"Too many people are trying to tear us apart, and we need to find new ways to come together. We’re all Americans, and we’re all patriotic. There is no ‘us and them’ — that’s not who we are, nor is it what we should be. It’s all of us. We’re in this together, and it is my hope that we can embrace music as a way of celebrating and uniting each and every one of us."
Said Kenny Loggins, quoted in "Kenny Loggins Slams Donald Trump for Using ‘Danger Zone’ in AI Video Bombing No Kings Protesters With Poop: 'I Request That My Recording Is Removed Immediately'" (Variety).
I agree with Kenny, but I don't like Variety's phrasing of the headline. I believe all Trump did was share the video. I didn't like that, though I know I approved of Trump sharing the video that used Aerosmith's "Dream On." That was a matter of taste. I just don't like confusing sharing with creating. Whoever made that shit video used "Danger Zone." Trump didn't use the song. He shared it.
***
I'm not trying to make any point about copyright law. I'm only talking about accuracy in headline writing. Also, I know I might seem hypocritical, because I'm using an inaccurate tag for Loggins, but I hold the line on tag proliferation and this one is close enough. The same point applies in the previous post, so don't come after me over the pardon/commutation distinction!
Posts
81 comments:
I think Mr. Loggins needs to check his priors. The people who are "trying to tear us apart" are the ones claiming the legitimately elected President exercising his Constitutional authority and obeying numerous Court rulings is a "King". The person who used his song in the video is simply pointing out how absurd an idea that is.
This is a 1986 song from the Top Gun soundtrack. It's no shocker that a 100% commercial song from a patriotic Hollywood film would later be used for memes. Loggins likely seeks distance from Trump to preserve his non-MAGA audience.
Where is Michael Jackson's Blood on the Dance Floor? That one will keep us united.
"We’re all Americans, and we’re all patriotic."
The first part is true, the second is not. Despite the recent proliferation of American Flags at the No Kings Rallies, American Flags have consistently been conspicuously absent from Left Wing protests and rallies for years, unless they were being burned.
"Loggins likely seeks distance from Trump to preserve his non-MAGA audience."
True. I think Theo Von recently put out a similar statement when a clip of his was used in a clip that seemed to support ICE raids. If we can get to a point where celebrities err on the side of being non-political it would be a dramatic improvement for our society.
Adhesion to The Great Narrative requires Loggins blame Trump personally, for all BadThings are the fault of Orange Man Bad in the braindead parts of the country like Hollyweird and Academentia of which the dying vine of PopMusic is a subset especially rife with adamant and ignorant NPCs.
Trump's AI video of himself shitting on American protestors was a creative way to draw attention to the importance of digestive health.
There were two American flags in that shit-dumping video. What if the primary targets were the flags, and the protests were just collateral damage?
Or he could keep his stupid face shut and enjoy his damned royalties. His statement kind of makes me feel like he's trying to divide America while bitching about Trump who is trying to unify it for our big birthday party next year.
If Trump hadn't shared, nobody would have seen it. Trump in that way "created" the viral video... get it?
It's like when you publicize here lesser writers who "make me think". You then promote the Ta-Nehisi Coates, Megan McCardle and Ezra Kleins of the world. You don't "make them" as they have circulation numbers behind them. You just boost their careers by exposing them to the conservative undereducated old white male demographic you (but mostly meade) has cultivated here over the years. You drove out the thinkers and the liberals, and serve up red meat to your fellas here who chomp it up (and sometimes you!) and swallow it down, fart and fall asleep, confident that you'll have similar nourishment awaiting them the next day...
Choose wisely what you put in your mind as well as your body. Some of you simply learn to late to give up the sugar and treats and eat healthy because tomorrow is coming, and what you're consuming today likely will affect your survival in the future (unless you live in an artificially "safe" place like Madison, where the real world rarely intrudes so it's all SillyWorld all the time...)
