When aging pop musicians Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, once considered anti-government rebels began towing the government line and becoming part of the machine, the 60s rockers made headlines in 2022. That’s something they haven’t been able to do since the 1970s.
The news of two musicians requesting their catalogs to be removed from the streaming music service Spotify raised many questions. The most important question for generations of Americans born from the 1970s to now was “Who are they?”.
If you type “Who is” in the Google search bar, two of the top results are “Who is Joni Mitchell” and “Who is Neil Young”.
Generations of Americans have survived for decades without their music and aside from the lone baby boomer who was brave enough to turn in their AM radio for Spotify, life was ok without them before they left Spotify.
While Neil Young has had his fair share of hit songs performed and written, when you hear a Neil Young song, the typical reaction is, “Oh, he sung that?”
Young’s most notable songs performed by himself was probably, “Pot of Gold” and “Rocking in the Free World”.
On the other hand, most Joni Mitchell songs are unrecognizable for anyone under the age of 50. However, eldery Americans are getting their freak on as “Joni Mitchell Nude” is a breakout search this week. Luckily, “Neil Young Nude” isn’t trending…yet.