Recently, Canadian-born rocker Neil Young made a point of removing his music from Spotify, a large media platform. His stated reason is that Spotify is allowing itself to be used as a platform for "spreading misinformation about Covid." He specifically cites the Joe Rogan podcast as the source. Joe Rogan isn't a liberal like Young and it's a fair guess Neil didn't care for any of what Rogen had to say, but he needed a specific reason so he chose Covid. Ironically, some of Young's past music moans about GMO food and the businesses engaged in it.
Neil Young isn't ... young anymore. He's a washed-up old man living off his past glory. He faded into the backdrop of music a long time ago, sold off some of his music for a reported $150 mil or so and for the most part people forgot about him. Once in a while his music is played on classic rock radio stations and that's about it. Publicizing his stand, he told Spotify they could have Rogen or Young, but not both. Spotify, to their credit didn't bow to this form of blackmail and said goodbye to Neil in very nice words. They even welcomed him back should he change his mind.
A few other has-been nobodies of past music joined him (Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren and a few other pebbles of the music industry) in protest. I'd guess it's a publicity stunt to put their names iin the public eye again, but who knows? Anyway, the funny thing is that with absolutely no credentials whatsoever, they pontificate about what is misinformation about covid. The 2 doctors who appeared on the Rogen podcast have the education, degrees and experience to at least give them some credibility about the subject. One of them is a specialist in mRNA vaccines.
So why should anybody believe a washed-up old dope-smoking musician's opinion about covid over credentialed medical doctors? Now it's not science, it's the politics of science and what you choose to believe, much like the debate over climate change with experts on both sides telling each other why they are wrong.
Do we advance science when one side tries to shut the other side up? No, we need debate, We need to hear both sides, we need to know the pros and cons. If anything, there is a plethora of information bombarding us about why everybody should get vaccinated and they've even set up a website promoting vaccines. Is there a website warning us about adverse reactions? I highly doubt it.
I'm not pro-vaccine and I'm not anti-vaccine. I'm pro-choice; every adult in this country should be able to make their own decision about what medical treatments they want and which ones they don't want. There should be no mandates, period. After the horrors of Nazi medical experimentation, the post-WW2 Nuremburg compact specifically addresses this by saying nobody should be forced to submit to medical procedures or medicine they don't agree to. How is it any medical regimen can be mandated after this?
I still enjoy a small smattering of Neil Young music. Most of his music sounds rather nasal and droning to me and I avoid it like the plague. What is most curious to me is the concept and implementation of streaming music nowadays. I come from the old school of buying music on media (records, tapes, CDs etc) if you want it, not paying to stream for something that goes in one ear and out the other. And with the technology of today. you can change the format of your music easily (mp3s, etc) and put it on ipods or similar. I'm not against streaming music, I just don't understand it.
The meme I enjoy the most making the rounds of social media right now is the picture of Neil with the words "When you're so woke, you cancel yourself ..."
Anyway, I guess I can toss out my Joni Mitchell and Nils Lofgren CDs now, since they're sycophants of Neil in this publicity charade.
Oh yeah. I don't have any Joni Mitchell or Nils Lofgren CDs. Too bad.
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