Foo Fighters Slam McCain For Using "My Hero"

Add Foo Fighters to the ever-growing list of artists angry that their music has been used by John McCain and his Straight Talk Express on the campaign trail. The Foos heard that McCain was using the band's The Colour and the Shape hit "My Hero" at rallies without ever seeking the permission from the band, their management, their record label or their publishers. "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 saddest thing about this is that 'My Hero' was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential," the Foo Fighters said in a statement. "To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song. We hope that the McCain campaign will do the right thing and stop using our song — and start asking artists' permission in general!" John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne, Heart, Boston and Eddie Van Halen have previously all spoken out against the GOP ticket for using their music without permission — not surprising, considering they all support Barack Obama.

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Song Stories

“Let My Love Open the Door”

Pete Townshend | 1980

A peppy, hopeful love song, "Let My Love Open the Door" became a U. S. Top Ten hit for Pete Townshend in 1980, anchored by the kind of repeating synthesizer figures that he'd used in some of the Who's recordings in the previous decade. Although Townshend brushed the song off as "just a ditty" in Rolling Stone shortly after its release, in 1996 he revealed it was about love of the holiest sort. "It's supposed to be about the power of God's love," he remarked. "That when you're in difficulty, whether it's major or minor, God's love is always there for you."

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