haha yeah, i mean I love a lot of his stuff, but he was incredibly annoying on Twitter (occasionally funny, but it felt like the exception). I think I muted him at some point.
― tylerw, Friday, 20 January 2023 15:58 (one year ago) link
I'll add that I'm still taken aback by how many people love the album that inspired this thread. Greg Kot just called it a masterpiece and Elvis Costello of all people listed it among his 500 favorite albums. (Kot posted "Cowboy Movie," EC singled out "Laughing.") I was definitely not a fan, but I'll give the album another chance. After sampling "Cowboy Movie," it's possible I'll get into it as Crosby's take on what Neil Young was doing with Crazy Horse, as if Crosby set aside his initial dislike for them and drew inspiration from them (like he understood there was a lot more going on there that he had missed earlier).
― birdistheword, Friday, 20 January 2023 16:05 (one year ago) link
I'll admit it's not for me but I've come around to several tracks. I can't bend my brain around Christgau's savage takedown, though; it's like Crosby poisoned his cats.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 20 January 2023 16:09 (one year ago) link
he was also a tremendous creep and asshole! like renowned for it
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 20 January 2023 16:09 (one year ago) link
Not a fan of his post-Byrds work (I just tried listening to If I Could Only, and I couldn't), and I largely agree with the New Rolling Stone Record Guide (1983) assessment of CSN as "limpid adult bubblegum." I love "Helpless" and "Ohio," though, and he's responsible for one of my favorite moments in music: his foreboding open E string before McGuinn's 12-string kicks in on "Eight Miles High." Crosby's rhythm playing is that record's secret weapon, and the song wouldn't be half as good without it.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 20 January 2023 16:20 (one year ago) link
xps Jim O'Rourke is also on the record saying If I Could Only Remember My Name is one of his all-time favorite albums, hence:
pic.twitter.com/B4NUOGA69Y— ジム オルーク ライブ (@steamroomlive) January 20, 2023
Anyway, huge RIP. His music and the whole CSNY axis was a cornerstone of my youth; I think my mom's vinyl copy of the first CSN album was the first album I ever became obsessed with, at age six. These days the first Crosby & Nash album is my favorite, with several of Croz's grooviest/moodiest tunes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0VfvOXnS8w
― J. Sam, Friday, 20 January 2023 16:29 (one year ago) link
xp
i think both helpless and ohio are neil songs, right? you probably mean crosby's harmonies on them, though. i do enjoy the CSN harmonies but i have a hard time picking out who is who on them
― Karl Malone, Friday, 20 January 2023 16:29 (one year ago) link
Yeah Neil wrote both of those on his own
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 20 January 2023 16:30 (one year ago) link
when scott seward posted on ILM, he often praised those Crosby-Nash albums.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 20 January 2023 16:30 (one year ago) link
and for a while they were staples of used record stores
I don't like CSN, I find them cloying, and I don't like much from that scene in general but I really like this album.
― A Drunk Man Looks At Partick Thistle (Tom D.), Friday, 20 January 2023 16:31 (one year ago) link
― Karl Malone, Friday, January 20, 2023 11:29 AM (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
Yeah, saying those are the two CSNY songs are the only ones I love was kind of backhanded -- I like the songs that Nash, Stills, and Croz had very little to do with! But their harmonies, and Crosby's ad-libbing on "Ohio," really do make them something that a straight Neil Young & Crazy Horse rendition wouldn't have been able to approach (and Young's solo acoustic "Ohio" falls flat for me).
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 20 January 2023 16:35 (one year ago) link
Sorry for the derail, but not only is that video of CSNY with Tom Jones sweet, the linked video of Tom alone singing “Vehicle” is grebt too.
― The Gate of Angels Laundromat (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 20 January 2023 16:40 (one year ago) link
I've got mixed feelings about CSN&Y, including some of Crosby's songs - I think Neil definitely improved the group, but I think Crosby's contributions were better on the first album. His best post-Byrds song ("Long Time Gone"), a good one he co-wrote with Jefferson Airplane ("Wooden Ships") and a pretty number inspired by Miles Davis's Sketches of Spain ("Guinnevere"). Miles even paid Crosby the ultimate respect by covering it himself - by then Miles had already evolved into his fusion era, which made it all the more fascinating. I almost want to say it's like translating a poem into a different language, then translating it back into the original but with a very different dialect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y2d0t4PttE
Outside of that, they could be (but not always) great on-stage: I thought they were one of the great highlights of the Woodstock film, and this may be one of the few times I thought they achieved their potential with Neil Young:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5icrWZnl_1w
― birdistheword, Friday, 20 January 2023 16:42 (one year ago) link
^^^ that's great, and Crosby's chukka-chukka rhythm is just what it needs
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 20 January 2023 16:47 (one year ago) link
Miles even paid Crosby the ultimate respect by covering it himself - by then Miles had already evolved into his fusion era, which made it all the more fascinating.
