At this point, a musician publicly denouncing a politician for using a song at a campaign rally is basically as American as apple pie. When a controversy arises over an unauthorized song, it’s about as inevitable as debates, embarrassing gaffes and horserace journalism. In this 2016 election cycle, we’ve already had a handful of artists lashing out at politicians over their playlists. Here are 10 most recent and most notable moments of this from the campaign trail.
10. Explosions in the Sky vs. Ted Cruz over “Your Hand In Mine”
“We are absolutely not OK with it,” the band said on Twitter.
9. R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe vs. Donald Trump and Cruz over “It’s the End of the World As We Know It”
“Go fuck yourselves, the lot of you—you sad, attention-grabbing, power-hungry little men. Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign,” wrote Stipe.
8. Neil Young vs. Trump over “Rockin’ in the Free World”
Young said in a statement that Trump “was not authorized to use ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ in his presidential candidacy announcement.” It also read, “Neil Young, a Canadian citizen, is a supporter of Bernie Sanders for President of the United States of America.”
7. Bikini Kill’s Tobi Vail vs. Hillary Clinton over “Rebel Girl”
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“I’m voting for Bernie Sanders,” noted Tobi Vail’s Twitter bio.
6. Axwell and Ingrosso vs. Marco Rubio over “Something New”
“Electronic dance music—I’m a fan of. We just can’t play it ’cause none of the DJ guys—they all send us letters, ‘Don’t play my music. I’m Swedish. I don’t care about American politics,’ ” Rubio joked.
5. Adele vs. Trump over “Skyfall”and “Rolling In The Deep”
Per her spokesman, “Adele has not given permission for her music to be used for any political campaigning.”
4. Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler vs. Trump over “Dream On”
Tyler wrote in an essay, “This week, I sent a letter to Donald Trump’s campaign asking to not use my music at political rallies. My intent was not to make a political statement, but to make one about the rights of my fellow music creators.”
3. Allee Willis vs. Trump over “You’re The Best”
“This guy’s mouth would get us into a nuclear war in three seconds,” songwriter Allee Willis said.
2. Geto Boys vs. Cruz over “Still”
“We don’t support @tedcruz or his super lame ad using our music,” read a recent tweet from the band.
1. Rolling Stones vs. Trump over “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”and “Brown Sugar”
“Can you imagine President Trump? The worst nightmare,” guitarist Keith Richards said. “But we can’t say that. Because it could happen. This is one of the wonders of this country. Who would’ve thought Ronald Reagan could be president?”
@joshhterry | [email protected]
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