternatives to Spotify as a result. It's kind of unsurprising that Neil manages to benefit from something that would be detrimental to other artists with less integrity.

I've seen more talk about Neil Young in the past few days than in the past few years. I'm sure he's enjoying this as much as anyone.

Zak Claxton's SL Neil Young Archives: A Retrospective

This is what I really wanted to mention, because at the moment, there's no other record of it. Back in 2007, I wanted to create something unique in the online virtual world of Second Life. With the help of Kat Claxton, who was running a virtual design company at the time, we put up the Second Life Neil Young Archives. It actually got quite a bit of attention from both the early metaverse community and the world of Neil Young fandom; here's an article on the NY fan blog Thrasher's Wheat about it. 

The whole thing was contained in a two-story barn structure, with a pleasant little outdoor area that included a small stage and other accoutrements. We took a look at some of the buildings on Neil's ranch in Northern California to get inspiration for the virtual build. It used a lot of textures of wood and rust, appropriately. On the bottom level were walls covered with every album Neil had done to date, categorized between his time in Buffalo Springfield through CSNY through Crazy Horse and the rest of his solo work.

You could actually use a little rope swing to jump from the second story into a pile of hay that was down near the stage and the windmill. It was really cool, especially for 2007. Photo by Kat.

There were dozens and dozens of albums on display, arranged in time sequence through Neil's long career. Each album had the track listing and all credits. Photo by Kat.

More of the downstairs album zone. Photo by Kat.

Upstairs became an homage to the then newly-released NY Archives Vol. 1, along with a display on Neil's instruments and a chill zone straight from the cover of On The Beach. Photo by Kat.

The top level had representations of Neil's famous instruments, like his Martin D-45 acoustic guitar, his "Old Black" Gibson Les Paul, his Fender Tweed Deluxe amp, and even his Hohner Marine Band harmonica on a holder. In 2009, when Neil finally delivered his long-awaited Neil Young Archives Vol. 1 box set, I updated the upstairs area with graphics showing the full timeline information that was included with the package. There was even a little spot upstairs to chill, with the setup of beach chairs and umbrella from the On The Beach album cover, along with virtual beers to drink and virtual things to smoke. 

I have to say, we did a really great job on the whole thing, and we had a ton of people visiting the sim and even joining Second Life specifically for the purpose of hanging out there. I certainly didn't have any official authorization to give Neil a presence in the virtual world. I put it up because it was a subject I knew well and thought that people would enjoy. I was quite public about it and no one from Neil's camp or record label ever complained, so it stayed there in Second Life as a digital museum of sorts for about six years or more.

Where Did It Go?

Well, like many things in life, my Second Life Neil Young Archives required time, effort, and money. It was located on an island sim that was owned by Kat primarily for her virtual world development business. When she moved away from that business to spend time as a software developer for a bunch of entertainment companies (ironically including the label that Neil Young records for), she no longer had the time to do much building in SL. The end of the business meant the end of the costly island that she'd owned for that purpose.

We moved the SLNYA to a large parcel of a mainland sim for a couple of years, but then even that became more costly than it was worth, with Kat and I having less and less time to spend in Second Life for any purpose. Eventually we downsized our entire SL land parcel to a small space, and there was no room for the SLNYA.

And so, the Second Life Neil Young Archives is gone... sort of. It's actually not; the whole kit and caboodle is in a Zip file of sorts in Kat's SL inventory. An archive of an archive, if you will. And who knows; someday if I find myself with the luxury of time and the desire to do so, I could find a plot of virtual land and set the whole thing up again. But for now, I'm glad to have these memories of a little chunk of a world that's ephemeral by nature. I'm proud of the work we did on the SLNYA, and I can say it was a good use of time for a person worthy of the effort.

Terry's Place (01.16.22)

A fun Sunday afternoon, rocking at Terry's Place. Photo by Kat.

Hello you. I'll tell you about my show at Terry's Place, which went really well and was fun, but I'm also going to start with various random things, as I tend to do. We'll get the to the show eventually.

Good Job, Las Vegas Raiders

In as much as I had hopes that the Raiders could get their first playoff win since the 2002-2003 season, it was not to be. However, this team was never supposed to even be close to the playoffs. An unplanned coaching change in midseason? A team torn by the turmoil of a star wideout facing murder charges? An NFL record six walk-off games, all won with no time on the clock? My genuine opinion is had the Raiders somehow made it past a scrappy Bengals squad, they never would have handled an opponent like the Bills or Chiefs. Anyway, it was a super entertaining season (and I can now watch the rest of the playoffs with much less stress, with my team not being part of it), and I'm already pumped for next year.

Yes, I'd have preferred a win, but just getting back to the playoffs was way better than what I'd expected. Here's to next year, Raider Nation!

