Republicans Lack Heart! (File Cease & Desist for 'Barracuda' Song)

TMZ ^ | September 5, 2008 | TMZ Staff

[rightwingintelligentsia]

Ann and Nancy Wilson are p*ssed at the Republican Party and have fired off a cease and desist letter to the McCain/Palin campaign.

Specifically, the Heart women are upset that the GOP has used their classic "Barracuda" as a theme song for Sarah Palin. TMZ obtained a statement from Heart's rep, who says "The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission."

The statement goes on: "We have asked the Republican campaign publicly not to use our music. We hope our wishes will be honored."

[SW6906]

I believe this falls under what is called “Fair Use”. Their asking them not to use it only makes the Wilson’s look small and petty......

[elder5]

Nothing “small” about the Wilson sisters :)

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Screw ‘em! Use “Stranglehold” by the Nuge instead - a much better song.

[xcamel]

We’re talking dams here - small and petty is part of their DNA

[230FMJ]

While I understand that most non-country recording artists are predisposed to seek the approval of the left, I don’t think that they realize how petty and petulant the sound when they pull this crap.

[counterpunch]

There’s nothing Wilson/Wilson can do as long as the McCain campaign pays the ASCAP fees. ASCAP covers public broadcast for an event, just as they cannot tell a nightclub or sports event not to play their song.

[netmilsmom]

No prob Ann and Nancy.
We’ll never play it at the 2008 convention again!

[Rocko]

I guess if they won’t want a seat on the Rocket to the Stars, that’s their problem.

[Finalapproach29er]

Good; it’s not a grown-ups song.

Having said that, what a collection a small has-beens.

[bushfamfan]

I was a big fan of Heart; the main word being WAS. It’s a shame when you find out someone you thought you liked is a radical and it happened when I found out they are extremely pro-abortion, as in doing a concert in support of it. Entertainers get involved at their own peril and I happen to be one of those who loses respect and will no longer support someone if they are extremely political and Ann and Nancy lost my respect. I was not surprised this would come about when I heard “Barracuda” last night. A lot of media, entertainers are going to share in the burden if Obama gets in office and turns into the disaster he has written all over him. He will have a Demonrat Congress, Governors, and it is going to be irreparable damage and these people have enabled this and when we suffer A LOT of people are going to be angry at being manipulated. Serves them right as they’ve shown so much anger at Republicans.

[Tarpon]

Cat Scratch Fever !!! Yaaaa Hoooo

[bushfamfan]

They’re radically for abortion. This was no surprise to me.

[Future Snake Eater]

IIRC, “Barracuda” was written as a retaliation against all the negative press coverage the Wilson sisters were getting as their popularity started exploding.

You’d think they’d feel a little empathy here...

[Sacajaweau]

Their marketing people are obviously really, really stupid.

[DJ Taylor]

Governor Palin has these liberals scared sh**less. I just received this email and have no way to know if it's true, but it makes sense to me:

Alaska is the first line of defense in our missile interceptor defense system. The 49th Missile Defense Battalion of the Alaska National Guard is the unit that protects the entire nation from ballistic missile attacks. It¢s on permanent active duty, unlike other Guard units.. As governor of Alaska, Palin is briefed on highly classified military issues, homeland security, and counterterrorism. Her exposure to classified material may rival even Biden's.

She's also the commander in chief of the Alaska State Defense Force (ASDF), a federally recognized militia incorporated into Homeland Security's counterterrorism plans.

Palin is privy to military and intelligence secrets that are vital to the entire country's defense. Given Alaska's proximity to Russia, she may have security clearances we don't even know about.

According to the Washington Post, she first met with McCain in February, but nobody ever found out. This is a woman used to keeping secrets..

She can be entrusted with our national security, because she already is.

[Earthdweller]

I love that song...it's been in my head non-stop since last Friday. Don't stop playing it. If the sisters don't like it then they can go on TV and get some media attention...which is probably what they want anyway. It goes perfectly with Gov. Sarah and the leftist totalitarians are not gonna stop us!

[bolobaby]

Haha - I said to my wife last night, “How long do you think it will be before Heart b!tches about their song being used?”

I guess “b!tches” was a prescient choice of words.

[faithinchaos]

This doesn’t surprise me. Nancy Wilson’s ex-boyfriend was a draft dodger and they both lived in Canada for a short while. This was before Heart was formed I believe.

I always knew the Wilson sisters were leftists.

[wideawake]

Take it up with your publishing company.

[defconw]

After 8 years these Hollywood types still don't see the connection. I have stopped going to the movies, stopped buying DVD’s and CD’s of these lefties. I just won't support them.

[Fresh Wind]

BFD. The song sucks anyway.

