As Treehugger points out, Young wants fans to make a better video for his song ‘Johnny Magic’. Your reward? A LincVolt Jacket. Um, yea. From the article,

‘Johnny Magic’ is the same guy who managed to get other behemoths to perform similar tricks, as we reported here on the Biofuel Hummer. So if you want to support the efforts of a mechanical visionary, a music legend as they strive for more efficient personal transport, then start making your video. The final date for Johnny Magic video submissions is 15 May 2009. You’ll get to work with lyrics like: “She burst from the garage in a blaze of silence” and “Now she goes long range on domestic green fuel / 100 miles per gallon is the Continental Rule.”

Feel a surge of creativity washing over you? Well, then grab the camera and start filming. You can find out additional details over at Young’s official site here.

In this new video for the song “Johnny Magic” we get to see Young cruising down the road in his electric LincVolt. It’s a low-tech shoot in a high-tech vehicle. With Neil’s dog Carl along for the ride. Check it out below. (Correction: Apparently, our first vid was wrong. Correct one has been added.)

There are many obvious perks to being selected as the “First Dog”; getting to live in the White House being one of them. However, when the dog days of summer call and spending time outside is more routine, having a secondary hangout is a priority. Enter the Summa Canum (Latin for “First Dog”), The Obama Dog Home from Sustainable Pet Design.

Of course, this isn’t your average run-of-the-mill retreat. This dog house is rooted in eco-design and features a green roof, recycled wood from naturally felled trees (from the driveway of our 7th President, Andrew Jackson, no less.) zero-VOC paint and varnish, and a personal delivery in Neil Young’s all-electric 1959 Lincoln. In fact, the dog house is already in Young’s garage awaiting delivery. Now all we need is a First Dog to lead the free canine world. Here’s a bit more from the Sustainable Pet Design site on the project:

Sustainable Pet Design’s vision does not end with the arrival of the Summa Canum at The White House. Our intent is to create an ongoing testing ground for sustainable practices to which all Americans can contribute. Summa Canum can be retrofitted with solar panels, radiant floor heating, a graywater recycling system–just about anything you can imagine. When Summa Canum is tricked out to the max (or when the First Dog puts her paw down for some peace and quiet), we’ll build another, together.

Radiant floor heating? This sounds like something Paris Hilton would be interested in for her doggy mansion. Check out more details on this first dog house here.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, for any other artist out there thinking of glorifying their Prius in song.), the reception to the music has been less than welcoming. “The other car songs featured on tour are decidedly bad, but this ‘Fork in the Road’ song is so distressingly awful that it almost seems like a joke,” said one reviewer on the Thrashers Wheat website. “So hideous that one almost has to laugh at the situation.”

The new viral video for one of Young’s new songs “Fork in the Road” is below. Have a listen and tell us what you think!

via Autobloggreen and Greendaily

Neil Young

You might not know this, but Young is an honorary lifetime member of the workers’ union, the International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) – and therefore has refused to cross the picket line.

In a statement Young says, “I am extremely disappointed to have to choose between satisfying my fans or backing my brothers and sisters of the IATSE.”

No fear, Neil Young fans! The show will be rescheduled for a date in 2009 and ticket holders can get refunds at the point of purchase. Keep on fighting the good fight, Neil!

With a beer in hand, Neil Young went on camera last week to record a “State of the Linc Volt” address and give the world an update on his progress converting a ‘59 Lincoln Continental into a badass electric vehicle. We haven’t heard much on the project since engineer John Goodwin and Young nearly destroyed the car in their first test run back in June.

Now, we’re learning that the number of Lithium-ion batteries has been reduced and they’ve added an on-board generator — similar to the Chevy Volt’s small gasoline range extender. Also, and most interesting, the Lincoln has been outfitted with sensors that will wirelessly hook up with the Internet and deliver real time stats to the world. We’re not sure if they’re jacking in through a cell phone or just some local hotspots, but either way, cool!

Also, take a look at the live web cam now available in the garage for visual updates at your leisure. Is that a Hummer to the right? Is that monster getting a new green soul too?

via autobloggreen

What’s better than 22 years of concerts to help promote local farming? How about a first-ever Farm Aid in New England?

John Mellencamp is announcing that this year’s Farm Aid will be held at the Comcast Center in Mansfield on September 20th. The lineup will include Mellencamp as well as Dave Matthews, Neil Young, and of course, Willie Nelson.

So many people associate local produce being restricted to the Midwest or certain isolated farming communities, and by highlighting that yes, you can get apples and potatoes in Boston from someone other than a frothing, genetically-engineered conglomerate, they’ll be both shining a much-needed light on local purchasing power as well as creating a larger sense of community. Bonus!

via AOL News

Sara is the Editor of YouthNoise.com

Hot on the heels of Matt Damon taking an electric vehicle out for a spin, rocker Neil Young hit the road with his still-under-development green vehicle: A 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark IV that’s being turned into a beautiful serial-electric hybrid by John Goodwin. Young has been working on having the car transformed since the announcement of the project last October. ”Johnathan and this car are going to make history,” said Young in an interview with The Wichita Eagle. ”We’re going to change the world, we’re going to create a car that will allow us to stop giving our wealth to other countries for petroleum. And we’re going to do it right here in Wichita, a great place that I now love, where people know how to make things, and make things happen.”

Of course, there have been a few bumps along the road. The $120,000 project almost ended in disaster during a recent test-drive with Young and Goodwin. From the article,

“Because there is no gas pedal, Goodwin had to drive with his left hand, with no power steering, while twisting half around and turning an acceleration knob in the back seat with his right hand. ‘And we just about crashed it,” Goodwin said. At K-96 and Webb, as they approached the entrance ramp, Goodwin turned the knob the wrong way, and the car leaped toward the back end of another car. In a micro-second, Young, from the passenger seat, stomped the brake, averting disaster.

‘Still needs a little work,’ Goodwin said.”

For more pictures — and a video — of Young’s hybird Lincoln, jump to the article here. 

Neil Young has been immortalized as the official name of a newly discovered species of spider, Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi. The honor was bestowed by Jason Bond, a biologist at East Carolina University. “I really enjoy his music and have had a great appreciation of him as an activist for peace and justice,” he said. Jason’s wife, who apparently isn’t cool enough to be immortalized as an eight-legged critter, had no comment. [via livescience]

Whitney Houston sang a rare live gig for the Caudwell Children’s Ball last week amidst the swirling rumors that she was paid anywhere from six to seven figures for the act. If it’s true, we think it’s BS that she would take so much cash to perform for a children’s charity. [via the cheers]

Ever wonder what an Al Gore presidency might have been like instead of the disaster that was the current administration? Sure, Saturday Night Live did a hysterical take, but the Huffington Post’s Norman McAfee really lays it all out for us. January ‘09 can’t come soon enough. [via Huffington Post]

Victoria Beckham is hoping some actual good will come out the toxic disaster that was the Spice Girls World Tour by auctioning off the swanky outfits she wore on stage. Posh expects almost $2 million dollars to be raised from the various auctions — with all the proceeds benefiting her children’s charity. [via sunday mirror]