Rust Never Sleeps

Neil Young’s 1979 album, made famous for the single Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) and Kurt Cobain’s allusion to its lyrics in his suicide note 15 years later. It was mostly recorded live but contains studio overdubs on most of its tracks; Sail Away and Pocahontas were recorded completely in studio. It’s first half is comprised of acoustic songs and the second of electric songs, with the album bookended by versions of the same song, Hey Hey, My My.

Its title is a term used Neil and his band to avoid artistic stagnation in a time in which newer rock sounds like Devo and Sex Pistols put them at the risk of getting outdated and left to “rust”.

The phrase, “Rust Never Sleeps” comes from an old Rust-Oleum ad slogan crafted by the band Devo. Young learned of the slogan when making a film with the band, and he loved it so much that he adopted it as his own.