[rintense]

The song was written about all the rumors/innuendo about the sisters having a lesbian relationship with each other. And yes, the should understand. But, from what I’ve read about Ann Wilson, she’s pretty hard core left (and allegedy DOES play for the girls team). She’s, therefore, a Sarah hater by default.

[Rebelbase]

“Good; it’s not a grown-ups song”

Anyone under age of 50 who listened to FM radio when they were a teenager will remember that song.

[DB]

Actually the song Barracuda was written about a record producer at Mushroom Records.

[krb]

Was wondering how long that would take.

[Allegra]

Their asking them not to use it only makes the Wilson’s look small and petty......

Like most idiotic, self-righteous Democrats.

[sirchtruth]

There’s nothing Wilson/Wilson can do as long as the McCain campaign pays the ASCAP fees. ASCAP covers public broadcast for an event, just as they cannot tell a nightclub or sports event not to play their song.

Correct! However, if these two petty, ultra-liberal, skanks don't want the RNC to play their song then find something else.

I thought about this last night when it was being played whether or not they would protest. I'm deeply sadden because they are great songwriters, and I've always appreciated them, but now I'm going to think about this every time I listening to their music.

Thank heavens my female singer couldn't sing Ann Wilson! When you think about, it was the wrong choice of song anyway.

[Earthdweller]

"She’s, therefore, a Sarah hater by default."

Good...shove it in their face. I hope they show their hate for the world to see. You think these humankind eaters will play nice with us...think again.

[DieHard the Hunter]

How childish!

How old is that song, anyway? — it was around when I was a teenager and when Ann & Nancy Wilson were sorta hot, so it’s pretty darn old. 1977: America was 201 years young back then and Sarah Barracuda was thirteen...

Now, some thirty-one years later, a couple of aging bar hags don’t want their seriously-dated song played?

Shoot — who cares? Let ‘em fade into obscurity. As the first Female POTUS Sarah will be alot more famous for “Barracuda” than Heart ever was.

Just give the “Barracuda” another four years!

[Devilinbaggypants]

They’re radically for abortion. This was no surprise to me.

It's a shame that the Wilson's mom wasn't a radical abortionist.

[dfwddr]

They should stop touring with Journey and Cheap Trick, and hook up with the Dixie Chicks.

I’m sure that’ll go well for them.

[defconw]

Bingo! Childish, that characterizes the whole left.

[kevkrom]

"The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission."

Read up on "mechanical license" and then get back to me. Better yet, just shut up and sing.

[jerod]

Exactly... They don’t need permission to use their song. They probably could demand money for using it, but that’s about it.

[Mercat]

I’m emailing the article to my brother who has litigated this issue in a case involvingin Limbaugh (years ago).

[counterpunch]

Well look, this was a publicity stunt. If they hadn’t sent out this meaningless cease & desist letter, we wouldn’t be talking about them right now. And that’s the real motivation for why they did it. No one would have noticed their song was played at all otherwise. Vacuous political statements is a cheap and dirty way for these Hollywood types to get attention, and it works every time. Maybe we should stop taking the bait.

[TomGuy]

The song owners are within their rights, even though some of the posts in this thread are snarky.

I recall Johnny Carson used to cringe when the audience burst out in song — “Happy Birthday” — as his program was then obligated to pay royalties to the song’s owner.

Surely, someone on the Convention planning had sense enough to know they needed to get permission. A political campaign is considered a commercial venture.

[TommyDale]

I have tossed the few Heart recordings I once owned. They have lost me as a fan.

[Doug TX]

————”Screw ‘em! Use “Stranglehold” by the Nuge instead - a much better song.”——————

LOL. “Stranglehold” might be just on the edge of intense and controversial. Great song.

“Stranglehold” was the entrance song for the pro wrestling Von Erichs. When the song came on, it put a mood in the room unlike any of the other gimmick entries.

[ETL]

I wonder if the Russians will sue the Decemberists for opening their concerts with a playing of the Soviet National Anthem?

ELECTION 2008
Communist band opens for Obama
'How many of 75,000 came to hear music?'

A hip rock band that features the Soviet national anthem and communist-inspired lyrics was on stage to open for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama at his record-breaking Portland, Ore., rally that attracted 75,000.

The Decemberists, a Portland-based group with a large local following, also closed the May 18 event.

The Decemberists typically begin their concerts with a Russian-language recording of the USSR's national anthem.

A YouTube video shows the Decemberists beginning an April 31, 2007, concert at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., with the anthem.

"Decemberists" refers to an uprising at Senate Square in St. Petersburg Dec. 14, 1825, when a group of Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in protest as Nicholas I assumed the throne, after Czar Alexander died without an heir.

