[susannah59]

For those who missed the reference:

"I hope Neil Young will remember

A Southern Man don't need him around, anyhow"

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Now, them old boys could rock!!

[Vaquero]

Lynyrd Skynyrd Now, them old boys could rock!! Yeah cept when they sing about "Saturday Night Specials" I didn't appreciate that one a-tall.

[luthers_inkwell]

Ronnie Van Zandt was a HUGE Neil Young fan! (it is true)

Neil Young was actually an honorary pallbearer at Ronnie's funeral. Such is the duality of the "southern thang." (with apologies to Patterson Hood)

[Darkwolf377]

Sorry, Young was a great, great songwriter. Skynyrd had their moments, but their whiney response to Young's song in Sweet Home Alabama just made them sound defensive. Who cares if someone makes a political song we don't agree with--free speech is about making controversial statements. Let's be real here, Young was addressing people who really DO exist, so let's not pretend he just invented them out of whole cloth and the South was "slandered" or something.

For a period in the 70's Young was bursting with creativity and good tunes. Since the 80's, he's had occassional successes, but he's an example of one of those artists who has to work at what used to come naturally.

Are we all supposed to think Skynyrd were great because they said "Yeah, well we don't like YOU either!" in response to an interesting, original song that had some relevence to the time when it was penned? I won't buy this song or CD, and I think Young is uninformed and stupid about this situation. But while Skynyrd had a good tune or two they were pretty plain, a glorified bar band. In terms of originality, creativity and artistry, he kicks Skynyrd's butt all over the place, his ignorant politics notwithstanding. We shouldn't let politics determine our "loyalty" toward musicians. IMHO, of course.