David Crosby Apologizes (Sort of) for Insulting Eddie Van Halen, Says He Forgot the Guitarist Just Died

David Crosby has apologized, sort of, for telling a fan on social media that he found Eddie Van Halen to be “meh”… just days after the guitarist died from cancer at the age of 65.

Crosby’s comment naturally engendered a lot of anger from Van Halen fans — including Alex Skolnick (Testament) and Tracii Guns (L.A. Guns) — and his initial attempts to walk back his statement didn’t help much:

“Hendrix changed the world of guitar. Nobody else really …look I get it ..many of you loved Van Halen ….and the one time I met he was nice ….and he was talented …meh to me means I don’t care that much ….and I don’t …doesn’t mean he wasn’t good ,he was but not for me”

Now Crosby has tweeted out another, stronger semi-apology (if we’re being honest, at no point does he actually, like, apologize for what he said):

“yes you Van Halen fans I did just toss off an answer that was not cool …the even more embarrassing truth is ..I didn’t even remember he had just died or I would have kept my mouth shut….I do make mistakes …no offense intended”

Crosby is 79-years-old and a recovering addict… which is to say, it’s wholly believable that he forgot Eddie Van Halen just died, especially since he was clearly not a Van Halen fan.

Still, it would be nice if he’d typed out the phrase “I’m sorry,” or some variation thereof, and stuck it in there somewhere. I mean, it’s not the biggest deal in the world. People obviously offer insincere, and therefore meaningless, apologies all the time. But again, this wasn’t really an apology — it was an excuse.

[via Metal Injection]