The Nash vs. Crosby Feud

one who has a nicotinecaffeine id label-thing? hmmm.

 

False equivalent. A couple cigarettes and a coffee isn't going to ruin a great talent. I'm glad Crosby is still with us, but he's paid big time and continuously advises others not to take those kinds of risks.

 

Cigarette smoking is responsible for 480,000 deaths per year in the USA. Drug overdoses were responsible for 67,000 deaths per year.

 

Of any substance I have ever experimented with - and the list is long - nicotine is by far the one that I feel harmed me the most and the only one that became an addiction for me. I am very proud of having acknowledged that it was an addiction that I could not handle sampling casually and that I have not touched tobacco for over 30 years.

 

Smoking is terrible and should not be encouraged, and I'm glad I quit 15 years ago.

That said, there really is no comparison with hard drugs. No one is going to die "experimenting" with cigarettes ( unless they burn the house down) but people die all the time trying cocaine or heroin--even one time.

With smoking, it usually takes years, sometimes decades, of "dedication" to kill you--if it does.

Yes, nicotine is highly addictive, but it can be overcome--millions have quit.
And unlike hard drugs, it can be done cold turkey.

 

No one is saying cigarettes are as bad as hard drugs. I merely think its nonsensical to say one hates "users and excusers" of drugs and then make your own personal exception,what some could call an excuse, for the drug you like, though it is clearly quite dangerous, as what is a bigger ruin to a talent than dying? and a lot of people die from cigarettes. a drug.

 

Curse Sir Walter Raleigh....

 

I have not dropped in the thread before. I just recently watched the David Crosby bio Remember My Name. Thought he accepts a lot of blame I didn't catch what was the specific issue, what was actually said that offended Nash.

 

What's false is your statement concerning a couple of cigarettes and a coffee.

You know well that no one on earth consumes these substances in this way. The jury is still out on years of coffee drinking; it seems like the latest study on the benefits/detriments contradicts the most recent one before it regularly. (I suppose I'm prejudiced because I hate coffee, but I take a rather dim view of those who state with a chuckle "Gee, I'm a basket case in the morning until I've had my first cup of coffee" — i.e., "until I've taken an addictive drug into my system, something I do each and every morning of my life." Really?)

There is no such debate about cigarettes, so it seems to me the discussion in progress here is merely over the amount of time it takes for a substance to kill you. Of equal relevance is the degree of one's indulgence, which was the original point of contention (i.e., whether drug use can enhance the creative/performance process).

No one could possibly have anything good to say about the decades of drug abuse undertaken by Crosby (including Crosby himself). But who can state with authority that the songs from the earlier part of his career that are most treasured by his fans would have come to be in exactly the same way had drugs not been in the picture?

 

My drug of choice is Ginger Beer in glass bottle. If only Crosby had these around back in the 1970's.

 

Upon the release of Nash’s autobiography in 2016 Crosby stated:
“Graham’s book is full of inaccuracies and chock-full of misinformation. When he handed an advance copy to me, he said, ‘It’s too late to change anything, but here it is.’”
AND
““I was very unhappy about it. It’s a very shallow, very self-serving book – and full of BS. Chock-full.”

Crosby takes aim at ‘inaccuracies’ in Nash book | Louder

 

I recently had a relapse with that stuff. It is a euphoric beverage experience. Had to go cold turkey after I realized I was developing a problem. Not sure if it would've worked for Crosby though.

 

Tell that to Brian Wilson’s voice.

 

I'm sorry, I thought this was argument, not addiction clinic...

 

It is not known.

 

Both Nash and Young left their long standing partners of many years and by all accounts Crosby said some things about it he perhaps shouldn't.

 

Crosby did comment publicly on Young's divorce, but not on Nash's. We don't know if he said anything in private, but there is no account or evidence of that.

 

Why are folks posting that the reasons for the feud are unknown?
Other posters have sent links with actual quotes from Crosby about his disdain for the Nash book.
This is the reason for the feud, I remember hearing Nash on the radio years ago and he sounded livid with Crosby, basically Crosby was calling him a liar, making stuff up.

 

I think there are two different questions - or two different ways of looking at that scenario for any performer or artist:
1. Did the drug use improve the creativity?
2. Did the drug use impact on the creativity?

The answers to both are entirely speculative but it seems rather likely to me that someone couldn't take perception- and behaviour-changing drugs and not experience an effect on their creativity, such that the answer to 2 is invariably going to be yes. How can we ever say whether that effect amounted to improvement though? We can't (and I know that's not at all what you are saying).

 

It's the recovery-user triage of the forum parsing fly crap out of pepper.

Anyhow, I'm hoping the Deja Vu 50 gets back on track without any tit-for-tat. Stills is wisely keeping a low profile.

 

Stills has avoided ALL public drama for a long time. I respect him a lot for that. His scene in the Déjà Vu is hilarious too where he subtly calls out Neil for public posturing while working grass politics at a campaign rally.

 

I never used to mind Nash until I read that 'wild tales', he came across as a right bell end.

 

In terms of songs that have some resonance in the larger world, what does Crosby have? Probably Eight Miles High, Wooden Ships, Long Time Gone, Deja Vu and Almost Cut My Hair. Is he still owns any of them.

Beyond that the value is catalog sales and streaming, and maybe placing his tunes in TV shows and movies. It’s not a huge amount of value. But an investor who has just bought his music will be more aggressive in marketing them to get value. And, with his last few years of work, he actually has a decent catalog of very good music to sell. It will be interesting to see how they try to increase the stream of income from his music.

 

I agree. Crosby and Stills were the original base of CSNY. Their strengths at this point complement each other. They could put out a record and do a tour and bring in a lot more money together. Crosby is prolific right now, Stills can still write 2 or 3 songs, and they could collaborate on some. Croz can be the lead singer and Stills can play his guitar all over the place.

But it may violate Stills’ neutrality in the CSNY wars and get him in bad with Neil.

 

True. Love Stills. He has a few soppy contributions...4+20, Word Game, etc, but overall is a powerhouse focused on the work, keeping it colorful and limited patience with the petty peeing contests of collaborators.