Neil Young Takes Subtle Dig at Beck's "Old Man" Cover

He doesn't seem happy about his song being used for an NFL commercial

Photo: Joshua Peter Grafstein

BY Alex HudsonPublished Sep 27, 2022

Beck just rolled out a cover of Neil Young's "Old Man" for the NFL's Sunday Night Football — and now Young appears to be taking a subtle dig at this piece of branded content.

On Instagram, Young posted a photo showing him holding a beer bottle with a label that reads, "SPONSORED BY NOBODY" — a reference to the video of his 1988 anti-corporate anthem "This Note's for You."
 

"This Note's for You" is a song about Young's refusal to license his own music for commercials, with lyrics that include, "Ain't singin' for Pepsi / Ain't singin' for Coke / I don't sing for nobody / Makes me look like a joke." One can imagine, then, that he wasn't particularly thrilled about his song being used to promote an NFL broadcast. (Particularly when, in the context of this promotion, the "Old Man" in question is veteran quarterback Tom Brady, who has famously been linked to Young's nemesis Donald Trump.)

Young posted his photo on Instagram without a caption, so it's not clear if he blames Beck for the whole situation, or if he's simply reiterating his stance on licensing in general. Given that Young is the kind of artist who will pull his entire catalogue off Spotify because he disapproves of Joe Rogan, he's clearly not one to pull punches when he's opposed to something.
 

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