Michael Stipe, of the band R.E.M., which split up in 2011. Photo: Britta Pedersen/dpa-Zentralbild/ZB
By Jay Croft, CNN | President Donald Trump’s long list of Twitter foes has a new addition.
Alternative rockers R.E.M. are not happy that Trump retweeted a snarky video clip from his State of the Union address that features the band’s early ’90s song “Everybody Hurts.” The earnest ballad plays over clips of Democrats looking none too pleased with the speech.
The video was created by pro-Trump memester Carpe Donktum and has become the latest in a long line of disputes between politicians and rock stars.
R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills blasted Carpe Donktum and Trump, calling them both a name we can’t use here. “Measures have been taken to stop it. @jack you need to get on this,” he tweeted, calling out Twitter honcho Jack Dorsey.
The clip was removed from the President’s account but can still be found elsewhere.
The band tweeted a more family-friendly response: “World Leader PRETEND!!! Congress, Media – ghost this faker!!! Love, R.E.M.”
The group’s song “World Leader Pretend” included the lyrics, “I raised the wall and I will be the one to knock it down.”
The Athens, Georgia-based foursome was one of the country’s top rock bands through the 1980s and ’90s. Other hits include “Losing My Religion,” “Stand” and “Orange Crush.” R.E.M. broke up in 2011.
The latest in a string of clashes over songs:
In 2015, lead singer Michael Stipe blasted Trump for playing another R.E.M. tune on the campaign trail, “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine).”
“Go f*ck yourselves, the lot of you — you sad, attention-grabbing, power-hungry little men,” Stipe said in an email to The Daily Beast. “Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign.”
On Facebook, the band was more polite.
“While we do not authorize or condone the use of our music at this political event, and do ask that these candidates cease and desist from doing so, let us remember that there are things of greater importance at stake here,” R.E.M. said.
“The media and the American voter should focus on the bigger picture, and not allow grandstanding politicians to distract us from the pressing issues of the day and of the current Presidential campaign.”
Other rock ‘n’ roll dust-ups include:
• Trump angered Canadian Neil Young for using his “Rockin’ in the Free World” in 2015.
• The same year, one of the writers of Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” said he was “gobsmacked” when Kentucky clerk Kim Davis used the anthem in her crusade against same-sex marriage.
• As far back as the 1980s, Bruce Springsteen criticized President Ronald Reagan using his anti-war “Born in the U.S.A.” to stir up patriotism on the re-election trail.
CNN’s Holly Yan contributed to this report.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/16/politics/rem-trump-everybody-hurts-video/index.html
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R.E.M. get Trump’s “Everybody Hurts” video pulled from Twitter
R.E.M. have seemingly done the impossible — they silenced Donald Trump’s Twitter feed.
Yesterday, shortly after declaring a national emergency over a non-existent crisis on the southern border and shortly before he jetted off to Mar-A-Lago for a weekend’s worth of golfing, Trump tweeted a video trolling his political opponents.
The video featured excerpts from Trump’s recent State of the Union speech interspersed with clips of Democratic politicians including Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Bernie Sanders looking despondent. It was all soundtracked by R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts”.
The members of R.E.M. responded in kind. “World Leader PRETEND!!! Congress, Media–ghost this faker!!! Love, R.E.M.” tweeted the band’s official account. Added bassist Mike Mills, “So the meme’s fair use. I LOVE the 1st Amendment! Meme away, folks. But that takes nothing away from what a fraudulent con man @realDonaldTrump is. #WorldLeaderPretend.”
Ultimately, R.E.M. got the last laugh, as they were successful in taking down Trump’s video. Through their publisher, the band filed a copyright infringement notice, according to CNBC, and Twitter adhered to their request.
“Winning?” tweeted Mills in response to a screen capture of the video’s removal.
This is not the first time Trump has used R.E.M.’s music without their permission. Shortly after Trump announced his candidacy in 2015, the band issued a legal warning to stop using their song “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”.
“Go fuck yourselves, the lot of you — you sad, attention-grabbing, power-hungry little men. Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign,” tweeted the band’s frontman, Michael Stipe, at the time.