Posted on 05/24/2010 7:04:28 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
David Byrne is suing the governor of Florida, alleging that he used the Talking Heads' 1985 single "Road to Nowhere" without permission or proper licenses.
Byrne is seeking $1 million in damages from Gov. Charlie Crist, who's also Florida's former Attorney General, and his senatorial campaign for use of the song earlier this year in a website and YouTube ad attacking his then-Republican primary opponent, Marco Rubio. Crist has since changed his campaign and is running as an independent candidate.
The suit (Case Number 8:10-CV1187-T26 (MAP)) was filed early Monday afternoon in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa.
Byrne tells Billboard.com that he became aware of the Crist ad from a friend in New York, where the Talking Heads co-founder resides. "I was pretty upset by that," says Byrne, who had Warner Bros. Records contact the Crist campaign, which subsequently stopped using the ad. But, Byrne contends, "in my opinion the damage had already been done by it being out there. People that I knew had seen (the ad), so it had gotten around. The suit, he adds, "is not about politics...It's about copyright and about the fact that it does imply that I would have licensed it and endorsed him and whatever he stands for."
(Excerpt) Read more at billboard.com ...
Byne’s a commie, but I loved Talking Heads.
” Byne’s a commie, but I loved Talking Heads.”
Yeah he is, but what a “ useful idiot” he is!
LOL!
Ironic that Crist would choose the song “Road to Nowhere”...
“Stop Making Sense” top 50 album of all time..
Yep. David Byrne made it cool to be a nerd.
If at a rally, its usually covered by a rights management group. But if Crist used it in an ad, he's in deep doo doo.
You may ask yourself, where is my beautiful wife?
Just rewards for ole Chollie!
While an ASCAP or similar license should allow for candidates to come out to music at an in person venue... the former AG for Florida should know that you can’t just build an attack ad around the property of a songwriter with a copyright.
I hope Charlie gets to pay dearly.
I’ve been asking myself that question for about 10 years now, lol....
Crocodile tears are flowing from me with wanton abandon ;-)
What’s the name of the track that has ‘here we go again’ ‘who knows what she’s thinking’ and ‘who knows what I’m thinking’?
Has a great horn section.
I knew someone who had helped run clubs in the punk/New Wave scene in ‘70’s NYC.
He insisted that all of those bands put on heavy schtick with their gimmicks ... EXCEPT for the Talking Heads, who actually took themselves seriously.
Of course, that same fellow was sure that Debbie Harry wasn’t going to see her 35th birthday due to her heavy drug and alcohol abuse, and she pulled through.
...Well,,, ya got half of it right, the right half, love their music. The fact that “Bynes”,,, try Byrne’s politics may be radical liberal socialist commie pinko drivel, try to separate the issues. Find some common ground, like music, and then DEBATE THE FOOKIN DIFFERENCES!!!
“David Byrne Sues Florida Gov. Charlie Crist For $1 Million”
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More Suits about Buildings and Food.
In Crist’s case, it should be, ‘And you may ask yourself, my God, how did I get here?’
Possibly the worst dancer in the history of RNR!!
Good writer and performer, though.
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