Posted on 10/12/2020 8:12:18 PM PDT by DoodleBob
Legendary singer-songwriter and guitarist David Crosby has drawn the ire of VAN HALEN fans for seemingly minimizing the talents of recently deceased guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
After a Twitter follower asked Crosby for his opinion of Eddie, David replied simply: "Meh ...." His bluntness was seen as out of line by a number of other Twitter users, including TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick, who chimed in: "I appreciate @thedavidcrosby too much for this to get in the way, but a much better answer would have been: 'I know he meant a lot to so many but his sound & style just weren't my thing.'" Alex then pointed out that American singer-songwriter Patti Smith, who has never appeared to be much of a VAN HALEN fan either, still managed to post a polite note following Eddie's passing. L.A. GUNS axeman Tracii Guns concurred, firing back at Crosby: "Wrong answer as f*** and rude as f***!!! There are better ways to say you don't care for someone's music. That was very disrespectful. And yes straight out f*** you and your smug answer."
The following day, Crosby took to his Twitter to clarify his original comments. "[Jimi] Hendrix changed the world of guitar. Nobody else really," he wrote. "[L]ook I get it ..many of you loved Van Halen ....and the one time I met [him] he was nice ....and he was talented ...meh to me means I don't care that much ....and I don't ...doesn't mean he wasn't good ,he was but not for me".
The left-leaning Crosby frequently spars with fans on Twitter about politics and passionately defends his stance, saying that he disagrees with those who think artists like him should "shut up and sing." "It's not part of the deal," he told the Boston Globe three years ago.
At 79, Crosby is a two-time Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer, inducted as a member of both the widely innovative folk-rock band THE BYRDS with whom he first rose to stardom and the Woodstock era-defining group CROSBY, STILLS & NASH.
Crosby played at some of rock's most culturally significant concerts, including the Monterey Pop Festival, Woodstock and the Altamont Free Concert. He is also one of rock's most prolific collaborators, recording and playing with Bob Dylan, members of the GRATEFUL DEAD, Neil Young, Jackson Browne and others.
Eddie died on Tuesday (October 6) at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. His wife, Janie, was by his side, along with his son, Wolfgang, and Alex, Eddie's brother and VAN HALEN drummer.
The iconic VAN HALEN axeman passed away from complications due to cancer, his son confirmed.
Rolling Stone magazine ranked Eddie Van Halen No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.
Image credit: Live From Here
Meh .... https://t.co/rncBUS0tnw
David Crosby (@thedavidcrosby) October 10, 2020
Sorry ..just meant he does not move me much https://t.co/qR0LOLBnB1
David Crosby (@thedavidcrosby) October 10, 2020
Hendrix changed the world of guitar. Nobody else really ...look I get it ..many of you loved Van Halen ....and the one time I met he was nice ....and he was talented ...meh to me means I dont care that much ....and I dont ...doesnt mean he wasnt good ,he was but not for me https://t.co/onttfvowU8
David Crosby (@thedavidcrosby) October 12, 2020
I appreciate @thedavidcrosby too much for this to get in the way, but a much better answer would have been: I know he meant a lot to so many but his sound & style just werent my thing. Patti Smith doesnt seem like shes ever been much of a VH fan either, still she posted this pic.twitter.com/GqKO4S5v4R
Alex Skolnick (@AlexSkolnick) October 11, 2020
Wrong answer as f*** and rude as f***k!!! There are better ways to say you dont care for someones music. That was very disrespectful. And yes straight out f*** you and your smug answer.
Tracii Luk Guns ⨁ ???? (@TraciiGuns) October 11, 2020
Agreed. That said, I've always hated @thedavidcrosby AND his mustache. #JustSayin https://t.co/FdPaMEOdCW
Dee Snider?? (@deesnider) October 11, 2020
David Crosby is the kind of person that always shows up when there is some good stash to be had but never brings anything himself. No even an Orange Crush.
How many times. (Statement, not a question)
Actually they had a huge falling out some time ago.
A side note - Les Paul was a close family friend of Steve Miller (Fly Like an Eagle and a ton of other hits), his godfather if you will. Millers parents were best man and matron of honor at Les Pauls wedding. He obviously had a big effect on Millers career.
“If a tree falls in a forest with no one nearby, does it make any noise”? is a question sometimes discussed, usually late in a college drinking session. The answer is quite simple: it depends on the definition of words. The tree clearly makes vibrations in the air - sound waves. Are those sound waves ‘noise’? It’s all in your definition of ‘noise’. If your definition of ‘noise’ is something that most humans dislike, it makes none, for no one is nearby.
Van Halen certainly made sound waves. Many people like those sound waves, and call them music. I call them ‘noise’. Fortunately, I’m not required to hear them.
Pat Boone, as you probably know, did a heavy metal album years ago. He clearly did his homework and is too much of a class act to be as dumb as Crosby.
Thanks appreciate your take. We all like different styles and Ill give another listen to EVH. Have to admit I followed the rest more than him and the band.
Offered in the true spirit of FR commentary and sharing
I have to give you a round of applause for that.
David Crosby has always been a sanctimonious ass.
End of story.
Nearly so.....Crosby should “ go ahead and JUMP!”
David Crosbys dead liver or his stolen one? LOL. Maybe both and they could fight with each other!
Crosby always reminds me of that nasty azz Ron Jeremy...
Crosby is nothing w/o Stills, and Nash and often Young. He never did much on his own, it was the group that will be remembered, not him individually.
Yep, music is their business and they were successful. Politics is not their specialty and I prefer that they leave it out of their concert speeches. In a free country they should sing about whatever they want.
Clark and Parsons both super talented but with king sized demons
Seems so common amongst the creative
Did you know that Jeremy may be spending the rest of his pathetic life in jail?
Exactly.
Exactly.
If only Ted Templeman could've overseen the mixing of Van Hagar's tracks, their songs/records would've been bigger hits!
Thanks for the story about Ted.. Interesting! Van Hagar's songs sound as though one microphone was used for the entire band as they recorded their tracks in studio whereas the FIRST FIVE Van Halen records seem to have employed the Phil Spector "wall of sound" technique.
It’s amazing how Crosby managed to alienate everyone who has known him. Talent. Although I suspect that drugs and alcohol gave his natural ability a boost.
He wrote and sang this song on one of the Byrds albums. He didn't lack talent, he's just a jerk.
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