A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop
2015 single by Neil Young & Promise of the Real
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"A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop" is a song recorded by Neil Young and Promise of the Real. It is a protest song aimed at the companies Starbucks and Monsanto. The piece comes from the concept album The Monsanto Years, which primarily criticizes Monsanto.
| "A Rock Star Bucks a Coffee Shop" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Neil Young & Promise of the Real | ||||
| from the album The Monsanto Years | ||||
| Released | June 29, 2015 | |||
| Recorded | February 11, 2015 | |||
| Studio | Teatro, Oxnard | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 5:00 | |||
| Label | Reprise Records | |||
| Songwriter | Neil Young | |||
| Producers |
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| Neil Young & Promise of the Real singles chronology | ||||
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Background and lyrics
The song was released as a single in May 2015 and is the first song on the album The Monsanto Years.[1][2]
It refers to the lawsuit by Monsanto against Vermont due to the state's attempt at passing a GMO labeling law.[3] The song also references "the poison tide of Monsanto" and a farmer who signs a GMO deal when Young sings, "I want a cup of coffee but I don't want a GMO. I'd like to start my day off without helping Monsanto."[4][5]
In a brief review of the song, Stefan Schmidt in The National Singles Round-Up also remarked that song did not hold back against critiquing Starbucks and Monsanto and suggested that Young had not lost his appetite for tackling political issues.[6]
Venue
Young also introduced an acoustic version of the song in Maui while performing at "OUTGROW Monsanto", a festival held to protest Monsanto's business practices in Hawaii.[7]
Moreover, the song was also featured in Young's July and October 2015 tours, for which Promise of the Real served as his backing band.[8]
Personnel
- Neil Young – guitar, whistling, vocals
- Lukas Nelson – guitar, whistling, vocals
- Micah Nelson – guitar, whistling, vocals
- Anthony LoGerfo – drums
- Corey McCormick – bass, whistling, vocals
- Tato Melgar – percussion[9]