Neil Young and Boycotts
Hey Hey Don’t Die, Spotify is Gonna Cry
I do not listen to Neil Young. I remember Rick James, the ex-funk star said he avoided going to Vietnam by going to Canada. He hooked up with Neil Young up there.
I do like one song by Neil (I sort of did a parody of it above), and that is it. I am sure he is amazing overall. No dis from me.
But, peace to Neil. Mostly because my children have been begging for Spotify Premium and now I can say — Neil Young. We can’t get it because of Neil Young.
Neil Young didn’t like Spotify embracing Joe Rogan and so he said, I’m out. So, that’s my answer this week — Neil Young.
What, my kids will say.
Neil Young. You know. This is a song about Johnny Rotten. The king is gone, Neil.
What are you talking about Pops?
I will laugh and then will pivot to living by your principles. Neil thinks Spotify has no values (I mean come on, Joe Rogan???) and it likely doesn’t.
Here’s Rogan's ignorance on full display but you know, stupidity pays well.
I will also admit that boycotts of companies and services are getting tougher and tougher. Capitalism has one god people pray to and it is not a god or anything righteous. It is pretty dastardly. I can boycott and get people to boycott but the average person doesn’t give a damn. It just doesn’t move the needle anymore.
I tried to boycott Amazon years ago but my family still uses it. I still won’t shop in Whole Foods, which Amazon owns.
I have a long list of other establishments and corporations I am boycotting but I have had emergencies on the road and was stuck. I was once in Wisconsin in the middle of nowhere and I had to get some T-shirts. The only place around was Walmart. I despise Walmart. Yet, I had to have one T-shirt. I broke down, held my nose, put a bag over my head, and went in.
I mostly boycott Home Depot as well. Yet, I was living in a house once, and the kind of furnace filters I needed only sold at Home Depot. I cracked. Once again, held my nose, went inside.
I still read the Washington Post (Jeff Bezos personally owns the paper).
I try to boycott Kelloggs (Kelloggs also owns Kashi which I like a lot as a healthier cereal).
I barely watch NFL football games for obvious reasons.
I could go on, but I won’t.
The list is long and economic boycotts are tricky. But I am still for them. I will not f — k with Spotify because of their Joe Rogan fixation. I won’t. I don’t need much as you can tell.
But here’s the kicker on Rogan if you are on the fence.
Fox News attacked Neil Young’s homophobia in the past when he announced his decision on Spotify. So low down. But that’s Fox News.
It doesn’t matter if Young is a homophobe in this situation. All that matters is, is Neil Young right about Joe Rogan. And he is right.
Young should be called out for his dirt. But Rogan should be called out for his and his dirt is reckless and crazy. The solution is not to say — well, they are both foul in their own way. Rogan is spreading lies that could kill people.
Rogan is a man spreading foul misinformation all over the place about the coronavirus. This is true. And if people boycott Spotify for that, that’s fine. If people want to not listen to Young because he is a homophobe, that is good as well.
But let's be clear. I will never, ever watch Fox News except by accident. And, for that, Media Matters currently thinks we should all stick it to Fox News and give it to them badly because the whole network is a misinformation network.
Check it right here — it's called Drop Fox.
In the meantime, hey hey, my my, Fox News is not worth a try…