The Politics of Rock

As we draw nearer to the Presidential election, the rhetoric and attacks flying back and forth between the McCain and Obama camps is intensifying. But the political candidates and their campaign teams are not the only ones who are out there in the public eye making their voices heard.

National campaigns in the past have traditionally been accompanied by public support from various celebrities, who, for one reason or another, are convinced that the rest of us really need to know who they are voting for. I’m not sure if it’s just me, but doesn’t this kind of activity seem to be cranked up a notch this time around?

I first started paying attention to this when the Wilson sisters of Heart complained about the McCain camp’s use of their hit song “Barracuda,” which was said to have been chosen because “Sarah Barracuda” was a nickname that Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin picked up in High School as a result of her aggressive style while playing sports.

Later we heard that Jackson Browne had his knickers in a twist over the use of his song “Running on Empty” as part of a McCain television advertisement.

In addition to those well-known rockers, by digging back just a little bit in history, we find that John Mellencamp asked the McCain campaign to stop using his music back around February.

Since then we’ve heard from Van Halen, who was not happy about the use of their song “Right now,” which was written during the “Van Hagar” days, and apparently did not present any problems for Sammy Hagar who thought it was just fine, but Hagar is known as a GOP supporter.

More recently, it seems that the Foo Fighters are angry with the McCain people over use of their song “My Hero.” In a statement the group said the following: "The saddest thing about this is that ‘My Hero’ was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential. To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song."

In response, McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said: "The McCain-Palin campaign respects copyright. This campaign has obtained and paid for licenses from performing rights organizations, giving us permission to play millions of different songs, including ‘My Hero.’”

I guess that’s probably something that some famously politically active rockers are not too happy to hear, but if the McCain campaign did indeed follow the proper procedures and pay to use those songs (any appearance of doubt on my part is a result of the fact that we are dealing with politicians and their cronies here), it seems there is little that the flustered artists can do except whine to the press about the use of their material.

I guess it also explains why the McCain campaign continues to use many of these songs despite the requests from the artists who wrote them to stop.

But the vitriol that has been flowing freely from some artists in the direction of John McCain and his supporters is just one side of the story. There are a few artists out there who are very willingly lending their music, as well as their celebrity status to the causes of their chosen candidate.

Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel are very vocal supporters of Barrack Obama and have even been out performing in support of their candidate. Not to to be outdone, Jon Bon Jovi hosted a $38,000-a-plate dinner with Obama, although those of lesser means had the chance to opt for the more reasonable $2,300 ticket which did not include dinner with the Presidential candidate.

Speaking of supporters, most recently we heard from Alice Cooper, who is known as a Republican supporter, and has been quoted during an interview saying that he thinks Sarah Palin is “…totally a breath of fresh air. When they say she has no experience, maybe that’s what Washington needs. I still don’t know who I’m going to vote for. But in a shooting war, I want a pit bull, not a poodle. I’m gonna go for the hawk,” Cooper said.

There is certainly an element of the citizenry that is not too pleased with the attention and money that celebrities are lavishing on their candidate of choice. For example, a letter to a New Jersey newspaper from a reader makes her views on the subject quite clear.

Personally I tend to agree with the author of that letter, and I wish celebrities, who have a distinct advantage over the common citizen when it comes to getting the message out in support of the candidate, would keep private the choices they intend to make when they enter the voting both.

That is a message I would direct at both political parties (the only two we appear to be stuck with for eternity, by the way), since I am a true independent, and could go on at length about the problems I have with both Republicans and Democrats. However, this is Real Rock News and not a Washington Times or New York Times editorial column, so I will leave it at that.

What do you think? Does the political activism of celebrity rockers annoy you or do you see it simply as their right to free speech?

Tags: Biden, Billy Joel, Foo Fighters, Heart, Jackson Browne, McCain, Mellencamp, Obama, Palin, Politics, Springsteen, Van Halen

Here We Go Again: Heart Unhappy With Use of ‘Barracuda’ By McCain Camp

Following Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin’s introduction to the world, some have taken to calling her Sarah "Barracuda" Palin, which apparently presented an opportunity that the McCain/Palin Campaign could not pass up. At some point during the course of the Republican National Committee’s big to-do in St. Paul that ended last night, someone made the decision to play Heart’s hit track "Barracuda."

This was no doubt a tribute to the tough-as-nails reputation that Sarah Palin seems to be inspiring among her supporters, but Heart’s Nancy Wilson surely cannot be counted among them. In a statement from the fair-haired half of rock’s enduring sisters, Wilson said, "The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission. We have asked the Republican campaign publicly not to use our music. We hope our wishes will be honored."

This is strikingly familiar to the reaction of fellow rockers Van Halen when they learned that one of their songs, "Right Now" was also used during a recent McCain campaign event.

It’s not clear exactly which members of the group were offended by the use of their material, although former frontman Sammy Hagar, a well known Republican supporter, said he had no problem with it at all.

Apparently, the protest from Nancy Wilson fell upon deaf ears at the RNC, and "Barracuda" was used yet again during the finale of the event when Palin joined McCain onstage after his acceptance speech. This, as one might expect, did not sit particularly well with either of the Wilson sisters.

In a statement crafted by both Wilson sisters following the second use of their song, they said "Sarah Palin’s views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song ‘Barracuda’ no longer be used to promote her image. The song ‘Barracuda’ was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The ‘barracuda’ represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there’s irony in Republican strategists’ choice to make use of it there."

I must confess that I did not expect the Presidential campaign to provide so much fodder for those of us who follow the classic rock scene. Although I admit it is a bit selfish on my part, I am rather enjoying all these squabbles over the use of various songs from some very well known classic rock artists.

So far, I have yet to hear word of any complaints from right-leaning rockers out there about any use of their material by the Obama campaign. I suppose there are a number of possible explanations for this. Maybe I just didn’t hear about it. Perhaps the Obama campaign did not use any material that originated with conservative artists or perhaps conservative artists don’t make as big a fuss over the use of their material.

In fact, there was a similar incident a while back when the Obama campaign used a track from country superstars Brooks & Dunn after the conclusion of his acceptance speech at the DNC. The track, entitled "Only In America," has been used repeatedly by Republicans in the past, including when Brooks & Dunn played it at the inauguration of George W. Bush in 2000.

At the 2004 GOP convention, Vice President Dick Cheney used it as his exit music following his speech. In addition, President Bush often used it while on the campaign trail four years ago, even asking Brooks & Dunn to play it live at rallies during the final week of the race.

When asked recently about the use of their material by the Obama campaign, Kix Brooks said, "Seems ironic that the same song Bush used at The Republican Convention last election would be used by Obama and the Democrats now. Very flattering to know our song crossed parties and potentially inspires all Americans."

It seems that Kix Brooks is a bit more open-minded about such matters than the Wilson sisters, Van Halen or Jackson Browne.

Frankly, I find all this bickering about the use of songs by politicians somewhat amusing. When you consider all the other things being done in Washington that are of questionable value to the average American, it seems to me that the use of a song or two by the political party you happen to oppose isn’t what well-paid artists should be laying in bed at night worrying about.

For more on this story, check out Entertainment Weekly.

Tags: Barracuda, Heart, McCain, Nancy Wilson, Palin, RNC