David Crosby Admits ‘I Am an Old Idiot’ + Eddie Van Halen Was ‘Amazing’
Within one week of Eddie Van Halen's death, folk icon David Crosby (of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young fame) dismissed the guitarist's legacy in one word, "Meh," and later backtracked, issuing an apology that came with another slight of sorts. After coming under fire for his insensitivity, Crosby has confessed he is "an old idiot" and has finally acknowledged the late Van Halen's immense talent.
While countless Twitter users and Van Halen enthusiasts expressed their discontent with Crosby's now infamous set of tweets, it appears the social media avengers weren't the ones who were able to sway the folk singer/songwriter's opinion of Eddie Van Halen — that achievement belongs to his family members.
"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 [sic] guitarist to have ever lived," wrote Crosby in an Oct. 21 tweet.
Presumably, his typing was unreliable and he meant to type "best" instead of "next."
One Twitter user was accepting of Crosby's attempt to make amends for past wrongdoings and stated, "It's ok. We love you. But you blew the Eddie Van Halen thing."
Crosby, who notably engages with followers on Twitter, replied with a sense of understanding and explained that he was generally unaware of Van Halen's groundbreaking skill set as he didn't keep tabs on the budding rock scenes at the time or, apparently, through the present.
"I did," added Crosby in response to squandering his initial opportunity to pay respect to a legend. "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," he continued.
As someone who professes to essentially never having heard a lick of Van Halen music, it's unclear why Crosby felt so self-assured to assess Eddie Van Halen's talent in the original and dismissive, "Meh," tweet, when asked what his opinion of the rocker was.
He later clarified that "meh" means "I don't care that much" rather than meaning that Van Halen wasn't very good. Two days later, Crosby noted that he "didn't even remember" that Eddie had just died on Oct. 6 as the heartbreaking news gripped not only the rock and metal world, but all levels of the mainstream.
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