Neil Young performed at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage on Sunday night, and he kicked off the encore by mocking the venue’s corporate name with his 1988 screed “This Note’s For You.” It was the first time he played the song since 1997 in any concert setting.
Young wrote “This Note’s For You” at a time when everybody from Eric Clapton and Madonna to the Rolling Stones and Genesis were licensing their songs to commercials, appearing in the ads themselves, or allowing corporations to sponsor their tours. The title is a response to Budweiser’s “This Bud’s For You” slogan, and the song references Pepsi, Coke, Miller, Budweiser’s canine mascot Spuds MacKenzie, and Coca-Cola’s “The Real Thing” slogan.
He took the mockery to grandiose new heights by casting Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson impersonators for the “This Note’s For You” video, and spoofing recent ad campaigns by Michelob, Budweiser, and Calvin Klein.
MTV refused to air it. “I must admit I feel awkward defending our decision because I happen to think it’s a fantastic video,” MTV/VH1 General Manager Lee Masters told The Los Angeles Times. “Everyone in Programming loved it – it’s spectacular and it’s very funny. But we had two corporate problems: First, our attorneys advised us against playing it because its use of likenesses of Michael Jackson and Spuds MacKenzie could leave us open to trademark infringement charges. Since then, Warner Records’ legal department has offered to indemnify us against any claims, but our attorneys still felt that might not be enough protection.”
With all due respect to MTV, this was absolute bullshit. “Weird Al” Yankovic has been creating videos much like “This Note’s For You” for well over 40 years, since parodies enjoy strong constitutional protections. The Supreme Court has affirmed this many times. There’s no chance the MTV suits and their attorneys weren’t aware of this.
Young’s longtime manager, Elliot Roberts, wrote the network a furious open letter in response to the ban. “MTV, you spineless twerps,” he wrote. “You refuse to play ‘This Note’s for You’ because you’re afraid to offend your sponsors. What does the ‘M’ in MTV stand for: music or money? Long live rock and roll.” They eventually relented and put the video into rotation, and even gave it Video of the Year at the 1989 VMAs.
“This Note’s For You” was a regular part of Young’s live show in the late Eighties and early Nineties, but he dropped it from his repertoire following the Bridge School Benefit on October 19, 1997.
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He may have been tempted to break it back out when he performed at Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario, back in 2012, or last summer when he first played at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto. But he simply couldn’t restrain himself this time around.
“Thank you, folks,” he said right before playing “This Note’s For You.” “We come back to the Freshwater Amphitheater. It’s going to be great.” (The Budweiser Stage was formerly known as the Molson Ampitheater. Young played there in 2000 with the Friends and Relatives band.)
The resurrection of “This Note’s For You” is the most notable recent setlist addition to Young’s summer tour. But he also debuted “Silver Eagle” Friday evening at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. It’s the first song he’s played from his new LP, Talkin’ To The Trees. He also broke out “Mr. Soul,” “The Loner,” “Ohio,” and “Tumblweed” at the past few gigs.
The tour resumes Tuesday night with a second show at the Budweiser Stage. Future stops at the Huntington Bank Pavilion and the Hayden Homes Amphitheater give him plenty more chances to bring “This Note’s For You” back to life.
From Rolling Stone US
