Wednesday, July 20, 2016

RNC House Band Plays Bowie's 'Station to Station'

Of course, even the music played at the Republican National Convention is coming under criticism.

Using music without the artist’s permission has been such a hallmark of the 2016 campaign season that it would have been surprising if the Republican National Convention hadn’t added a couple more items to the list.

True to form, however, the first night of the RNC featured a number of odd and/or unauthorized soundtrack selections. As many outlets have reported (and as you can watch above), Republican nominee Donald Trump took the stage to the strains of Queen‘s “We Are the Champions” — despite guitarist Brian May‘s earlier insistence that the surviving band members didn’t approve the use of their song.

Social media jumped all over Trump’s “Champions” moment, with many users pointing out that the Republican platform, Trump’s immigration stance and the political record of Trump’s VP pick, Indiana governor Mike Pence, aren’t exactly in step with Queen’s background or overall message. (Even Sting wasn’t pleased; TMZ has footage of him saying late singer Freddie Mercury would not approve.)

Still, that might not have been the oddest musical performance of the day.

Yahoo! Music also notes that the house band played David Bowie‘s “Station to Station,” which — as the report points out — includes the line “It’s not the side effects of the cocaine / I’m thinking that it must be love.”
Artists objecting to their songs being played at Republican events - so what else is new?

"Station to Station" is an odd choice, but it would be weird at the Democrats' convention, too. At least I hope it would be considered a bad idea. Would Grandma Hillary approve?

Here's video of the band performing "Station to Station":


All this stuff is so silly. Really, who cares?

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