McCain Uses Foo Fighters Song, Sans Permission

Besides being an old, rambling fart who mistakenly believes constant repetition of the phrase “my friends” will make him seem agreeable to the common man, Senator John McCain and his presidential campaign have stepped on the toes of another recording artist.

This time it’s the Foo Fighters and their ‘90s hit, “My Hero,” which the McCain posse has been using during rallies without the band’s permission, Reuters reported Wednesday. The Foo Fighters have expressed discontent (read: flipped out righteously) at the campaign’s misuse of the song, as well as the campaign’s history of failing to get artists’ permission in general before using songs.

“It's frustrating and infuriating that someone who claims to speak for the American people would repeatedly show such little respect for creativity and intellectual property,” the Foo Fighters said in a statement.

The song, they said, is intended to celebrate the potential of the common man. If I remember correctly, it was also partially about Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain, someone who I’m vaguely sure would not approve of this context.

“To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song,” the band said. In my opinion, it also makes McCain look like an approval-hungry fake who thinks a song will render younger voters oblivious to his (and his running mate’s) desperately archaic political views. In fact, since when was a rock song’s intended message ever relevant to a republican campaign? McCain should be realistic and stick to the themes from Masterpiece Theatre and Wheel of Fortune, so he’s at least addressing the right audience.

The McCain campaign previously faced a suit from historically anti-Reaganist singer-songwriter Jackson Browne for the unsanctioned use of his song “Running on Empty,” as well as ruffling Heart’s feathers with the use of “Barracuda.”