You never can tell about people. Don’t they do any research? Maybe it started back with Reagan using Springsteen’s Born in the USA rant against American foreign policy as his campaign theme song. Tom Petty had to write a cease and desist letter to the Bush campaign for using “I Won’t Back Down”, and another to Michelle Bachmann for using “American Girl” on her campaign trail. Heart did the same with Palin’s campaign which used “Barracuda”. Chris Christie is a massive Springsteen fan who has seen him 30 odd times in concert, yet Brucie refused to meet with him. Morrissey smacked down David Cameron, who claims the Smiths as one of his favorite bands.
A couple of weeks ago i posted Rage Against the Machine’s Testify on one of these threads the highlight the relative similarity of Mittens and Barry. Jabs and i hashed it out over at Tomasky’s, he suggest we get Tom Morello to give a benefit for Gary Johnson. (I said fat chance, they’re more like SWP supporters). But never in a million fucking years would i have guessed RATM to be Paul Ryan’s favorite band.
He gets smacked down nicely by Tom here in Rolling Stone.
Gunny I expect Ryan thinks the ‘machine’ is the East Coast Liberal Establishment’ or something along those lines. I liked this paragraph:
Whoops that was me, above.
Do you really think one can only appreciate music if you agree with the musicians’ politics? Even Lincoln had the band strike up Dixie after the Civil War ended.
‘Course not Tommy, and i thought Springsteen was a more than bit churlish in refusing to meet Christie, a genuine fan who paid to seem him 30-odd times. The problem is in a) appropriating the music of musicians without permission and b) using it for a purpose that is so obviously contrary to the intent of the musicians’ songs and politics. Mick Jagger was smart enough to blow off David Cameron at Davos becuse he sensed that he was to be used as a political football.
Now granted, afaik Ryan hasn’t yet attempted to get Bulls on Parade to play when he makes an entrance. But if there was a more marked dichotomy between what a politician stands for, and what a group of musicians and their music stands for, i can’t think of a greater one that Rage and Ryan.
Or as Morello says -
And before anyone makes the point that Morello is just another rich rock star spouting off, he’s a Harvard poli-sci grad and and a comitted activist for workers’ rights, among other issues.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Morello#Politics
I presume they don’t listen to the words all the way through?
(That’s assuming they actually do listen to the music at all, which I rather doubt, rather than have been told by their advisers that ‘polls tell them . . .’ if they want to appeal to X demographic, or appear young or something, or it’s in the top 40 downloads on iTunes, that’s what people listen to?)
Funny how classical music never figures. (But then, this squirrel, once he could stop having to write about pop/rock and what have you, happily proclaimed he really couldn’t care less about it any more. Oh what a blessed relief. Mind you, maybe I ought to have a listen to Rage now. . .)
I agree about not using copyrighted materials without permission. I have to admit, I’d never heard of Rage before, but then I am periodically told that the most recent new artist that I am aware of is Springsteen.
Well, a lot of people do love Wagner. But i’m guessing it might sent the wrong message if a politician said that was his or her favorite musician, and played Ride of the Valrykies for their entrance music.
btw Squirrel and Brits -
Not sure if you keep up with this sort of thing, but a few years ago when folks in the UK ran a (successful) campaign to beat out Simon Cowell’s X-Factor single for the Christmas #1 that year, it was Rage’s Killing in the Name of that was put up for an alternative and was the winner. Rage gave a free concert at Finsbury Park to say thanks.
Porn:
No, I don’t (as I said) but glad to hear the Brits have a proper sense of political-music values !
)I quite like Wagner; in moderation. (I mean I like the music, but can’t stand the Nordic mythology. Iliad or Odyssey over Beowulf anytime. (Even though I had to read Beowulf and all that in the original at Uni.) Always preferred the Greeks from when I was at school. Possibly ‘cos I’m more a Mediterranean squirrel than a Viking one. But given AIPAC and the Jewish lobby, it’s be death to any US politician, wouldn’t it?
It’s a strange thing; most great artists in any medium tend to be pretty obnoxious as human beings in one way or another. Fortunately, you don’t have to like the artist to like the art.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-dee-snider-paul-ryan-stop-playing-were-not-gonna-take-it-20120822,0,2687111.story