So much for "Rocking in the Free World."

Geriatric rocker Neil Young, whose scratchy chalkboard singing style never appealed to my musical tastes, has demanded that Spotify remove his music over what Young called "false information about vaccines," presented in a recent Joe Rogan podcast.

"They can have [Joe] Rogan or Young...not both," said Young in a letter excerpted in a Rolling Stone tweet.  The angry letter demands that Spotify either remove all of Young's discography from the platform or censor Joe Rogan.

Unlike fine wine, leftism only worsens with age, I suppose.

"I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about the vaccine, potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them.  Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule."

Young's tantrum stems from a December 31 episode featuring Dr. Robert Malone, who discussed the phenomenon of Mass Formation Psychosis, a form of mass hypnosis.  Malone explained that the syndrome works like this.

The conditions to set up mass formation psychosis include lack of social connectedness and sensemaking as well as large amounts of latent anxiety and passive aggression. When people are inundated with a narrative that presents a plausible "object of anxiety" and strategy for coping with it, then many individuals group together to battle the object with a collective singlemindedness. This allows people to stop focusing on their own problems, avoiding personal mental anguish. Instead, they focus all their thought and energy on this new object.

As mass formation progresses, the group becomes increasingly bonded and connected. Their field of attention is narrowed and they become unable to consider alternative points of view.  Leaders of the movement are revered, unable to do no wrong. 

Left unabated, a society under the spell of mass formation will support a totalitarian governance structure capable of otherwise unthinkable atrocities in order to maintain compliance. A note: mass formation is different from group think. There are easy ways to fix group think by just bringing in dissenting voices and making sure you give them platforms.  It isn't so easy with mass formation.  Even when the narrative falls apart, cracks in the strategy clearly aren't solving the issue, the hypnotized crowd can't break free of the narrative.  This is what appears to be happening now with COVID-19.  The solution for those in control of the narrative is to produce bigger and bigger lies to prop up the solution.  Those being controlled by mass formation no longer are able to use reason to break free of the group narrative.

The episode not only triggered Young, but also ignited the ire of some 270 doctors, shortly after the original podcast, calling for Spotify to censor Rogan.

It was later uncovered that many of the "doctors" were not actual physicians, but instead nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, Ph.D.s and even a veterinarian.  Of course, when the left mobilizes AstroTurf public outrage, that means that truth has been revealed that threatens the leftist narrative.

Young's theatrics seem to be the latest salvo to punctuate the previous effort by the left.  I guess it is hoped a legendary rocker will somehow add more weight to the outrage.  It will be interesting to note whether Spotify cancels Rogan, its top-rated podcast, or tells Young to leave town on the "Crazy Horse" he rode in on.

Neil Young in 2011.  Photo credit: Ross, CC BY 2.0 license.

Update from Thomas Lifson:

Misanthropic Humanitarian makes a great point:

If Young had any guts he would contact Rogan and request a chance to meet him and discuss vaccinations.

Dex Bahr is a freelance writer and  author of the book No Christian Man Is an Island: Leading the Spiritual Quest in America's Culture Wars.