Greendale

In response to a Bush administration that appeared intent on destroying everything he held dear, Neil Young released Greendale, a complex garage-rock opera that aired his views on environmentalism, media monopolies, and a nation in moral decline. The title refers to a fictional California town inhabited by a cast of characters Young has dubbed the Green family. The songs on Greendale trace dialogues between the generational factions of this individualistic family, as they struggle to maintain their ideals in a world that Young portrays as soulless and borderline fascistic. If you are looking for listenability, “Falling from Above” and “Bandit” are your best bets. For its complex web of details, the album best communicates a broad sense of resignation and nostalgia for a simpler time. Young’s own belief in the power of environmental protest is earnestly stated in “Be the Rain," but what sticks with you is the closing stanza of “Leave the Drivin’,” surely one of the most cynical verses of Young’s career: “The moral of this story / Is try not to get too old / The more time you spend on earth / The more you see unfold.”