Yesterday the Huffington Post ran a story entitled “Neil Young: Piracy Is ‘The New Radio,’ Way To Get Your Music Heard.” This piece summarized Young’s talk at the D: Dive into Media conference from this past January. At that event Young spoke about digital music distribution and had this to say about piracy: “It doesn’t affect me because I look at the internet as the new radio. I look at the radio as gone … Piracy is the new radio. That’s how music gets around … That’s the radio. If you really want to hear it, let’s make it available, let them hear it, let them hear the 95 percent of it.”

Cracker’s Johnny Hickman had this to say in response: “Fuck you Neil Young. I love most of your music (some of it sucks ass) that you made millions upon millions of dollars on….you own property all over the world, have 50 antique gas guzzling cars and a full recording studio….you have no sa
y in the matter NOW you rich, greedy old asshole. We hundredaire working class musicians DO!”

His bandmate David Lowery has long been unspoken on the challenges for artists in the current environment.

Hickman’s latest solo album is entitled Tilting (and that Don Quixote reference certainly is applicable here).