Why Do Rockers Harass REPUBLICAN Candidates For Using Their Songs?

Here is the latest example of a rock band that does not like when a Republican candidate, in this case presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney vs the Silversun Pickups.
Well, the Silversun Pickups not only do not like the Romney/Ryan campaign using their hit song Panic Switch, but they proclaim their utter dislike for Mr. Romney.
So, because of their blind dislike of Mr. Romney, Silversun Pickups issued a cease and desist order that essentially bans the Romney/Ryan team from using it and any of their other songs at campaign events. They base the claim on the fact that the Romey/Ryan did not ask for their permission to use the particular song.
OK, the band probably has a marginal point. That Team Romney/Ryan should have asked for permission to use the song. But, judging by the overall reaction of the band, I think that would be a big fat nay!
Silversun Pickups mail objection is that using their song at an eeeeevvvvviiiiilllll Romney/Ryan rally implies they support the GOP team. Maybe some people would believe that. But the majority of people at any given GOP rally know that some music is canned to fire up the crowd. I am certain that the majority of people in a GOP rally crowd probably are muttering "What?! I can't understand a word of that song!"
Give Team Romney/Ryan credit that they are using pop/rock music at campaign events. While I do not expect a boatload of young people to suddenly become part of America's Comeback Team, it shows a willingness that often belies Republican campaigns of any kind.
But the larger picture is this.
Why do rockers and bands have an immediate dislike when their songs are used at campaign rallies? Especially Republican ones?
Confession time.
I like the Silversun Pickups. Good music. Kind of popish, but a lot of lesser known  songs have more of an edge, such as The Royal We.
But again, methinks that these bands just want to make sure that they are seen as anti-establishment. Not realizing that if their dude is the Dear Leader, President Obama, they are supporting the establishment. It is indeed truly anti-establishment to support conservatives and or Republicans.
These bands are short sighted because, here is a dirty little know fact. A lot of conservatives and Republicans do like rock music. A lot like alternative, metal, all kinds of rock music. By seemingly making a big deal about Team Romney/Ryan using Panic Switch, they are potentially alienating a lot of fans.
Someone like myself pretty much expect this from bands that I like. So if I really like a band and know that they are out there on this kind of stuff, I will comment on it, but it will not make me dislike them. Another substantive difference between most conservatives and most liberals. As I wrote, I will not suddenly hate Silversun Pickups but question their open dislike, no hate against Mr. Romney. Band lead singer Brian Aubert said this according to the gossip website TMZ.com:

"We don't like people going behind our backs, using our music without asking, and we don't like the Romney campaign. We're nice, approachable people. We won't bite. Unless you're Mitt Romney!"

Like I wrote, they don't like Mr. Romney and would not have let them use the song had they asked.
That is their right. But banning their song from being played is just being spiteful. Again some fans could take this personally. I do not.
The bigger lesson both sides should take from this is that it is important that Republican staffs should at the very least ask a band for permission using their music. And to be clear that it is not going to be used as a sign that said band supports a candidate if they do not. They could be very surprised. And bands should not over react and sound so, well so establishment. With all the ways that music can and is accessed today, and free publicity never hurts, they should see it as a way to reach a potential new audience.
Rockers, lighten up and Republicans, just ask next time you want to use a song. That way everyone can be happy.
Oh, Brian Aubert. We Republicans are nice, very approachable people. And we don't bite either. And even though you are wrong politically, I still like you and your music.

Dave Mustaine, Cool. Foo Fighters Down A Notch

OK, a lot of people have no clue as what the above headline means because it involves pop culture and hard rock/heavy metal music.
But why the aforementioned even get this post involves, what else, politics.
Dave Mustaine is the front man for the metal band Megadeth, a heavy metal band very popular in the 1980s and 90s.
The Foo Fighters are currently a very popular hard rock band in the present.
So why are they in the news for any reason involving politics.
Well, lets start with the Foos.
It is no secret that the lead singer/guitarist, Dave Grohl, is left-of-center. In this post from this past November, I highlighted Mr. Grohl and his support for the Dear Leader, President Obama. The Money Quote:

If he asks, will you support him in his 2012 re-election bid?
Absolutely. He’s got the toughest job on earth. I would hate to hand the administration over to another party that is just focused on corporation, greed and money. You know, I’m a fun, peace-loving guy, but sometimes the right wing gets a little too selfish.