If we can get to a point where celebrities err on the side of being non-political it would be a dramatic improvement for our society.
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Shut up, stop thinking and march in lockstep?
That's not the American way. Never has been, never will be...
But yeah sure, FREE DIDDY HE DA MAN and whatever else nonsense the prof puts in your head today... Go Team America. Think is, you're all too old to take the field anymore and the younger players want YOU off the team... lol.
Enjoy the fall of your golden years. I guess this is as good as it gets for most of you... Carry on, annie. Feed em good.
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...
Or he could keep his stupid face shut and enjoy his damned royalties. His statement kind of makes me feel like he's trying to divide America while bitching about Trump who is trying to unify it for our big birthday party next year.
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Why don't YOU write him a song? How bout all annie's blog commenters come together and do the work? You don't steal somebody else's creative work just cuz you old boomers hate freedom and personal ownership. "It all belongs to us". lol hardly.
Trump didn't use the song. He shared it.
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That's the same defense strategy to use when your kid od's and you want his dealer punished. A dealer smart enough to just share and not use himself...
Kenny Loggins got rich based on licensing fees for his music. Assuming arguendo that the creator of that video paid the licensing fee, Kenny should STFU.
I am so, so tired of celebs virtue signaling and hating on Trump. By any objective measure and using cruel neutrality, Trump has done a great job. The division is because the Left is lawless and consumed with TDS. Who in their right mind supports Hamas? Or criminals? Or attacks on federal agents enforcing federal law. This is all Confederate stuff the Dems are doing again.
The video is funny.
It is very easy using AI tools to recreate that song with enough subtle changes that it is not the copyrighted work any longer. Artists that insist on controlling their work after it has entered the greater pop culture will simply be powerless to stop the AI "twin" songs. Already up to half the "tunes" on Spotify are actually AI-generated "music" meant to get clicks*, the same perverse incentive that has driven internet sites and ads since forever.
*Then there are the bots set up to continually "stream" those same AI songs in order to boost the numbers for the copyright holder. Spotify is just payolla reengineered for the 21st Century. All music streaming is a blight on the creative process.
How many years did Limbaugh use My City Was Gone by the Pretenders? At some point he paid the licensing fees after using the song for many years IIRC.
Too many people are trying to tear us apart, and we need to find new ways to come together.
Stated while in the act of being divisive.
RC, close. Rush paid the licensing fee up front and that’s why Ms. Hynde was never able to disallow the use. Few artists actually retain control over their work once they are signed to a label.
Mr. Loggins and other celebrities who loudly complain about republicans using their music should check their licensing agreements. They lost the ability to object to who uses it when they take the royalty check. It is kind of like Ford asking you not to drive to a Trump rally after you buy a car from them.
"Assuming arguendo that the creator of that video paid the licensing fee, Kenny should STFU."
That's a big assumption you are making without evidence. AI companies do not have a track record for requiring royalty payments (nor does Truth Social).
They lost the ability to object to who uses it when they take the royalty check. It is kind of like Ford asking you not to drive to a Trump rally after you buy a car from them
Mostly true yes. The whining is clever though as they get a little political message for their side and a little bump in royalties from the publicity for them…unless they’re as or more stupid than Neil Young al pull your stuff from Spotify. unfortunately artists tend to be artists because they’re poor learners…
…’we need to come together’ is code for ‘we lost bigly but really really need to implement the left’s agenda’. The left doesn’t need anything from their enemies to have everyone come together, they only need to join. We seem to be removing some of the thumbs from the scale that have kept the left in the game this long and I’m cautiously optimistic for the future. Be a part of it instead of another of the grumpies from this weekend…
Kenny is just jealous because his cousin Dave composed the theme music for The Masters.
The White House response should be an AI video of Trump's head imposed upon the gently-dancing gopher from "Caddyshack".
To the tune of Kenny's "Caddyshack" song "I'm Alright."
Because Trump's dance-moves and that of the gopher are already pretty dang similar.