Omicron Days

Maybe it's just me, but it kind of feels like most people are pretty much giving up on fighting COVID. I supposed after almost two years, it's understandable that a certain sort of person just accepts defeat. Like many areas of the USA, Los Angeles County has seen a massive surge in cases in recent weeks, and while hospitalizations and deaths are down due to a large percentage of the population being vaccinated, some people are still not taking the basic precautionary measures to avoid this shitty illness. We now have 2.26 million cases in LA County, and 28,059 deaths. The United States has seen 65.8 million cases and 850,000 deaths since this shit started. Well, the rest of you people might have thrown in the towel and waved the white flag, but not this guy! I'm triple-vaxxed, I'm masked up in all public situations, and I'm going to do everything possible to get through this unscathed. If I still end up getting it, it won't be because I didn't do everything in my power to win this war.

COVID-19 new cases here in LA County. Look at that spike that started in mid-December. It's literally the worst point ever in the entire pandemic. Thankfully, most of these cases are mild and the death rate is much lower compared to 2020 and 2021. Data from the New York Times.

Visiting Family

On Saturday January 14, we were finally able to go visit my elderly mom and her husband, and do a belated holiday gift-giving and dinner. It was my first time seeing them in person in exactly two years, despite them living just a half hour south of here in San Pedro. Everyone there, which included my niece and my step-brother, was vaccinated and had tested negative for COVID. It was great to see them all. We had a good time, and did it safely in a way that didn't imperil the old folks.

In addition to human family, I got to see this giant doofus as well. Good boy, Atticus.

And Now, The Show

Terry's Place in Second Life always has a nice, relaxed vibe. I've played there several times now and always really enjoy the setting of the venue and the people who come see live music there. We didn't have a huge crowd, but those who were there seemed to really enjoy it. The venue usually features me every few months as part of their "Sunday Showcase" events that are presented by the SL Enquirer.

Ninja Antwoord, who runs the place, told me on my first outing there that he enjoys '90s alt rock, and I tend to build my set lists there using that genre as a starting point. For whatever reason, both my voice and in particular my guitar were cooperating very nicely on Sunday. That's not always the case, of course, so I appreciate it when it happens.

Still rocking my mask in SL, just life real life. It will be a great day when I remove it, because that will indicate that I'm cool without it in real life as well. Photo by Kat.

It was cool pulling out some of my more rare tunes. The list of songs I do in Second Life is now well over 600 songs deep, and I really should make it a point to play some of those deeper cuts more often than I do. Photo by Kat.

All of my previous shows at Terry's Place had been on a smaller outdoor stage. This time, it was at a neat snow lodge. I enjoyed the change of scenery. Photo by Kat.

I've said it many times... I don't need a giant crowd to have a great show in SL. Everyone there was having a good time, and I'll play at Terry's Place anytime they want to have me back. Photo by Kat.

This show couldn't have happened at a better time for me. It's been a super crazy time at work in recent weeks, and it's been rare that I've had an entire day off, weekend or otherwise. Having this show on Sunday allowed me to stop worrying about deadlines for a good chunk of the day, focusing instead on just performing live music. That really helped lower my overall stress level, and I feel better going into another busy week having done this show.

Terry's Place set list...

Vasoline (Stone Temple Pilots)

1979 (Smashing Pumpkins)

Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell)

Jaywalker (Andy Shauf)

No One Knows (Queens of the Stone Age)

I’ve Been Waiting for You (Neil Young)

Low Key (Tweedy)

Nobody Home (Pink Floyd)

Doctor. My Eyes (Jackson Browne)

Nearly Lost You (Screaming Trees) 

Pretty Pimpin (Kurt Vile)

Behind Blue Eyes (The Who)

*Show Ending Terry's Place Improv (Zak Claxton)

*Indicates the first time I've performed this song in SL.

Huge thanks to all who came by, with special thanks to the following who helped support the show!

RamblinrozeSpiritweaver Resident, EzSilver Resident, Twostep SpiritWeaver, Bee Blackrain, ChristineAntwoord Resident, OooDonnaooO Resident, Harlow Davi, Trouble Streeter, Kat Claxton, my terrific manager Maali Beck, show sponsor the SL Enquirer, and Terry's Place head honcho Ninja Antwoord!

Hotel Chelsea Rooftop (01.01.22)

Rocking the rooftop of Hot Chelsea on a chilly first day of 2022. Photo by Kat.

Happy new year... I think.

I woke up on Saturday January 1 feeling slightly off, a sensation that lasted the entirety of the day. To be clear, since I don't drink alcohol on New Year's or otherwise, there was no hangover involved. This "offness" was accompanied by a sore throat and some chills and such. Nothing horrendous; I was still able to perform music for a full hour at Hotel Chelsea's special New Year's Day event that afternoon, which went well. But with the huge surge of the easily-transmissible omicron variant of COVID-19, it wouldn't be a huge shock if I'd picked it up.

Unlike previous times over the past almost two years of pandemic, it wouldn't be a huge concern if I did end up testing positive for the disease. I mean, it wouldn't be good either, and frankly my bigger concerns at this stage are in regard to the long-term implications of contracting COVID-19, not the immediate illness. I am fully vaccinated and got my booster shot in mid-December. If I have it, it's unlikely I'll be hospitalized or worse. So, depending on how I'm feeling over the next couple of days, it might be wise to get tested. I'm already feeling better on Sunday than I was on Saturday, so my optimistic view is that I'm perfectly fine.

It being the start of a new year, I'd like to talk about the concept of time for a moment.

