Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty ImagesIt's presidential campaign season, and that means it's time for rockers to complain about candidates using their songs.
R.E.M. is the latest act to take offense at a candidate using its music. Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump took the stage at a Tea Party Patriots-organized rally in opposition to the proposed Iran nuclear arms deal on Wednesday to the tune of R.E.M.'s 1987 hit "It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)," immediately drawing fire from the band.
The band issued a statement on Facebook, saying, "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. 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.”
But frontman Michael Stipe offered a more colorful response via R.E.M. bass player Mike Mills' Twitter account. "Go f*** 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," Mills quoted Stipe as saying.
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