The above was from an interview Mr. Grohl conducted with The Red Bulletin.
To me, it is typical, emotional pap with no substance. Kind of like a a Toyota Prius with a load of lefty oriented bumper stickers.
And Mr. Grohl probably is, dare I write this, an eeeeevvvvviiiiilllll one percenter. Only he acts as if he should be ashamed of it.
So, Team Obama asked Mr. Grohl and the Foos and they headlined a lavish fundraiser here in the Los Angeles area.
So it is not a shock that they were asked and they delivered.
Now comes along a veteran of the rock scene in Mr. Mustaine.
An aside is that Mr. Mustaine cut his teeth as a guitarist in one of the great metal bands of all time, Metallica.
Well, Mr. Mustaine did what I suppose is the unthinkable.
Mr. Mustaine is endorsing a. . .Republican for president. And not just any Republican. But the most vocal conservative and current front runner, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum.
WHOA! Can I get a Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!
A rocker endorsing this eeeeevvvvviiiiilllll theocrat, Santorum?
Well, if you can beleive that he has turned to Christianity and has educated himself on the issues, then it does NOT seem all that unusal. And it should be noted that he did "report" from the Democrat National Convention for MTV in 1992. I think MTV still played music videos back then. And yeah, he voted for former president Clinton.
But he changed over the years and moved to the right. And although I do think that his touting crazy crank Alex Jones is not great, Mr. Mustaine had a human insight as to one of the reasons he is backing Mr. Santorum.
From the New York Daily News story,

“Earlier in the election, I was completely oblivious as to who Rick Santorum was, but when the dude went home to be with his daughter when she was sick, that was very commendable,” Mustaine told the music site (MusicRadar.com).

Again, it is an emotional response, but it is a contrast as to why Mr. Mustaine showed a genuine human reaction to another person who did the right thing. Whereas Mr. Grohl seems to have bumper-sticker reason to back the Dear Leader, President Obama.
And to me, it shows that Mr. Grohl is more into being cool and popular with the youts. You know, the biggest supporters of the Dear Leader, President Obama.
Of course Mr. Mustaine is now some fuddy-duddy and supporting some old, White Republican guy for president. Never mind that Mr. Santorum is Italian-American and not all that old at 53, two years older than Mr. Mustaine and six years older than your humble blogger.
Mr. Mustaine has more guts than Mr. Grohl, pure and simple.
It is not easy to admit in the world of entertainment and the arts that you are a Republican and-DA HORROR!-a conservative.
But Mr. Mustaine lays it all out there.
By taking a road less travelled by those in his profession, it is very possible that others who have heretofore have kept their opinions to themselves to, dare I write this, come out of the closet, on their politics.
And it will be welcomed by many including myself.
As I noted, many people are very surprised at the music that I like. For as conservative as I am, I have liked hard rock/heavy metal for most of my adult life. And there is no contradiction in the least.
In my mind, Dave Mustaine now has an extra cool about him. He is not taking any crap. He is going to go out and support the most conservative running for the Republican presidential nomination. Rick Santorum.
Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters are part of the pack mentality that liberalism fosters. Thus he and his band are but another cog in the liberal wheel. They are, well not cool. They are conformists.
As I have on this blog's sidebar, conservatives are indeed the real rebels in today's world.
And Dave Mustaine is carriying on that rebel strain and Dave Grohl is an establishment toady.

A Rocker's View Of Conservatives Needs A Conservative Primer

I start this post pointing out that your humble blogger loves rock music. Hard rock, metal, alternative, whatever it is called now a days. From such seminal bands as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, to the 1980s and Iron Maiden, Metallica, to the 90s and Nirvana, and alt bands to the 2000s and bands like Rage Against The Machine, Rise Against I have followed the music with great love and interest.
So, I recently saw the Foo Fighters in concert at the once Fabulous Forum in Inglewood, California. There is a post on why it is the once Fabulous Forum.
But in today's Left Angeles Times was The Red Bulletin, the magazine put out by Red Bull.
On the front cover was my man, the front-man of the Foos, Dave Grohl. And the accompanying article about him and music.
In the article, definitely worth the read, Mr. Grohl is asked about the Dear Leader, President Obama. And I knew that I would not be happy with the answer. And he was asked if he would support the Dear Leader, President Obama's reelection. And I was even less happy with the Q and A:

If he asks, will you support him in his 2012 re-election bid?
Absolutely. He’s got the toughest job on earth. I would hate to hand the administration over to another party that is just focused on corporation, greed and money. You know, I’m a fun, peace-loving guy, but sometimes the right wing gets a little too selfish.

