My latest in PJ Media:
Superannuated hyper-woke musician Neil Young, who is estimated to have a fortune of about 200 million dollars, is angry with musicians and promoters who are trying to make a living. Old Neil, who is legendary for jumping on every Leftist bandwagon that happens by, is terrified of the spread of Covid, and he is leading by example. In a statement published on his Neil Young Archives website Monday, Neil wrote: “Recently I pulled out of Farm Aid for fear that unprotected children may become infected with Covid by folks who went to the show, caught the virus, had no symptoms and returned home to hug their kids or someone else’s kids.” Yeah, can’t have normal human interaction. Can’t have music. All right. But not all of us have $200 million to get us by.
The virus that has Neil Young wanting to ban hugs and shut down the world has a 99% survival rate for most age groups, although it falls to 92% for the age group of most of the people who would want to attend a Neil Young concert in the first place. But Neil Young is terrified, and has found the root cause of the fact that far too many people are actually living their lives instead of cowering with fear in their living rooms, watching reruns of Friends, and ordering from UberEats. “I felt that we didn’t know what we were up against and we were endangering others, unprotected innocent children in particular,” he claims. “I know of tours that are out there and have to stop where they are and isolate in motels because one person among them tested positive. I ask myself, why are they out there?”
The answer chafes at the old multimillionaire’s socialist heart: “Money and business. These two need each other. This has been the American way for years and years. Now it has turned on the country in a new way.”
Of course. Some people are out there trying to make a living. Why don’t they just sit back and live on their royalties for a while, like selfless Neil? He is full of praise for those who have fallen into line: “Garth Brooks and others like him have been responsible and pulled back from doing more shows. That’s a good example.” However, some people persist in trying to feed their families: “But it will take the big promoters and managers/ agents to make the difference. If it’s all about money, I think they should protect the people who are their livelihood.”
Young thinks it’s all the fault of those top-hatted capitalists he runs into every time he plays Monopoly: “The big promoters, if they had the awareness, could stop these shows. Without that, everyone just keeps going like everything is OK. It’s not. Live Nation, AEG and the other big promoters could shut this down if they could just forget about making money for a while….. They control much of the entertainment business. They hold the power to stop shows where thousands congregate and spread. It’s money that keeps it going. Money that motivates the spreading. The big promoters are responsible for super spreaders.”
There is more. Read the rest here.
Kagman says
Young has not written anything worth listening to since After the Gold Rush…. He’s done, stick a pin in him
spiro says
Fork not pin
gravenimage says
Multimillionaire Neil Young: ‘Forget About Making Money for A While’
…………….
Looks like he can afford to rest on the money he already has.
Wellington says
Like Fauci.
Terry Gain says
Young believes in rocking in the free world but hasn’t the slightest clue what is necessary to keep the free world free.
That said, I want to share my favourite memory of his father Scott Young. Scott Young was both a political analyst and a sports writer for the Globe And Mail which still calls itself Canada’s national newspaper even though The Globe And Mail was taken over by leftists in the mid-1980s. i stopped reading it in about 1985 when it hired Alan The Red Hutchinson, a communist law professor at Osgoode Hall imported from Birmingham England, as its go to legal analyst.
Scott Young appeared frequently on Hockey Night In Canada. He was a very smart man. One night, just before overtime, he was asked by host Ward Cornell what we should look forward to in sudden death overtime. Scott Young dryly replied: “ well Ward, I would look for the first goal”.
It made an impression on me some 60 years ago, which I now share with you.
gravenimage says
🙂
tim gallagher says
That’s a very sharp, witty comment by Scott Young, Terry. I didn’t know until recently that Neil Young’s father was a writer. i usually just enjoy the music of people and don’t delve too deeply into most of their lives unless they are performers that really interest me. i like some of his songs a lot. I must have checked on his life in wikipedia or something and it said that his father was a journalist and also a novelist. On Youtube I watch Neil Young singing “Long May You Run”, a song I like, and “Unknown Legend”,( which i hadn’t heard until I saw Mandolin Orange do it on youtube and thought it was a pretty good song) on a 1993 MTV unplugged concert that Young did. I wanted to check on who the musicians and backup singers on that MTV concert were and it turned out that one of the back up singers was Young’s half sister, Astrid Young, (Scott Young remarried and she was his daughter)who I had never heard of, the other being Nicolette Larson, who did a terrific version of his song “Lotta Love”. On the issue of his wanting this concert to be called off, and if Young is so wealthy, then maybe he should give the other artists, who might need the income, the money that they would earn from the concert out of his own pocket, if the concert is banned. Put his money where his mouth is so to speak.
roberta says
Looks like the leftist cowards ruining Australia have caved on nothing but the threat of a trucking shutdown/blockade. Interesting.
