Tuneless

~ Laura

The Republicans are apparently having a very hard time getting permission from bands to use their songs at their conventions and parties. Bruce has said no way. Heart is now really ticked off that they have been using "Barracuda" when Palin’s on stage. Nancy and Ann Wilson released this statement,

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.

Published by Laura

18 thoughts on “Tuneless”

  2. It’s starting to look as though the McSame people just use-as-choose to piss musicians off. Van Halen was mad over the use of Right Now. Jackson Browne is suing. Chuck Berry, Abba, Mellencamp … the list of the discontented is long and with Heart lodging a complaint, growing apparently.
    They should stick to C & W – like dude in the stetson who sang the McCain anthem.

    Like

  3. But, hey, it’s fair use, as far as I’m concerned.
    (But I’d love it if Bruce and Nancy & Ann all released new songs that made their point of view perfectly clear)

    Like

  5. But, I’d thought we’d established that Republicans were hypocrites. Check out the Jon Stewart video linked at Elizabeth’s Half changed world.

    Like

  8. I thought fair use was 30 seconds.
    Maybe they should use some Disney song; they deserve to get it for free.
    Is This Land Is My Land out of copyright yet? I’m just waiting for the Reds to use that one.

    Like

  9. “Is This Land Is My Land out of copyright yet?”
    Of course not — I think Congress recently extended copyrights to when hell freezes over.
    The real situation seems more complicated. Wikipedia says that This land was published in 1945. According to bitlaw, works published between 1923-1963 required a “renewal” to be filed for in order to have the first 28 term of copyright extended. If such a renewal was filed, This land would still be under copyright. If not, it would have entered the public domain in 1972.

    Like

  11. Actually, the original version of “This Land is Your Land” is almost certainly public domain now, due to failure to renew copyright. (It was originally offered for sale as part of a self-produced mimeograph songbook in 1945, and later reissued by a professional music publisher in 1956. Copyright was renewed on the 1956 version, but not on the 1945 version.)
    Given Woody Guthrie’s politics, though, I suspect the main benefit of using it to support most Republican candidates would be the carbon-neutral energy one could generate from him turning over in his grave…

    Like

  12. Didn’t Obama use a song that had been used in the Republican convention in 2004? I recall an NPR report on it. Can’t remember the song, though. The musician seemed happy to see it used everywhere.

    Like

  14. I think the level of protest says something about the “artist”. Obama used a song by Brooks and Dunn at the DNC. Brooks and Dunn are as conservative as cowboys get. Kip Brook’s comment? “It’s nice to know all types appreciate what we do”. It’s funny that the bithcing only comes from one side.

    Like

  15. Nope, it’s not under ‘fair use’ — it’s under license. That license isn’t for just one song, it’s for the whole bloody standard playlist.
    And once the RNC has paid for the license, they get to play the song, unless ASCAP has worked out a separate deal with Heart.
    If there was an ad with their song on it, that’d be different; that goes through a separate approval process. The reason why Heart is complaining loudly is that:
    1) the McCain campaign has voluntarily stopped playing other music, even when there was no legal grounds for complaint, when asked earlier
    2) because Sarah Palin’s previous nickname was Barracuda, and because there aren’t a whole heck of a lot of other songs out there with that word in the chorus, there is the possibility that their song could become associated strongly with her (though for me it was the other way around, I heard the nickname and thought of the song). Then you get into the ‘diluting the brand’ argument, and politics is touchier than Hondas.
    This might not stop anyone outside the campaign, though (like Rush, see “Ohio” example).

    Like

  17. Yup, it was Brooks & Dunn. Great song, and really, not at all partisan (as the authors & singers said when asked).
    “Sun coming up over New York City
    School bus driver in a traffic jam
    Starin’ at the faces in her rearview mirror
    Looking at the promise of the Promised Land
    One kid dreams of fame and fortune
    One kid helps pay the rent
    One could end up going to prison
    One just might be president”
    Beautiful song. Reminds me why I like country music, in spite of not even “being a little bit country” (unless we count the farms, far far away, where my parents grew up).
    To deconstruct, I appreciate that the driver is a woman, and love the imagery “Starin’ at the faces in her rearview mirror, Looking at the promise of the Promised Land.” Great imagery. And I like the inclusion of LA, Oklahoma, and New York city in the promise of “only in america”
    Thanks for the cite — I knew it was a country song, but didn’t know who it was by. Brooks&Dunn got a customer.
    Then, I also read the lyrics to Barracuda, and, have no idea why the Repubs would play that. Fine nickname, but doesn’t seem like something you want to build a nation around.

    Like

  18. People can be “tone deaf” to a lot of things. Who ever let some geek name the organization created to re-elect Nixon:”The Committee to Re-Elect the President?” (CREEP)

    Like

Comments are closed.