AUSTIN, Texas--If you're wondering what rock icon Neil Young will do next, good luck.

The legendary singer, subject of Jonathan Demme's new musical performance documentary, Heart of Gold, told a massive crowd at South by Southwest this morning that he thrives on going wherever the creative spirit takes him, regardless of anyone's expectations of him.

"People want to know why you don't make your most famous record over and over again," he said. "Because it's death."

Young said he related to Bob Dylan's recent comments about why he hasn't written another era-defining song like "Blowin' in the Wind" or "Times They Are Changing."

"He just says, 'I don't know who that was [that wrote that song].' " Young said. "You can't be who you were--you just have to be here now."

Young, the keynote speaker at this week's SXSW festival, took the stage in his trademark casual attire--jeans, T-shirt, and white wide-brimmed hat. He was joined by Demme, and he immediately put the crowd--and interviewer Jaan Uhelszki of Harp magazine--at ease.

"It's very nice to be here with all these people who are so dedicated to what they're doing," he said. "I've been worried about this for months."

Most of the conversation centered on Young's creative process. That is, how he has been able to write so many classic songs that have captured the essence of the time in which they were written.

"More than anything, I'm a reflection of what I see," he said. "You have to trust your ability to be that reflection. Sometimes you get to places that you didn't think you were going to go--and that's all right."

Young wrote most of the songs for his most recent album, Prairie Wind, recorded in Nashville after he'd recovered from surgery to relieve a brain aneurysm, in a span of a week.

"I just started writing one night and then it all just came to me," he said. "When you get on a roll you can't disturb it."

He said one of his scariest and most rewarding experiences was the first time he performed the music of Greendale, his 2003 movie, before an audience in West Palm Beach, Florida.

"When you're terrified, you know you're right," he said. "It's good to be scared and be a bit on edge."

But when Young makes one of his trademark sharp turns creatively and moves on to something completely different, he said he expects the audience to come along with him for the ride.

"When I read in USA Today that I was ripping off my audience because I was not performing the songs that they expected, I said to myself, 'I'm on to something now,'" he said. "I knew I was doing the right thing--that felt good."

As for the movie itself, Demme said the film said as much about what's important to him in his life as it does Young's.

"Neil Young is such a fascinating person whether he's making music or not, regardless of who he's making it with," he said. "I could make a film out of one day in this guy's life."