I notice these things.
I am Laslo.
Trump's team really leans into Alinsky Rule 5, to wit:
Ridicule is man's most potent weapon.
Given the ridiculousness of the opposition, Rule 5 is the correct choice.
As for the "Loggins and Messina" tag, it does suggest a follow-up song for Trump's crap-spewing AI magic, "House at Pooh Corner."
I watched an articulate teacher being interviewed during the No Kings protest. She was thrilled Charlie Kirk was killed. “Hitler is dead” she screamed approvingly.
There is no uniting with these people.
Michele Boldrin makes the case for doing away with intellectual property as counterproductive. (Econtalk 2009)
Because nothing says "We're all in this together" like a No Kings rally.
Kenny’s not alright and I’m worried about him.
An satirical repurposing of the Person of Orange (PoO) label and judgment.
People who wield liberal license to follow progressive principle to entertain abortive ideation to relieve a "burden" should be careful of revisiting Nanking. Highway to the danger zone, indeed.
R C Belaire said...
How many years did Limbaugh use My City Was Gone by the Pretenders? At some point he paid the licensing fees after using the song for many years IIRC.
Chrissie Hynde's father was a big Rush Limbaugh fan. Because of that she licensed her song to Rush so her Dad could hear it every day while he listened to the show.
Rush always paid for the song. There was a moment when the record company denied him renewal and he looked for another theme song but that wasn't Chrissie Hynde's doing, and she said sure sell it to him. My father is a fan.
I disagree with your critique l. Don’t know if understand how sharing is not using. Using is a pretty broad term. The headline doesn’t say he produced it. We don’t know who produced it and whether they have some relationship with WH.
Dave Loggins wrote "Please Come to Boston" and "Pieces of April", both of which are ten times better than anything ever written by that hack Kenny Loggins.
The Vault Dweller said...
"We’re all Americans, and we’re all patriotic."
The first part is true, the second is not.
This is the problem with birthright citizenship. They may have been born here but they believe in censorship, political violence, disarming citizens, and mail in elections with no voter ID.
They are not American.
Just like that, protesting is patriotic again.
Kenny doesn’t seem to understand that it’s the tedious TDS sufferers who seek to divide us, and the people who mock them who seek to bring us together.
I'd like to hear from Messina before I weigh in.
Fuck 'Em If They Can't Take A Joke was an album by
The Dictators
I remember being at a fourth of July celebration at the Santa Barbara City College (Silly College) football stadium back in the early 1980's. Kenny Loggins performed live and the keynote address was given via video recording by the Gipper himself, Dutch Reagan. The crowd cheered both residents of Santa Barbara County. Morning in America, the City on the Hill.
Never been a fan of Loggins. All his best work was with Jim Messina, who went to my high school (CJUSD High School, Colton, CA). Fun fact: so did Jimmy Webb about the same time.
If Trump really wants to get under Kenny Loggins skin, he should co-opt Danny's Song
True Fact 👆. Just yesterday on the way to work, Danger Zone came on the radio station and I immediately changed to something infinitely better, which turned out to be Enya's Orinoco Flow 🤪
When Democrats are in the majority America IS in the danger zone. Trump's imagery is dead-on.
Kenny Loggins risks invoking the Streisand Effect. I'd be inclined to cut him some slack though, he's always come across as a moderately soft, peaceful dude that just wants things to stay cool and without conflict.
"we need to find new ways to come together" You mean, like lefties madly protesting against "kings," rioters attacking ICE, and Dems blocking legislation the Senate?
"We’re all Americans, and we’re all patriotic." The 1619 Turtle Island Amerikkka MAGA=fascist crowd is "patriotic"?
