Neil Young’s ‘Living With War’ Is a Beacon of Light

The war I’m living through right now is being fought between the critic and music fan inside me as I try to comprehend Neil Young’s much-hyped political electric opus Living With War. It was written and recorded less than two months ago. Yet, it has already seen weeks of airtime on cable news tickers, reams upon reams of editorial newsprint, and the unholy collective bluster of a million bloggers. Clearly, I have to give this one more thought than usual; the album has already been mythologised into more than an album. Living With War is an aural broadside, a beacon of light for the left and another potential straw man for the right. But is it good rock and roll?

The critic in me is sceptical from the outset. Living With War is declarative rather than evocative, and there’s nothing my inner critic hates more than blunt, declarative statements of feeling. In fact, lyrics like “Let’s impeach the president for lyin’ / Misleading the country into war” make my inner critic’s teeth shiver, regardless of my strong sympathy and shared politics. I’ve always thought it better to savor mystery and ambiguity in art—even art with clear intent and purpose—because they invite more discovery and deeper knowledge than the obvious.