Most of these old rockers seems to be the leftist self righteous type.
Hippies love everybody, until they dont get their way.
Best for their legacies if they would fade away quietly.
Westman says
Where has bravery gone? The lefties seem to have the same courage as the Afghan army. It is Young, not the children who might receive indirect exposure at his concerts, who is most at risk.
If lefties had total control of government, the US would just surrender to all enemies. Young and Cher could sing a stanza of Mr. Custer in place ofthe National Anthem.
Rarely says
It’s not a political or ideological issue — unless you go way out of your way to make it one.
It is no more a “Freedom” “Leftist” or whatever issue than the mandate to wear seat belts.
Westman says
As Tip O’Neill would say, “It’s all politics”. Even mandates.
I wore a mask and protective gloves though I knew there were no proper trials that proved that masks could stop viruses. When a few tests were done, the general purpose masks used in hospitals turned out to be inferior to n95s, which themselves are only dust masks and cannot stop viruses.
Everything the CDC and WHO said(and changed) about masks was based on guesses and assumptions. Those decisions, good as they became, were motivated to appear to do something instead of waiting for evidence.
Young is still searching for a “Heart of Gold” and gettin’ old while braver souls have found their, “Summer Breeze”
Terry Gain says
Rarely
In Canada we can justify mandating seat belts and motorcycle helmets because the health care system cares for the injured.
Vaccine mandates are presumably justified on the same basis, however crucial differences are that wearing a seat belt or helmet clearly protects people, never kills anyone and have no potentially adverse effects.
Rarely says
The science is clear (mathematics & statistics are sciences). Since the vast majority of hospitalizations are the unvaccinated … duh. If everyone who could get vaccinated did there would be minimal cases … duh. Kids are particularly vulnerable right now so we must do what we can to protect them. It’s not a pleasant illness for starts and the long term effects are largely unknown but are likely serious. Masks appear to slow the transmission.
Why some people prefer conspiracy theories to the advice of the overwhelming majority of doctors is beyond me.
Remember that your freedom to wave your arms around stops at my nose.
BTW. Who cares if some very rich people are in favor of responsible behavior? They get the press and may have an influence whereas Joe Schmo doesn’t. There may be some hypocrisy but so what? It’s true that many (most?) people have to be “out there” so the least they could do is get vaccinated and follow a few minimally irritating recommendations. It’s a tiny price to pay for kids’ safety (if you don’t care about your own).
James Lincoln says
Rarely,
Yes, the vast majority of hospitalizations are the unvaccinated since the vaccines help to prevent a much more serious case of Covid. That being said, people who have been vaccinated (or have acquired natural immunity) can still get Covid – and spread it. Whether or not they can spread Covid as easily as a vaccinated person – or one with acquired immunity – is inconclusive.
Children, unless they have significant risk factors, do not generally get severe cases of Covid – even with the Delta variant.
And the only masks that really do much good are the N95 “masks” – which are actually classified as respirators. They also need to be professionally fit tested and changed often.
Cloth and paper masks – even when used absolutely correctly – provide only minimal benefit, mostly as sneeze guards.
gravenimage says
Thanks for that information, James. Pretty much what I have found.
James Lincoln says
Westman says,
“It is Young, not the children who might receive indirect exposure at his concerts, who is most at risk.”
Medically speaking, that is a correct factual evidence-based statement.
Rarely says
I’m reminded of the joke where the victim is facing an armed robber who asks: “Your money or your life?”
After thinking for a moment the victim relies: “Take my life. I’m saving my money for my old age”.