Well, he is not downright insulting to conservatives and in a way just rather around the edges of grasping legitimate policy differences between conservatives and modern liberals.
I don't take my politics from celebrity whether they be on the left or the right. Many do and that is tragic.
So, in reading that part of the interview with Mr. Grohl, I find it is time for what I will call a conservative primer. It is what basically conservatives believe. And it is more personally what I believe as a conservative. Again, this is what I understand makes a conservative person.
First, a conservative believes in personal responsibility.
We all have to take an inventory of ourselves from time to time. Whether we are doing the right things in life or not. It is not just from a religious but a moral point of view. We believe that when one does wrong in life, there are consequences. But that there is also an understanding of the wrong and a way to change. Thus I, for one, believe in the ability of people to change based on an acceptance of personal responsibility. It also extends to our relationship with one another. It means not being a jerk to someone else. It means to be treated the way we or I would want to be treated.
Conservatives believe in thrift.
What that means is that we do not believe in living beyond one's means. What we have been told seemingly throughout my lifetime is that we can live beyond our means and that we should not want but demand the best in life. Thus I try to shop at the market with coupons. Look for the bargains. Don't go to Nordstrom's, but will go to Nordstrom Rack. Look for things on sale. Put a lot of money down on a home as we did and be able to prepare for the rainy day. We are not always good at that, which leads me back to accepting responsibility when we do not.
Conservatives do believe in taking care of one another. But not at government expense. We believe in the power of charities and faith-based institutions to provide for those less fortunate. We also believe in personal involvement to that end. It is not just about writing a check and then doing nothing more. Many of us do volunteer our time. Two years ago, Mrs. RVFTLC and I volunteered to serve Thanksgiving to those less fortunate in El Monte, California at our church's outreach. And we serve on the board of our Transitional Housing program at our church. It for those addicts who are trying to get back into society. In other words, we put our money where our mouths are.
In terms of government, we conservatives do believe in small, limited government at all levels. And we believe in bottom-up government. We believe that government at the most local of level can meet the needs of the people best. That the more government is centralized, whether in Washington, D. C. or state capitals, it is more removed from the very people it is to serve. Small, limited government is not as susceptible to the corruption and excess that big, unregulated government is.
We conservatives value tradition. But not just for the sake of tradition. And we are open to necessary change. Not change for the sake of it. Or to create some social experimentation.
Thus we look to history as our guide. Why we accept and respect how our Great Land came to be is because we study the history. From the first settlers. Those who landed on Plymouth Rock. Those that wrote the Mayflower Compact. Those that began the eventual United States of America. Those that wrote the most amazing document, the Declaration of Independence. The Articles of Confederation. The Constitution.
The constitution is an amazing document for it sets a delineation of power between three co-equal branches of government. The legislative, executive and judicial branches. All are to respect one another.
And the constitution is always amendable. But not made easy to do so. It is intentionally made hard to not have bad amendments adopted willy nilly. Thus it places a great deal of burden on the legislative and executive branches. The judicial, at its best, simply interprets the constitution and sometimes acts as a referee.
Conservatism is not perfect. We have made mistakes and have to reflect on those errors.
One that I can think of his how most people that identified themselves as conservatives opposed entering World War II. Even after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941. Many conservatives did not want to engage in a foreign war. Many thought that World War I was one we did not have to be in.
But when we were attacked that Sunday morning in December, it changed everything. Thoughtful conservatives changed their mind and recognized that the Axis powers needed to be defeated. What separated conservatives from many liberals was the recognition that there was another evil that needed to be defeated. That other evil was communism.
And the Cold War was born.
Conservatives did not have a solid voice in the defeat of the communists really until Ronald Reagan became president. He laid it all our there for the world to see. He said bluntly that communism was an evil empire. And that it would be defeated. And for the most part, it has been. Even in Red China, what passes for communism would have Chairman Mao rolling in his grave. The few outposts of the brutality that is communism are on their last legs. Hopefully in our lifetimes.
What I have written is really a short primer on what it is that conservatives believe. It is to respond to people that have a negative, not necessarily informed view of what it means to be a conservative.
And it is true. On the sidebar of this blog, I believe that to be a conservative is to be a real rebel. Especially on the college campuses throughout the United States. To many of one's friends and relatives. it is saying the the prevailing liberal world view is what is wrong. It is taking on what has really become the establishment.
I do not expect Dave Grohl or any other rocker to get it. I think that he knows a little about politics like many people. And unlike some on the left, I do not believe that he is trying to intentionally offend a possibly large part of the fan base.
But in reading his otherwise excellent interview, it was this I feel the need to speak up for and about conservatism. Albeit very briefly.
So, I owe a big thanks to Mr. Grohl. And while we strongly disagree about politics, I still love the Foo Fighters and the great rock 'n roll you put out there.