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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Neil Young keeps it short and sweet in Twitter Q&A

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 11/15/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

TORONTO -- He's not much for interviews, but on the eve of his current tour, an irreverent Neil Young held a Twitter Q&A with his fans, weighing in on a diverse array of topics including the NHL lockout, cars and gay rights.

The 66-year-old Toronto-born rocker and one-time Winnipeg resident opted for brevity in most of his exchanges, rarely typing more than a few words in response to questions that poured in over a one-hour period.

Young -- who wrote that he joined Twitter to promote his current collaboration with Crazy Horse, Psychedelic Pill -- did answer many music-related questions, offering clarification on his gear, his tour plans and potential set lists. (Young plays Winnipeg on Nov. 16 at the MTS Centre; tickets are $61 to $200 at Ticketmaster.)

He also singled out a few modern artists for praise, including Jack White, Radiohead and Foster the People, while musing that he might want to collaborate with Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl (later, Young playfully pretended not to know who Bono was).

But he spent much of the chat issuing light-hearted one-liners.

Young was asked how he's preparing for the "imminent" apocalypse in December (his response: "working out") and what he was currently reading ("It wasn't that good... so I stopped reading it," he said, without specifying which book had earned his scorn).

He also confirmed to one questioner that he retains Canadian citizenship. As if to prove it, he also issued a succinct response when asked for his thoughts on the ongoing NHL lockout: "money money money money money money money."

Some users had weightier issues on their minds. One fan reached out to ask whether Young accepted gay people.

"Gay is good," he replied.

And the very first question Young responded to was one of the few to merit a more thoughtful response.

A mother wrote to tell Young that her 21-year-old daughter was in rehab, wanting to know whether he had any friends who had conquered heroin addiction.

"Yes, I do have friends who have overcome heroin addiction," he wrote. "She should just stay with it."

-- The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 15, 2012 $sourceSection0

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