What Is Time?
Time is a way of describing the seemingly unidirectional sequence of events that "moves" from past to present to future. We're already in trouble with that definition. What is the present? Is it now? Or how about... now? Wait, you already read that in the past. Too late. Let's stop this maddening and futile exercise.

Instead, let's talk about how people perceive time and try and measure and subdivide it. We have a calendar that helps us keep track of things... useful for human activities like planting crops and dressing appropriately. We have a planet that spins, giving the illusion of a sun that rises and sets. We have clocks that tell us about the measurement of the passage of time with a pretty good degree of accuracy (though even that is an illusion, because the passage of time is unique to each various frame of reference... learn some more about Einsteinian relativity for more info on that topic).

Anyway, time does seem to sort of exist in various ways, but the more contextual aspect of it is how we measure it. A year is the amount of time it takes for Earth to make a full rotational orbit around the sun... sort of. The actual time is 365 days, 5 hours, 59 minutes and 16 seconds, so roughly every four years, we have to add a day so that the calendar stays aligned with the universe. Not very precise if you ask me, but whatever.

Like most things, time is weird.

Happy New Year?

So, we get to this point where we call it a new year so we can all do the same things at the same time, sort of. And people say things like, "Last year was terrible." First of all, I am very sorry if every single day in the past 365 was terrible for you. That seems awful. But I doubt it's true. And in my experience, at the end of every single goddamn year, people are much more likely to comment about how bad it was, as opposed to talking about all the great things that happened. This is human nature, whether I agree with it or not. Negative events last longer in our memories.

Do you know what years people think they like? They like the years that happened long ago, before they had a bunch of stress-inducing responsibilities. Even people who admit that their high school years were a nightmare tend to say that times were better then than now. I'm not going to tell them they're wrong, but again, with human nature being what it is, aspects of nostalgia seem to paint a prettier picture than the reality of the moment.

So to wrap up this silliness, I've never had a good year, and I've never had a bad year. I've had great moments and terrible moments. Some lasted longer, and some were very short lived. I expect that good things and bad things will happen in this current period of rotation around our little star that we call 2022, and my generally optimistic outlook has me hoping that there's more good than bad. Either way, I'm not going to worry much about it, and just do the things I do to survive and find enjoyment where I can.

Good things will happen in 2022. Bad things will happen in 2022. Some people will have better years than others. One thing that's been more true than not in my 52 year on this planet: when I anticipate good things, they seem more likely to happen.

How About That Show?

Yeah, that was cool. Let's talk about that. So, for whatever reason, I've done a lot of shows on January 1. It's not a typical day for live music. Most of the live shows are attached to New Year's Eve, not New Year's Day, but looking back, I see that I performed on January 1 in 2018 and 2012, and also have a bunch of years that I've done shows on January 2 or January 3. It's a good way to start a fresh year, doing the thing I've done for so much of my life and hope to continue to do for many years to come.

A small but happy crowd on the roof. Photo by Kat.

This insane little being is Shyla the Super Gekko, Hotel Chelsea's events manager and a person who really appreciates good music. Side note: SL used to have a lot more non-human avatars and I always enjoyed that. Photo by Kat. 

There was a time when I would never have thought I'd still be wearing a mask -- in real life or in SL -- in the year 2022. I was wrong. As I've stated many times in the past, my mask in SL comes off as soon as I'd feel comfortable being in public without a mask in real life. Photo by Kat. 

This show at Hotel Chelsea was a bit different than my usual gig inside the Mexican restaurant at street level. Instead, it was up on the roof, a place I'd never been before. It was cute; they'd decked out the place with a little stage, and people seemed to be in a good mood when I arrived. Joe Paravane, an SL musician who I enjoy, was doing the set before me as I warmed up and got my stuff set up to play.

It being a new year, I decided to make "Old & New" the theme for my set, and alternated between songs of the 1900s and 2000s, with a number of tunes in my set that were released in 2021. I also had a couple of songs I'd never done before, which is always fun for both me and my audience. The crowd was small -- something I'd expected on New Year's Day -- but those who were there were having a good time.

My view from the snowy rooftop stage. Photo by Kat.

Hotel Chelsea Rooftop set list...

*Doctor, My Eyes (Jackson Browne)

Garter Snake (Macie Stewart)

River Man (Nick Drake)

*Jaywalker (Andy Shauf)

God Only Knows (Beach Boys)

Bird of Paradise (Cory Hanson)

Pigs on the Wing - Parts I and II (Pink Floyd)

Gardenia (Iggy Pop)

Baker Street (Gerry Rafferty)

Sleeper in the Valley (Laura Veirs)

Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie)

Among the Leaves (Sun Kil Moon)

*Happy New Year's Chelsea Improv (Zak Claxton)

*Indicates the first time I've performed this song in SL.

Big ol' thanks to everyone who came to the show, with special super thanks to the following who helped support it!

noowun Wind, Thunderfoot Lorefield, Kedwyn Parmelee, CalebDominus Resident, Joe Paravane,  CharityDevine Resident, Kat Claxton, my terrific manager Maali Beck, and Hotel Chelsea manager Shyla the Super Gecko!