The Decemberists have posed for publicity photos in period Russian costumes with the red flag of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 waving behind them. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/?pageId=65510

The Soviet National Anthem / Гимн СССР
English translation (of the 1977 version)

Unbreakable Union of freeborn Republics,
Great Russia has welded forever to stand.
Created in struggle by will of the people,
United and mighty, our Soviet land!

Sing to the Motherland, home of the free,
Bulwark of peoples in brotherhood strong.
O Party of Lenin, the strength of the people,
To Communism's triumph lead us on!

Through tempests the sunrays of freedom have cheered us,
Along the new path where great Lenin did lead.
To a righteous cause he raised up the peoples,
Inspired them to labour and valourous deed.

Sing to the Motherland, home of the free,
Bulwark of peoples in brotherhood strong.
O Party of Lenin, the strength of the people,
To Communism's triumph lead us on!

In the victory of Communism's immortal ideal,
We see the future of our dear land.
And to her fluttering scarlet banner,
Selflessly true we always shall stand!

Sing to the Motherland, home of the free,
Bulwark of peoples in brotherhood strong.
O Party of Lenin, the strength of the people,
To Communism's triumph lead us on!
http://www.marxists.org/history/ussr/sounds/lyrics/anthem.htm

From the Decemberists' website:
"Decemberists to play Obama rally in Portland"
http://www.decemberists.com/news.aspx

YouTube video of Decemberists concert:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCCTe87IxfU

_____________________________________________________

From Accuracy In Media | AIM.ORG

Obama’s Red Mentor Praised Red Army
AIM Report | By Cliff Kincaid | April 30, 2008

Barack Obama’s childhood mentor, Frank Marshall Davis, a member of the Moscow-controlled Communist Party USA, wrote a poem dedicated to the Soviet Red Army. “Smash on, victory-eating Red Army,” he declared. He also wrote poems attacking traditional Christianity and the work of Christian missionaries.

The “Red Army” poem goes beyond hoping for the communists to beat the Nazis in World War II and hails the Soviet revolution. It says:

Show the marveling multitudes
Americans, British, all your allied brothers
How strong you are
How great you are
How your young tree of new unity
Planted twenty-five years ago
Bears today the golden fruit of victory!

http://www.aim.org/aim-report/obamas-red-mentor-praised-red-army/

[Earthdweller]

"Maybe we should stop taking the bait."

No no no...take the bait. In fact ramp it up. Let them go on TV as living advertisement for Sarah.

[bahblahbah]

Does anyone get tired of republicans breaking copyright laws? It’s not funny and it’s not worth it...

[Earthdweller]

This is bull...they can only hurt their own leftist cause by making a big deal out of this....let them go for it.

I hope their ugliness looks like a giant billboard.

[Niteranger68]

Good. The song sucks anyway. (I thought one of the Wilson sisters choked on a ham sandwich???)

[TN4Liberty]

Entertainers get involved at their own peril and I happen to be one of those who loses respect and will no longer support someone if they are extremely political and Ann and Nancy lost my respect.

I've said it before on here... if you want to listen to music by conservatives, you should probably buy a harmonica.

[Calm_Cool_and_Elected]

Amen. I work hard for my $$ and they won’t get one thin dime of it.

[McGruff]

How old are the Wilson sisters now? Seems like they could use a few extra bucks now they are nearing retirement age and ain't going to have anymore hits.

[ETL]

A little band history from wikipedia:

"By the mid-1970s the male band members were eligible to be drafted to Vietnam, so the band relocated to Vancouver, Canada.[3]"
[3] "The Canadian Pop Encyclopedia: Heart". Canoe/Jam. Retrieved on 2006-09-11.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_(band)

________________________________________________________

McCain on lower right

In August of 1968, a program of vigorous torture methods began on McCain, using rope bindings into painful positions and beatings every two hours, at the same time as he was suffering from dysentery.[84][79] Teeth and bones were broken again, as was McCain's spirit; the beginning of a suicide attempt was stopped by guards.[79] After four days of this, McCain signed and taped[94] an anti-American propaganda "confession" that said, in part, "I am a black criminal and I have performed the deeds of an air pirate. I almost died, and the Vietnamese people saved my life, thanks to the doctors."[79] He used stilted Communist jargon and ungrammatical language to signal that the statement was forced.[89]. Source

Also see:
John McCain, Prisoner of War: A First-Person Account
By John S. McCain III, Lieut. Commander, U.S. Navy;
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/2008/01/28/john-mccain-prisoner-of-war-a-first-person-account.html

[DieHard the Hunter]

> Good. The song sucks anyway. (I thought one of the Wilson sisters choked on a ham sandwich???)

Those fat bar hags kill samwiches, not the other way ‘round!