iirc, in the Croz documentary he repeatedly lamented the fact that, unlike Stills, Nash (counting "Chicago" here), and Young, he never had The Big Hit Single. But hopefully he took some solace in the fact that he was the only rock musician of his generation to have a song covered by Miles Davis.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 20 January 2023 16:49 (one year ago) link
FWIW, here they are in Woodstock (only their second gig ever):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lembnHGIfU
I wasn't a fan at all at the time and the movie itself seemed way too long, so I was ready to completely dislike this. Instead I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it, partly because the film got me to see them from a fresh perspective. It's 1969, you're among the counterculture, and three guys from a three groups you like (two you LOVE) come out to do a set during the acoustic part of the festival. Virtually no one's seen them perform together before. At that moment, I kind of get the hype.
― birdistheword, Friday, 20 January 2023 16:59 (one year ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcN1NVHY0G8
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 20 January 2023 17:05 (one year ago) link
it's interesting to me that anyone would dislike If I Could Only Remember My Name, I was late in finding it but clicked immediately
the Croz doc from some years back (?) deal with his image rehab and iirc he's doing a lot of "all my friends are gone because i was a huge asshole, maybe still am"
csn debut is a joy
― corrs unplugged, Friday, 20 January 2023 17:16 (one year ago) link
in the Byrds, I think he was the high harmony?
Yes, McGuinn and Gene Clark usually sang in unison with Crosby above. But even in his youth, he didn't have the kind of freakishly high tenor than Nash did.
Someone suggested that the three original singing Byrds each had a flaw in their voices that made them less than an ideal lead singers, but made for an excellent harmonic and textural blend. Actually, in terms of which Byrd has the nicest, clearest, most expressive voice, I might say Chris Hillman, who didn't even sing on their first three albums!
― Halfway there but for you, Friday, 20 January 2023 17:20 (one year ago) link
talked to my dad last night (who saw them at woodstock but cant remember much, shocker), i brought up If I Could Only Remember My Name and he started just ruthlessly clowning on me for liking it. "you can actually stay awake for the whole thing? he cant remember his name, i wish i couldnt remember that ALBUM, lolol!" etc. dunno if i'll ever recover from that in his eyes.
― waste of compute (One Eye Open), Friday, 20 January 2023 17:20 (one year ago) link
We've had CSN, CSNY, Stills & Young, Crosby & Nash ... have we ever had Stills, Nash & Young?
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 20 January 2023 17:21 (one year ago) link
On "Words" on Harvest, it's the three of them singing.
― Halfway there but for you, Friday, 20 January 2023 17:22 (one year ago) link
We also had Nash & Young.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Song
― A Drunk Man Looks At Partick Thistle (Tom D.), Friday, 20 January 2023 17:25 (one year ago) link
Good song.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 20 January 2023 17:26 (one year ago) link
he cant remember his name, i wish i couldnt remember that ALBUM
For whatever reason, I heard Rodney Dangerfield's voice saying that.
― birdistheword, Friday, 20 January 2023 17:36 (one year ago) link
Looks like there's a 1970 BBC live set by Crosby & Nash on BBC4 tonight.9pm by listing I have
― Stevolende, Friday, 20 January 2023 17:39 (one year ago) link
Some of the CSN records from Crosby's heavy drug period were actually GSN - Art Garfunkel recording the parts that Crosby would've if he were able.
― Halfway there but for you, Friday, 20 January 2023 17:50 (one year ago) link
The Garfunkel-Stills album is a hidden gem imo
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 20 January 2023 17:51 (one year ago) link
That part of you that feels you're being attacked is your ego, it's your ego. It's not going to get you any more effing attention either. Try playing right!
― The Gate of Angels Laundromat (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 20 January 2023 17:54 (one year ago) link
I'm not mad on any of the CSN(Y) stuff - to the point that I couldn't honestly say I'd ever listened to anything longform all the way through. IOICRYN though is utterly transcendent. What a record. Also a fan of the Crosby/Nash albums.
― Shard-borne Beatles with their drowsy hums (Chinaski), Friday, 20 January 2023 17:58 (one year ago) link
IOICRMN, obvs. xp
― Shard-borne Beatles with their drowsy hums (Chinaski), Friday, 20 January 2023 18:02 (one year ago) link
Worst acronym since King Crimson's "ITCOTCK."
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 20 January 2023 18:19 (one year ago) link
It's awful and I regret partaking in it.
― Shard-borne Beatles with their drowsy hums (Chinaski), Friday, 20 January 2023 18:27 (one year ago) link
lol
― sleeve, Friday, 20 January 2023 18:30 (one year ago) link
ITWOP isn't much better tbf.
