Heart of Sold
Typically, on Friday, I do some sort of list or compilation of songs, singers, ideas or albums that warrant listening to again and again. Some readers agree, some don’t. It’s all in fun and I am trying to lighten things up a little. Nothing controversial in saying that “Sympathy for The Devil” might be the perfect rock and roll song or saying that 99.99% of the music released today sucks. Verifiable facts I say.
Today, I am going to try something a little different.
As you may have read, Neil Young asked to be removed from the Spotify streaming platform because he took issue with Spotify’s biggest star, Joe Rogan, for spreading supposedly false claims about Covid and whatnot.
You can fall on either side of this mini-controversy but I think it is interesting from several different viewpoints.
Before I start, I will confess to having never listened to Joe Rogan on his latest podcast. I have heard him on various comedy channels and I never thought he was funny. Just never got him. I get he has a huge following and he has succeeded on several platforms but he just wasn’t my cup of tea.
So, he has this whole stream going on about Covid and the truths, untruths and outright lies. He apparently questions the validity of the science involved and has come up with interesting lines of inquiry about treatment, vaccine mandates, etc. I get it, he is all in on what he sees as the BS that we are dealing with. He is entitled to his opinion. He is entitled to saying whatever he wants to say and people can either believe him or not. I believe in free speech first and foremost and he is exercising his first amendment rights. The problem here might be that some of the things Rogan has talked about may or may not be true and that’s the rub. Is he spreading false information that could impact peoples lives? Uh. Hold on a second. If anyone is going to follow a protocol based on what Joe Rogan says, they deserve whatever they get. He is a comedian, commentator, whatever but he is no medical doctor and he couldn’t spell prescription let alone write one so everyone needs to get off that freaking bandwagon. If you are that stupid, Godspeed and good luck.
To get to the Neil Young side of things, I will give him props for standing up for what he believes in. Some artists talk a big game but do little (Springsteen, you hearing this) to actually make a difference.
Before I go ramble on about Neil Young, let me be clear, I used to love his music until I saw him in Central Park at The Global Citizen Charity concert several years back. He played four songs (which was fine) but his back was turned to the crowd for a good percentage of the show. That just turned me off. As the years went on, he would be more outspoken about the United States and decided to become an American citizen so he could vote in the 2016 election. When Donald trump got elected he went apoplectic. Ok, so he is a Democrat. Big deal. He is very Liberal, again big deal. What got me to move on was his constant bashing of Trump at every one of his live concerts. Ok, you don’t like the guy, that’s fine, but why do paying customers have to listen to you spend ten minutes talking about all the things Trump did or didn’t do, when all people want to hear is “Cowboy in the Sand” or “Cinnamon Girl”. I dropped Springsteen from my rotation for similar reasons. BTW, I would feel the same if any other artist spent 10 minutes talking about how much America needs Donald Trump again. I go to listen to music, not to hear speeches.
Putting that aside, I do give Neil Young credit for standing firm in his opinion that he doesn’t want to be on the same platform as Joe Rogan. It is his right (unless contractually, he can’t do it) and he is exercising it. Good for him!
It will be a standoff and it is one of those rare instances that both parties are right to some extent. Joe Rogan has a right to say what he wants on his podcast. You can disagree, you can not listen. No one is forcing anyone to listen to Joe Rogan. No one is making you do anything that is harmful to yourself. The listeners make the choices and as I said, if they are that stupid, so be it.
Neil Young is risking income by having his music removed from Spotify. Trust me though, no one is worrying about Neil Young’s financial health, especially Neil Young, so while it is impressive that Young has cut ties with Spotify, it isn’t going to force him to go to Walmart instead of Whole Foods.
What will be interesting to see is if other artist do the same. Will Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan follow suit? Highly doubtful but what Neil Young has done is expose Joe Rogan in a way that others never had the guts to do.
Bottomline is this however, Spotify will say nice things about Neil Young. They won’t court controversy. They will side with their biggest single investment to date, Joe Rogan. Rogan will surely attack Neil Young on his podcast. His numbers will go up and Spotify will be happy it chose one side over the other.
Neil Young will continue to stand up for what he believes. Regardless of the financial consequences, Young will continue to put himself out there and I respect that.
After reading this, you wonder what side I am on. Well, in this case, as I have said, I believe both parties have legitimate points and if it ends there, nothing will change. If other artist do the same, things will get complicated very quickly and it will be interesting to see how this plays out.