Get with the program folks.
wpm says
Which program should we go with? The program where Obama,s 60 birthday party with over 450 guests unmasked and dancing while the great unwashed cannot visit grandma dying in the hospital or limit the number of people at her the funeral ?Is it the program where we wear masks until we take the double jab or keep wearing masks until the day we die of old age even with the double jab? Do we double mask ,triple mask, or take a booster shot every 5 months??Do we put off wedding or graduation parties ,funerals, large family gatherings ,while 180k illegal aliens cross our border a month unvetted for being wanted criminals or possible terrorist all un-tested for the China flu to be released to wander all over America??Nice being a wash up Canada hippy who has a massed 200 million telling young entertainers that they cannot have large venues .Do we accept BLM riots burning business down, mayhem in the street with thousands of unmasked rioters as social just cause ,while mandating passports to go out to dinner. No ID to vote ,but ID to live a normal lifestyle yes lets get with the program what ever that program is that changes by the hour. Let the government track my movements come out with a “social report card’ like China ,on who I meet, where I go how I spend my money limit my movements because of my opinions make me a person of interest a possible threat a deplorable
Rarely says
All very interesting but, individually, all we can do is what we can. Do what you can to protect yourself, your family and those around you by following the developing science. Then go and complain all you want about the deficiencies in the system there are plenty of them and there are far to many idiots as you pointed out. Remember, you can’t fix “stupid”.
wpm says
Right I got my two jabs ,I would not want to apply for a vaccine passport I think nothing good could come from it. Do I trust a government that just left Americans behind in Afghanistan? A government who gave a :List ” of all Americans to Jihadist who now run Afghanistan there but could not give us the public a number on how many Americans were there or how many were airlifted out ?A government who is run by idiotic talking heads and senile idiot President ?Would they do the right thing or keep us living in fear to control us? This current Government is stupid on a grand scale.
Rarely says
wpm
The passport idea causes me concern too. It offers too much potential for abuse if connected to some computerized data base which is likely inevitable.
Rarely says
wpm
BTW. Good thing you got the two jabs. Hope you and yours stay well.
wpm says
Thank you I am angry thanks for being civil with my posts I respect your opinion too.
Rarely says
wpm
All we can do is go with the best info and advice available at the present time and remember that Elvis really is dead. You and I have had double jabs so our chances are pretty good of not getting a severe case so masks would be of little use to us. However it appears that we can still pass it on so we wear masks to protect the unvaccinated. I don’t care about them except for the kids and those who medically cannot be vaccinated. It’s no big deal to wear a mask.
gravenimage says
Good exchange, Rarely and wpm.
Michael Copeland says
Maybe he should swap notes with Eric Clapton.
Michael Copeland says
Eric Clapton Goes on Anti-Vaccine Diatribe – Rolling Stone
https://www.rollingstone.com › music › music-news › e…
16 May 2021 — Eric Clapton detailed his “disastrous” health experience after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine and blamed “the propaganda” for overstating …
Giacomo Latta says
”Recently I pulled out of Farm Aid for fear that unprotected children may become infected with Covid by folks who went to the show, caught the virus, had no symptoms and returned home to hug their kids or someone else’s kids.”
Old man, take a look at your life.You were a lot like them kids once. Except you never were forced to not join in unstructured play with your neighbourhood friends, assuming you had any. Kids these days are forced to refrain from playing these days. Play is a natural and necessary activity for kids. The occasional child psychologist is being heard these days. Furthermore, adolesescents must be free to socialize when it comes to getting experience in choosing a partner later in life. This is not happening. People in their twenties should be free to get married or shack up if they choose to do so.
Somehow I have grave concerns over how messed up the world will be in another ten years, all thanks to politicians who are refusing to admit that only the elderly with their unavoidable weak bodies are dying. I am almost your age, old man, and I would wear my mask even if I had to but I have no desire to destroy the lives of other generations just to save my self-important ass for another couple of years.
Kilauea says
I used to know Neil Young. He was a good friend of mine. He died in his own throw up.
Rarely says
I didn’t know him though we did grow up in the same area of Winnipeg and were only a year apart. I do remember those community center dances where, on any given Saturday night, you could catch him and his band playing at one, Randy Bachman (of the Guess Who and BTO) at another and Burton Cummings (the Guess Who) at another. There were other excellent bands who never went far playing at others. Those cold Winnipeg winters contributed to developing a lot of good bands. (Boy am I old!!!)
Rarely says
P.S. I didn’t know he died.
CogitoErgoSum says
Perhaps he’s just brain dead. I was hoping for another Neil Young Unplugged album too but ….. maybe not.
Prince Eugene says
Well I heard Mr. Young sing a ballad
Well I heard old Neil put it down
Well I hope Neil Young will remember
A southern man don’t need him around anyhow
Rob R (Brit stuck in Britainistan) says
I hate all old hypocritical, aging “rebels” like him, the ones who still try to act like teenagers, regardless of whether they have money or not….
There are plenty of those sad b@stards around. (Not 81 million of them, of course)