― A Drunk Man Looks At Partick Thistle (Tom D.), Friday, 20 January 2023 18:34 (one year ago) link
So is the CSN (1977) worth resurrecting? It had "Wasted on the Way" but I didn't know it went 4x platinum; I guess it would've hit #1 if something called Rumours hadn't interfered. I know "Dark Star."
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 20 January 2023 19:34 (one year ago) link
Yes it’s their best album
― not too strange just bad audio (brimstead), Friday, 20 January 2023 19:40 (one year ago) link
“Just a song before I go”, “shadow captain”, and yes “dark star”
“Cathedral” is something else too, re cros on that album
― not too strange just bad audio (brimstead), Friday, 20 January 2023 19:41 (one year ago) link
Oops, sorry -- I meant "Just a Song..."
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 20 January 2023 19:41 (one year ago) link
xp sorry I’m stoned, “cathedral” is nash
― not too strange just bad audio (brimstead), Friday, 20 January 2023 19:42 (one year ago) link
lol Croz would approve, I think
― sleeve, Friday, 20 January 2023 19:45 (one year ago) link
R.I.P. He was absolutely right about Phoebe Bridgers.
― JackMyFruit, Friday, 20 January 2023 20:04 (one year ago) link
"Dark Star" is among my top three CSN songs.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Friday, 20 January 2023 20:24 (one year ago) link
xp - absolutely not, his treatment of Bridgers was a good reminder that, nah, he really was still a huge fucking asshole and misogynist
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 20 January 2023 20:35 (one year ago) link
FWIW, the Washington Post published a story on the confusion over whether he died:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/01/20/david-crosby-obituaries-variety-confusion/
An excerpt:
The first apparent news about Crosby came at 3:15 p.m. Eastern time. It was a one-paragraph statement attributed to Crosby’s wife, Jan Dance, disseminated via a news-release wire called NewsDirect. It carried the headline, “Legendary Musician, Husband, Father, and Friend David Crosby passes away.”
Reporters typically rely on close family members, associates of the deceased or law enforcement officials to corroborate a death. But it wasn’t clear who had written Dance’s statement; when reporters sought to verify its source, listed by NewsDirect as “J. Bickerton,” their emails bounced back. They were also unable to reach Dance.
Just before 5 p.m., Variety, the entertainment industry journal, confirmed Crosby’s death via two sources that it didn’t identify. It published a lengthy obituary that included Dance’s statement...About 90 minutes after Variety published its initial report, however, it added a seemingly ominous “clarification” to the bottom of its lengthy story: “An earlier version of this story included a statement attributed to Jan Crosby that Variety has not been able to independently confirm with others in Crosby’s camp.”
The clarification raised the possibility that Dance’s statement might be a fabrication, and news reports that relied on it might be wrong.
Unable to reach family members and lacking further confirmation, some news organizations, including The Washington Post, withheld their Crosby stories.
The New York Times finally published the news around 7 p.m., more than two hours after Variety’s story. The Times relied on an unusual source for confirmation — Patricia Dance, the sister of Crosby’s wife. The Times reported that Patricia Dance had said via text that Crosby had died “last night” but that she “provided no other details.”
Minutes later, the Associated Press, which provides news to thousands of other news organizations, conspicuously hedged. The wire service published an updated obituary that attributed the news — originally sourced to Crosby’s wife — to reporting by “several media outlets,” including the Times.
It added: “The Associated Press was not able to confirm Crosby’s death despite calls and messages to multiple representatives and Crosby’s widow.”
After the Times published its story Thursday night, a Post reporter reached Crosby’s sister-in-law. She declined to confirm the death.
The Post’s news story appeared online at 8:37 p.m., nearly four hours after Variety had reported the story. The newspaper’s obituary editor, Adam Bernstein, had finally reached a former publicist for Crosby, who cited family members in confirming the news.
The Wall Street Journal published its story more than three hours later. It cited “people close to Mr. Crosby,” and detailed the complications involved in pinning down corroboration.
As of Friday afternoon, it was still not clear that any news organization had reached Crosby’s wife to confirm his death.
― birdistheword, Friday, 20 January 2023 20:53 (one year ago) link
Saw this newish track mentioned in STErlewine's newsletter, never heard of it before. It's a co-write with Donald Fagen, and very nice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s4g9PhYthU
― Chuck_Tatum, Friday, 20 January 2023 21:11 (one year ago) link
so weird. “J Bickerton” is one of those names that just sounds fake.
― Karl Malone, Friday, 20 January 2023 21:40 (one year ago) link
Sounds perfectly cromulent to me.
― birdistheword, Friday, 20 January 2023 21:54 (one year ago) link