David Crosby Says He’s an ‘Old Idiot’ for Eddie Van Halen Tweet
David Crosby called himself an “old idiot” over his tweet about Eddie Van Halen that drew furious reactions.
Crosby replied to a Twitter comment, dismissing the guitarist’s talents just after his death at age 65 on Oct. 6. He soon apologized, saying he’d forgotten the guitarist had just died and admitting his original post was “not cool.”
He addressed the moment again on Twitter recently. “You will be happy to know that I am reliably informed by the younger members of my family that I am an old idiot and Van Halen was one of the next guitarists to have ever lived," he wrote. He then had to clarify that he meant “best guitarists” and blamed a spellchecker for the error.
He then responded to a follower who told him that he "blew the Eddie Van Halen thing,” saying: “I did. He was an amazing guitarist but I didn’t know that. Truth is I never ever listened to that band so I was completely ignorant. No insult intended. I never listened to any of the big pop rock bands. I didn’t even own a Led Zep record and they could write.”
The last line encouraged more queries, with one person asking: “How could you not own a Zeppelin album?” Crosby replied, “Really in hindsight I don’t understand it but ... .”
The often-outspoken Crosby also continued to deal with questions about the broken-down relationships with former members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Asked if he still loved Neil Young despite their falling out, he said: “I love his music. Hmm .., do I still love the guy? Probably yes. It’s not like a faucet you can turn on and off. He’s pissed off at me and we will probably never light off that chemistry again. But, yeah, now that I think about it, yes.”
When one follower said he felt sure a CSNY reunion would happen, Crosby responded: “I do not think so.”