Senior citizen hippies Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have once again become the face of protest.
Young recently threatened to pull his music library from the streaming service Spotify if they did not cancel Joe Rogan’s wildly popular podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience.” Mitchell soon joined in the protest and pulled her music catalog.
Spotify has been the target of criticism from the left for streaming Rogan’s show, accusing him of spreading “misinformation” about COVID-19. But having recently secured a $100 million deal with Rogan to be the exclusive carrier of the podcast, Spotify has stuck with Rogan (so far.)
But is appears that comments about peace and love are not the only things floating around in either Young’s or Mitchell’s past statements.
They just going to ignore the homophobic comments made by Neil Young during the AIDS epidemic huh….
— ErikValhalla (@ErikValhalla) January 31, 2022
RELATED: Psaki Says VP Kamala Harris Could Cast Deciding Vote For Supreme Court Nominee
Controversial Comments By Both
Neil Young has not always been sufficiently woke by today’s standards.
At the height of the AIDS frenzy, during an interview with Melodie Baker in 1985, Young made this offensive comment, “You go to a supermarket and you see a f—-t behind the f—in’ cash register, you don’t want him to handle your potatoes.”
One of a mind to defend Young may point out that not much was known about AIDS at the time, and ignorance was rampant. Nevertheless, the sentiment doesn’t seem very hippie-ish.
By today’s standards, such a comment is certifiably ‘cancel’ worthy, so long as you have the wrong politics. Fortunately, Young has the ‘right’ politics.
Joni Mitchell has a history of wearing blackface. She even appeared on one of her album covers in 1977 as her blackface alter ego, “Art Nouveau.”
So Joni Mitchell was also a blackface enthusiast back in the day and dressed up repeatedly as a black pimp alter ego « Art Nouveau »https://t.co/iAqsXykr8Y pic.twitter.com/lzdoeTrX8A
— ➐Z (@Zinnsgh0st) February 2, 2022
During an interview with LA Weekly, she remarked that, “I don’t have the soul of a white woman. I write like a black poet. I frequently write from a black perspective.”
Some of Joni Mitchell’s best friends are no doubt black as well.
That’s Joni Mitchell on the right wearing “Blackface” to a party years ago. pic.twitter.com/l1cHsdVXoD
— D. Scott @eclipsethis2003 (@eclipsethis2003) February 2, 2022
RELATED: More Democrats In Key Demo Watch Tucker Carlson Than Any Other Show – Including Rachel Maddow
60’s Generation Used To Be For Free Speech
Those who are old enough to remember, or who were actually there, remember or were part of a generation of young people who didn’t want the status quo of their parents’ generation. They wanted to be able to speak out and voice their opinions in an atmosphere of free speech and expression. Their slogans were “don’t trust anyone over 30,” and “fight the man.”
CSNY and Joni Mitchell were staples of that crowd.
What happened?
If you told someone in the Haight-Ashbury that their favorite hippie musicians would one day be promoting corporations and trying to silence speech, they’d ask you where you got the good acid.
Neil Young tried to explain his actions to, of all places, Vogue magazine. In the article written by Liam Hess on Saturday, Young proclaimed:
“I support free speech. I have never been in favor of censorship. Private companies have the right to choose what they profit from, just as I can choose not to have my music support a platform that disseminates harmful information.”
The White House is again pushing for more corporate censorship, noting that Spotify could do more to silence opposing views. https://t.co/flDlVPUY68 Rogan has become “the one that got away” and many still want to see him cancelled. https://t.co/Nfmyz8yrEf
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 2, 2022
RELATED: Mitch McConnell At Odds With Trump: Opposes Pardons For January 6 Rioters
If You Can’t Listen Through One Corporate Giant, Go To This One
Besides free speech, opposition to the market and especially ‘corporations’ was part and parcel of the left.
Now, however, they get promoted. Young has began urging his fans to use Amazon to listen to his music. Yes, Amazon. The 5th biggest company in the world.
On Wednesday, BBC reported that India Arie and Young’s former bandmate Graham Nash have also joined Young and Mitchell in pulling their music from Spotify.
Hey hey, my my, Mr. Young.
Rock and roll can never die.
Neil Young: “I have never been in favor of censorship.”
Doesn’t matter mate, you are now a pawn for mass censorship.
Given you did an entire tour called “the free speech tour,” maybe you should have thought about it harder before having a public tantrum.
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) January 29, 2022
