At 72, Neil Young feels a sense of urgency. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member has a new, and joyfully perplexing, pseudo-Western film Paradox, written and directed by actress and girlfriend Daryl Hannah, coming out on Netflix next week. He鈥檚 releasing a movie soundtrack on the same day. And next month, he鈥檚 digging into his vast archives to put out Roxy 鈥� Tonight鈥檚 the Night Live, a collection of songs played live from the opening week of the famed Los Angeles club in 1973.
And if that鈥檚 not enough, Young continues to move ahead with his vision to make his online musical archives the definitive repository of everything 鈥� previously released or otherwise 鈥� that he鈥檚 ever recorded.
鈥淚 like to get it out there so I鈥檓 alive to see how people like it,鈥� Young said in a telephone interview from Austin, Texas, where he is attending the South by Southwest music festival. 鈥淲hat the [expletive]? Why not?鈥�
Young unveiled his new archival website in December, making all of his officially released recordings available to stream in the highest audio quality possible 鈥� a passion of his 鈥� for free.
In what has been a tantalizing tease for devoted Young fans, there were also inaccessible links to unreleased albums such as Homegrown from 1974, Chrome Dreams from 1976 and Toast from 2001 along with various live recordings from throughout his 55-year career.
Young said he has 12 to 14 unreleased records he made between the late 1960s and 2012 that he wants to get out soon. The 1973 Roxy concert highlights is next in April and he said two more vault releases are planned for this year.
鈥淲hen I made these records, I made them so fast that I couldn鈥檛 put them all out,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 finished one and I鈥檇 go on to the next one. That鈥檚 just the way it was at that time. I was very productive and going through a lot. I put out what I was most interested in at the time.鈥�
Young remains productive, with Paradox and its soundtrack coming out next week.
Paradox features Young as The Man in the Black Hat, Willie Nelson as Red and his sons, Lukas and Micah Nelson, 鈥� members of the band Promise of the Real 鈥� as Jailtime and the Particle Kid.
It was premi猫ring on Thursday at the South by Southwest Festival and will have a limited theatrical release in addition to being available on Netflix as of March 23.
Billed as a 鈥渇antasy, a loud poem and a free-spirited tale of music and love,鈥� the film begins sometime in the 鈥渇uture-past鈥� with Willie Nelson proclaiming that 鈥渢ime is fluid.鈥� It follows Young and a band of outlaws in the mountains as they scavenge for treasure that includes computer keyboards, cameras and cellphones.
It was filmed in Colorado while Young and his band were getting used to the 10,000-foot altitude before performing at the Desert Trip festival in 2016.
In the film, Young鈥檚 band plays his song Peace Trail as listeners float in the air. In another scene, Young strums a ukulele as Hannah floats behind him, tied to Young鈥檚 waist by a rope.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e in the music, sometimes you float away in your mind,鈥� Young said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just another representation of the effect of art and music on people.鈥�
Hannah, who wrote the film and is making her directorial debut, said it was all very spontaneous and not meant to be taken too seriously.
Hannah described it as a 鈥渉omespun project鈥� and said she was surprised when Netflix expressed interest.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not really their sort of thing,鈥� she said, adding that Netflix typically goes for more polished productions and not 鈥渟pitball movies people make for themselves.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 my biggest concern that people will be expecting a normal movie or a rock 鈥檔鈥� roll documentary and they鈥檒l be like: 鈥榃hat the heck?鈥� 鈥� Hannah said.
鈥淚 hope that they take it in the lighthearted spirit it was intended and turn it up so they can hear the music.鈥�
Young said he didn鈥檛 know what people would think of Paradox, but he stands by it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a little surreal, but it鈥檚 playful and loving, no violence, no hatred,鈥� Young said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a great palate cleanser.鈥�
