Foo Fighters Tell McCain to Leave “My Hero” Alone

Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl isn’t known for writing political songs, but he hasn’t been shy about publicly supporting presidential candidates in the past, loudly stumping for Democratic nominee John Kerry in 2004. (The Foo Fighters’ subsequent album, In Your Honor, was partly inspired by Grohl’s experience of performing at rallies for the man.)

That’s why it should surprise no one that Foo Fighters haven’t taken too kindly to the news that current Republican nominee John McCain has been using “My Hero” on the campaign trail. In an understandably peeved statement, the band said, “The saddest thing about this is that 'My Hero' was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential. 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!”

As the statement suggests, Foo Fighters haven’t been the only artists to be annoyed with McCain’s “borrowing” of a song. Van Halen already asked him to stop using “Right Now,” Heart got ticked when the Republicans used “Barracuda,” Jackson Brown sued McCain for misappropriating “Running on Empty,” and John Mellencamp complained when the presidential candidate played “Our Country” and “Pink Houses” at rallies. So while it’s amazingly frustrating for Grohl and the guys, at least they’re in some decent company.

Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.