Pretty much every interview Ted Nugent does these days makes headlines, and there will likely be plenty more as the “Motor City Madman” ramps up to the release of his new album “Detroit Muscle” in April. If an interviewer asks Ted a question, whether you like it or not, he’s going to answer it with unflinching honesty. Although this time, Nugent didn’t need much prodding as he addressed fans during his “Friday Free For All” edition of “The Nightly Nuge,” a news-style clip show offering Nugent’s takes on a variety of subjects.
On Friday, Nugent gave his take on Neil Young demanding that his music be taken off of Spotify. Young was protesting certain episodes of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” claiming that Rogan and his guests are spreading misinformation. Nugent is having none of it.
“Well, Neil Young, God bless him,” Nugent said. “I’m sure that there’s many people that appreciate Neil Young’s creativity and his talents and his creation of wonderful music for those people who love that kind of music. I’m not a big fan. I happen to know that he’s got a lot of soul… But now that I’ve praised him for all the positives, the guy is a complete punk.“
“If you’ve done that much mind-altering chemicals throughout your life, then you can proudly claim in one moment that you should be rocking in the free world but then in the next moment witness all the evidence supporting everything that Joe Rogan’s been saying, that I’ve been saying, the truth, logic and common sense, the indisputable evidence to support it, and then claim that we’re guilty of misinformation when actually the stoner birdbrain punk, he delivers misinformation,” he continued.
Nugent said Spotify had an easy decision when Young laid out his ultimatum of “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”
“So this is a funny moment because he made an ultimatum to Spotify — whatever that big tech is — and he said, ‘If you don’t take Joe Rogan off Spotify, then you have to take my music off Spotify,’” Nugent said. “That’s a pretty easy decision, Neil. Thanks for making it so simple, because Neil Young on Spotify — adios, mofo. Now Joni Mitchell’s doing the same thing, and, again, God bless her. I can’t stand folk music, but I know there are a lot of people that love that kind of stuff and I salute them and thank them. And I appreciate any music that makes people happy and fortifies their American Dream, or whatever dream they might have. Is there another dream? I don’t think so. The Mexican Dream is to get the hell out and go to America.”
Ted Nugent released a new single from his upcoming album earlier this week, “American Campfire.” The album is set for an April 29 release via Pavement Music. In December, Nugent praised his band’s performance on the new album: “What (bassist) Greg Smith and (drummer) Jason Hartless did was great. They put their heart and soul on every song, every lick, and every performance. I am just the luckiest guitar player in the world.”
