I really thought it was just going to be John Rich alone on an island supporting John McCain, but finally, someone else has come through to provide musical accompaniment for the last few weeks of the Republican presidential nominee’s campaign: Hank Williams Jr.
It’s hard being a Republican Presidential candidate sometimes, what with most people who are in the business of writing populist anthems frowning on your usage of their songs at political events. The McCain-Palin camp has had a particularly rough go of it lately, what with Nancy Wilson tossing them a cease-and-desist after their abuse of “Barracuda” and Van Halen reigniting their old tensions after “Right Now” was played at a rally.. Now the Foo Fighters have come out of hiatus just to issue a strongly worded press release regarding the campaign’s use of “My Hero.”
Last week, Heart’s Wilson sisters got incensed over the McCain/Palin campaign’s playing their song “Barracuda” during the Republican National Convention in honor of vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s high-school nickname. The sisters claimed that they were so fired up they sent off a cease and desist to the GOP, and a Republican spokesman coldly said that the song was being rightfully used. So what’s the deal? Slate has helpfully provided a guide to the types of licenses the McCain campaign would need if they’d like to continue using the song.
So Ann and Nancy Wilson haven’t really been too pleased that the folks in charge of the music at the Republican National Convention have decided to turn their 1977 song (and current plastic-guitar staple) “Barracuda” into a rallying cry for GOP vice-presidential nominee/unavoidable topic of Internet discussion/overly self-impressed speechifier Sarah Palin, who was affectionately (?) called Barracuda during her high-school days. (Earlier today, they released a statement saying that they’d sent the GOP a cease-and-desist notice telling them to stop playing the damn thing. Of course, that didn’t stop the Republicans, who played the song again after John McCain accepted his party’s Presidential nomination tonight–and this decision fired up Nancy Wilson so much, she rang up Entertainment Weekly‘s Whitney Pastorek to say, “I think it’s completely unfair to be so misrepresented… I feel completely fucked over.” Keep in mind, you’re talking about a song that’s been covered by Fergie here, so you know that it takes a lot to offend!
John McCain’s Friday rally announcing that Sarah Palin would be his running mate on the Republican Presidential ticket* was capped by a rousing play of Van Halen’s “Right Now,” a song selection that put Van Halen’s management in a snit. “Permission was not sought or granted nor would it have been given,” an unidentified person in the Van Halen camp told TMZ. But tequila maven and longtime GOP supporter Sammy Hagar–who sang the lyrics that the McCain/Palin campaign was so inspired by–begs to disagree! He thinks “Right Now” is a song for everyone, no matter what the jerks who are now touring under the Van Halen banner might think.
Internet-unsavvy Presidential candidate John McCain is steamed at Madonna, whose Sticky + Sweet Tour kicked off over the weekend in the UK. Apparently an image of the Straight Talk Express’ driver is flashed during a video montage of baddies that also includes Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe and baddie-of-all-baddies Adolf Hilter! (Barack Obama, meanwhile, is placed alongside John Lennon, Mahatma Gandhi, and Al Gore.) Instead of realizing that because Madonna broke Godwin’s Law any further argument was, in fact, moot, McCain’s campaign released a snippy statement via Fox News (sigh) that said in part “It clearly shows that when it comes to supporting Barack Obama, his fellow worldwide celebrities refuse to consider any smear or attack off limits.” Wouldn’t a counterpoint by Ted Nugent have been a lot more succinct? Anyway, before you think this is just another boring “Madonna gets ‘political'” news item, there’s also Britney Spears-related news coming out of the tour! Which is, just, so much better, you guys.
People are surprised by Daddy Yankee’s endorsement of John McCain, but really, shouldn’t the fact that the reggaeton singer’s New York City record-release party was sponsored by rightward-leaning piss substitute Coors Light have been a hint that dude isn’t exactly going door to door for [insert… More »
Roseanne Cash would appreciate it if John Rich left her father’s name out of his tireless rallying of country music’s fanbase behind ABBA fan John McCain. Rich’s comment at a recent McCain rally that “Johnny Cash would have been a John McCain supporter if he was still around” didn’t make the daughter of the Man In Black all that happy, and she released a statement saying that certain people should stick to ascribing endorsements to people who can actually agree with or deny them of their own free will:
John Rich has released the video for his pro-John McCain country boilerplate “Raising McCain,” and it’s a curious clip for one reason: There isn’t a single shot of the Republican Presidential candidate anywhere in it. In what I’m assuming is a way to prove to the Obama-infatuated kids out there that yes, young people actually are going to vote Republican come November, the clip is instead populated by a bunch of Rock Of Love casting-call rejects who are waving around “McCain” signs. (There is one–but only one!–older woman in the audience, who I guess has been placed in the clip because of concerns over “authenticity.”) I understand that getting McCain to the video set was probably tough because he’s in full-on “learn about the Internet before that CNN debate” mode, but were the video’s producers so scared of turning away the youth they wouldn’t even sneak in a still shot of McCain looking even semi-Presidential?
Back in 2004, it was OK to like Big & Rich. They had a remarkably listenable debut album that was a breath of fresh air from the somewhat lousy country music scene at the time, as well as fun personalities. More »
