Of Thieves and Pimps
Every election cycle now brings a slew of outraged rock stars and/or fans who just can’t stomach the idea of precious songs being used on the campaign trail generally, by some Republican candidate who doesn’t represent their values and therefore, the values of the various artistic statements.
This uproar goes on regardless of standard blanket licensing practices and despite the fact that the very same sacred songs are used to pimp all nature of slimy products and mega-corporations.
This morning I was looking through my blog reader and one I look at often, Dangerous Minds, was defending the honor of Phil Lynott because, last night Paul Ryan walked on to a few bars of “The Boys Are Back In Town”. The author of the post, Marc Campbell, didn’t stop at just insulting the “desperately unhip Ryan” and Republicans. He took some shots at the guitar player…
By the way, I’m pretty sure the RNC version of the “The Boys Are Back In town” was performed by the wretched G.E. Smith Band, who are serving as the Republican’s house band this year. You may remember Smith as the leering, neanderthal-like guitarist who had a gig on Saturday Night Live for a few years and was a sideman in Bob Dylan’s band for awhile. Lately, when he’s not electrifying crowds of mouthbreathing conventioneers, he gigs with the utterly irrelevant Hot Tuna on the jamband circuit.
You know what’s irrelevant? Calling musicians irrelevant, that’s what.
G.E. Smith is a working guitarist, that’s all. I’ve always liked his playing but, that’s beside the point. Belaboring a nonsensical issue like walk-on tunes is fine I guess…but, I suppose what got me going is that this kind of stuff just demonstrates the diversionary partisanship that people continue to latch on to as we circle the drain.
Take it away G.E. Sing that dead man’s song…
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