Warning to Politicians: Don't Steal the Rock 'n'' Roll

Or you might end up having to make an apology like this one.

Ever since the day when both Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale were trying to ride on Bruce Springsteen's coattails, candidates have been using rock 'n' roll to try to carry their messages. Sometimes it backfires, as it did when former Talking Head David Byrne sued ex-Florida Gov. Charlie Crist for using his song "Road to Nowhere" in his doomed Senate campaign last year.

Wow, Tom Petty could mop up if he sued every politician who played "I Won't Back Down" at a political rally. (Are you listening Bill Richardson and Tom Udall?)

Actually, I liked it better when politicians still considered rock 'n' roll to be evil.

This video by Crist wasn't done out of the kindness of his heart. It's part of a settlement of a law suit by Byrne.



Here's the song. (Confession, I don't know whether it's authorized. But nobody's yanked it off YouTube yet.)