Another day, another musician and band objecting to politicians using their songs without permission.
Yesterday it was Kentucky clerk Kim Davis and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee getting slammed by Survivor for using “Eye Of The Tiger” at Davis’ highly publicized release from jail, and tonight it’s Michael Stipe and R.E.M. going in hard on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for using “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” at the Stop the Iran Deal rally in Washington, D.C. According to Mic.com, the event was Tea Party-sanctioned and also featured an appearance by Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
Upon learning of the song’s use at the rally, Stipe blasted away first, being quoted by R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills on Twitter as stating: “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.”
After a brief cool down, Mills and the band apparently felt the need for something more aligned to a company line. “Oops, lack of tech savvy got me,” Mills tweeted. “Official statement coming when I figure out how.” Soon enough, R.E.M. offered the following via their social media pages:
While we do not authorize or condone the use of our music at this political event, and do ask that these candidates cease and desist from doing so, let us remember that there are things of greater importance at stake here. The media and the American voter should focus on the bigger picture, and not allow grandstanding politicians to distract us from the pressing issues of the day and of the current Presidential campaign.
Mills then responded to several tweets with a simple “cease & desist.”
God bless America.
"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 1)
— Mike Mills (@m_millsey) September 9, 2015
…moronic charade of a campaign."–Michael Stipe
— Mike Mills (@m_millsey) September 9, 2015
"While we do not authorize or condone the use of our music at this political event, and do ask that these candidates…
Posted by R.E.M. on Wednesday, September 9, 2015