![]() Some consider the term to be a metaphor for artistic vitality. The meaning of the phrase "Rust Never Sleeps" is quite ambiguous. Blackburn was in a band that opened for the legendary 1977 The Ducks California bar tour and wrote a song containing the key lyric "It's better to burn out than it is to rust." The song "Hey Hey, My My" has a co-writer credit to Jeff Blackburn. Ironically, one of Young's most signature phrases was not actually written by him. Neil has confirmed that he got the phrase "Rust Never Sleeps" from Devo but whether it was ever seriously created for an ad campaign is unknown. Rumor has it that the group Devo came up with the slogan as part of an advertising campaign for the product Rustoleum, a rust inhibitor. There are several urban legends revolving around the album title's origins. The album is the source of some of Neil's most beloved songs such as " Powderfinger" and " Thrasher" which have yielded countless interpretations of their lyrics. "Rust Never Sleeps" is considered to be a favorite among fans and was voted as the top album in a poll published in Broken Arrow magazine no. Of course, Neil had moved on by then and when he was asked to perform on MTV's Unplugged a running joke was that Neil would probably plug in his acoustic tunes. It was considered quite clever back then. The unplugged theme would later become a phenomenon in the 1990's with MTV's Unplugged series where artists showcased their "acoustic" versions of well known electric hits. This unplugged and plugged approach was used again on 1989's Freedom's "Rockin In The Free World" acoustic and electric version. Young pioneered this approach with the bookends of 1973's Tonight's The Night with the title track which opening acoustic and concluding electric. The opening acoustic track "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)" and the closing electric track "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" continue a theme of bookending albums with a "plugged" and "unplugged" version. The lyrics "It's better to burn out than fade away" were tragically misinterpreted by Kurt Cobain which he quoted in his suicide note. Much as The Who sang "Hope I die before I get old", Young is saying that he would rather "burn out than fade away". Even the album's title phrase "Rust Never Sleeps" embodies the spirit of punk music and the embrace of the new at the expense of the old. The lyrics of songs like "Hey Hey, My My" with the chorus "Rock-n-Roll will Never Die" signify Young's desire to remain a vital part of the music scene. The album also represented a concious recognition that Young's music had to evolve or he would become extinct. "Rust Never Sleeps" signaled Young's recognition that that there was new force in music - namely punk - and that the face of Rock-n-Roll would change forever. Neil Young's 1979 "Rust Never Sleeps" marked a major shift in artistic direction for both Young and the entire music industry. Rust Never Sleeps Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young
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