what are some of the reasons you love Neil so much??
Hi anon, I have a whole tag for this just so that I could keep adding to it. I have over two books full of songs that he inspired me write (many of them dedicated to the love he helped me believe I deserved). The reasons why I love him grow and evolve as I do, and I look forward to having the vibrant color of Neil's thread weave through the tapestry of my life from here on out. He's part of me now and forevermore.
A lot of people, myself included, first learn about Neil in a light that seems negative. He gets called "flaky," 'inconsistent," "selfish," and worse...but I learned in time that he has never done anything other than be true to himself, even at the inconvenience of other people. In this society, that's rare, and it's kind of refreshing. He showed me it's okay to disappoint people, it's not the end of the world. "It's not that serious." The Crystals' "He's a Rebel" says it better than I can: "If they don't like him that way, they won't like me after today, cause I'll be standing right by his side."
In a world where pop stars flit all over creation in private jets, Neil carts his gear around in a bus that runs on ecologically responsible fuel (and yes, it also makes train sounds). He plays open-air venues for crowd safety, and he takes into consideration even the sources of food served at his concert venues. In my own life, I try to hold my behaviors to a standard of sustainability that the people in it often feel is unreasonable. Neil proves to me that it is possible to go above and beyond. I share with him the common goal of leaving this planet better than I found it, a goal that gets harder every year.
Lately I've been getting into playing my original music in social situations. You better believe that every time I get up in front of people, there is one guy on my mind. He is with me every time. He has been with me every step of that journey since the beginning. Neil is, in the words of Ben Keith, a "hellacious talent," but he's not technically perfect. And that made me realize it was okay to make mistakes, to try things even though they weren't polished. The polish sometimes detracts from the important parts underneath.
I decided a few years ago that if there was only gonna be one artist (one person) that I would ever get to feel so strongly about, I am really really lucky that person is Neil. His music has inspired me to survive, to escape, to create, to feel, to dream, to love, to try, to grow, to believe, to hope...everything that you could ask for and more from someone who's nothing short of a muse.
Oh yeah and also he makes my heart hurt when he smiles: