Foolish Man

That's the title of a song David Crosby wrote about himself.  It appears on his and Graham Nash's 1976 LP Whistling Down the Wire.  The song describes him well, for over the weekend he was whistling out of his rear end.

A fan of Crosby's on Twitter, operating under the name D.J.B. Sackett, showed Crosby this painting he did of the folk-rock legend on Crosby's Twitter account.  "Hope you are doing well," he said.  "Did a picture of you . . . thanks for the music."

Crosby's reply was anything but appreciative.  "This is the weirdest painting of me I have ever seen," he said.  "Don't quit your day job."

I like it.  What's wrong with it?  Okay, this Sackett guy is no Joni Mitchell, but then, who is?  

Crosby's callous disregard for a fan's token of esteem ranks right up there with Madonna's refusal to sign autographs for a pair of girls, saying to them, "Who are you?  You're nothing."  (She and Crosby were both born in the middle of August, so treating your admirers like dirt must be a Leo thing.)  It only underlines what a nasty, contemptible person he is.  It also makes me reconsider my theory that Jimmy Guterman and Owen O'Donnell only wrote their 1991 book The Worst Rock n Roll Records of All Time" as an excuse to say rotten things about David Crosby.  If that was the case, it was certainly justified.  

Crosby's nastiness is nothing new.  Behind that pure singing voice is one of the most unbearable personalities in all of rock and roll.  Chris Hillman, his former bandmate in the Byrds, remembered how Crosby would demand that Hillman be in perfect tune on their harmonies and would lash out at anyone who threatened him or whomever he perceived as a threat - except fellow Byrd Gene Clark, who was bigger than he.  "David Crosby was really lucky none of us popped him," Hillman said.  "He was really asking for it."  Crosby didn't quit the Byrds, by the way - he was fired.

And how about this quote from a fellow folk singer?  "He was the most arrogant, obnoxious person I'd ever met and totally disdainful of my cultural naiveté."  That was from John Denver, probably one of the nicest guys in 1970s pop.  If you're getting dissed by a guy whose music was as inoffensive as a Sears catalog, you must be a rhymes-with-glass-pole.

This is just one more reminder of why Graham Nash terminated his friendship with Crosby - and why he, Stephen Stills and Neil Young won't even talk to Crosby now, so, no, don't expect another CSN or CSNY project any time soon.  

In no way am I suggesting that Crosby is no more than a minimally talented musician.  (Jimmy Guterman and Owen O'Donnell would suggest that, but that's another issue.)  Crosby remains a masterful singer, and he's written some timeless songs such as "Guinevere," "Long Time Gone," "Delta" (which Jackson Browne forced him to finish by threatening him with physical violence when Crosby wanted to freebase some coke), "Homeward Through the Haze" and, well, "Foolish Man."  And to those of you who think his more recent solo work is the sort of placid folk music for Sunday breakfast shows on National Public Radio, well, a lot of people like that sort of music.  But none of that excuses his jerkish behavior or his arrogant attitude toward his fans.  Crosby, who turns 81 next month, is too old to change his stripes, and at this point, I would ask him to not to say anything at all (just sing "Anything At All"!) if he can't say anything nice.

Unless he's talking about Kanye West, of course.  Then Crosby can say anything nasty he wants.  

Now I understand why Elon Musk is backing out of his commitment to buy Twitter, where all of this brouhaha over David Crosby started.  Musk obviously doesn't need any of this crap if this is what free speech is all about, and he certainly doesn't need to own and oversee a social media platform used by David Crosby.