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Father John Misty picks his favourite Neil Young song

(Credit: Bradley J Calder)

Mon 10 March 2025 0:00, UK

Besides his obvious songwriting genius, Neil Young‘s cultural greatness is steeped in his defiant stubbornness and, at times, controversy. In fact, you can mark the brilliance of most artists by not just how many people love them but how many people hate them all the same. Greatness was never achieved in the shallow waters of diplomacy.

While his cultural footprint might be smaller, the same can generally be said for Father John Misty. Hated and loved in equal measures, his work has garnered critical acclaim for its sensitive storytelling and meticulous melodic composition. The strength of his work has largely fended off question marks over his divisive personality.

Amidst the micro-dosing on acid, frequent use of Tumblr, and general love for trolling is someone unperturbed by confronting politics, love, substances and sex with a sense of frustration and irreverence. It’s the sort of unwavering authenticity Young has made a career reputation on.

So it’s no surprise the defiantly stubborn Young is heralded as one of his key influences. But suitably for Father John Misty, his appetite for Young’s greatness comes not from the heavy-hitting, widely revered Harvest but rather from his 1974 record On The Beach.

And it was the title track in particular that piqued the warped interest of Father John Misty: “This song is about isolation, but ironically, it’s one of the great love songs of my life. ‘The world is turning/ I hope it don’t turn away’ — I really identify with that. The whole B-side of this album, you can just put it on and get lost,” a point that Misty had to suitably curtail with, “You can get stoned and go inside this little universe. And when the song ends, go back to the beginning.”

While many now consider the album a classic, its initial release was marred by controversy and disappointment. Once past the moment, Young recounts his meeting with Charles Manson in ‘Revolution Blues’, and the departure to a more brooding production style introduced a darker Neil Young to the world.

“I don’t like to be labelled, to be anything. I’ve made the mistake before myself of labelling my music, but it’s counter-productive,” Young once said in a quote that typifies his everchanging approach to music. It’s the sort of mission statement that individual artists like Misty have been allowed to follow fearlessly, pursuing ideas based on their own satisfaction rather than that of the gallery.

“The thing about my music is, there really is no point,” he added nonchalantly. “I just do what I do. I like to make music.” The album’s vinyl sold out and remains one of Young’s rarest LPs. Equally, the record wasn’t released on CD until 2003, when 5000 people signed a petition for it – of which you can put your money on was Misty, clutching the necessary cash in one hand and some form of hallucinogen in the other.