Neil Young: Music has lost its strength

Neil Young has muttered gloomily about how the once world-changing power of music has gone. Not like in his day, of course:

"I think that the time when music could change the world is past," he told reporters. "I think it would be very naive to think that in this day and age."

Young added: "I think the world today is a different place, and that it's time for science and physics and spirituality to make a difference in this world and to try to save the planet."

Young's generation, of course, were able to stop the Vietnam War using music in just sixteen years; while in the 1980s strict injunctions from musicians for Margaret Thatcher to "stand down" saw her quit Downing Street just some eleven years after she entered it. Meanwhile, the world-changing power of music was bringing about the end of Aparthied. "We would have ended it a lot earlier" confirmed FW DeKlerk, "but when our policymakers went to the Virgin Megastore, they'd been buying Queen records instead of stuff by the Specials..."