Bill Clinton used Fleetwood Mac's music:
"With all the band's internal drama, Fleetwood Mac weren't performing together during Clinton's 1992 campaign. But somehow Clinton managed to pull off a rock 'n' roll miracle for his inauguration. At the first ball to celebrate Clinton's inauguration, the band were on hand to perform the president's campaign theme song ["Don't Stop"] in person, according to the Clinton Digital Library."
https://www.grunge.com/1122397/how-fleetwood-macs-dont-stop-became-bill-clintons-1992-campaign-song
Did Kenny have anything to say about that back then? I'm guessing no.
Trump is also satirized in the video -- in a way at least. One can look at the video as aggressive and divisive if one wants to or has to, but much of the country unites in laughing at it or at least ignoring it
I didn't necessarily read Loggins' comment as anti-Trump.
as ‘artists’ it never occurs to them that being a sour twat could contradict the meaning and message of your work…
At the first ball to celebrate Clinton's inauguration, the band were on hand to perform the president's campaign theme song ["Don't Stop"] in person, according to the Clinton Digital Library."Did Kenny have anything to say about that back then? I'm guessing no.
Loggins would probably say the inauguration is an attempt to unite the country after a contentious election. It wasn't a dump on the losing side by the other.
Limbaugh would pay the royalties, and Hynde would donate them to PETA.
Why should anyone be able to "Own" a song they made 40 years ago. The whole purpose of the copyright law was to encourage the sciences and the arts by giving artists a monopoly for a limited time. I think 25 years is more than enough time to "encourage" a songwriter.
Of course none of that matters because the Corporations have bribed the scum in congress.
But if we're going to give songwriters "Ownership" over a song for their lifetime plus even more years, they get to do what they want with it. Does Loggins really believe its "Unpatriotic" or is he just a leftist using patriotism because he doesn't like Trump?
The only reason for Loggins to make any comment at all, and especially one playing the "protest is patriotic" civility bullshit card, is to disassociate himself from the subject of the video. In a sane country it would be implicitly understood that previously recorded background music does not implicate the artist in the subject matter being presented. However, because of statements like the ones Loggins and many other artists have made, people now immediately assume tacit approval. They should have kept their mouths shut.
Did Kenny have anything to say about that back then? I'm guessing no.
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Yeah, Kenny Loggins wasn't in Fleetwood Mac.
You guys want to be in everybody's business when this is a simply property rights thing. He owns it. You want to use/share it? Pay the man. (you don't want to share your land and let me squat on it, or take your car for a ride, do you? Respect the man's possessions. The song is his.)
They should have kept their mouths shut.
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or else what? You're going to send out the National Guard to shut him up? What kind of commie country do you live in??
Even though they ain’t too funny
They only in it for teh money
kak - Trump did not make the video - he shared it.
Lying Liars deserve shit.
We drop shit on lying liar(D) heads w/ fake AI video.
Leftists use real bullets.
kak is wack, a hack and he’s dumber than a sack…
of hammers.
All Loggins can do is sue for royalties and he needs to prove that money was made on the video by whomever he sues.
Why is the video funny to Trump supporters? Because the Trump is dumping on the people who affect to be our superiors.
Why can't the Trump haters laugh at it?
Because they truly believe they're our superiors
If Kenny Loggins truly felt that we need to find ways to come together, he should have admitted he’s not a Trump fan but recognizes and chuckles at the apt use of his music in that video. He could lead by example.
When you've lost Kenny Loggins, you've lost..um..er...
Top Gun Trump thought Kenny Loggins would say "I'm alright" having "Danger Zone" playing in a video where he turns a peaceful protest into Pooh Corner. That's what a fool believes, Donald. Kenny may have a footloose, but he doesn't have a screw loose.
Ooh-we, Marie.
Woah, Milo.
Loggins is cutting Trump footloose?
Please, Louise.
I've no quarrel with the video, but it could be improved. I'm sure I speak for many here when I point out that John Lennon's Imagine would be a more effective song in such a context. Have little pink dandelions sprout out from the manured masses. It would be a powerful symbol of peace and unity.
"I agree with Kenny ...".
I don't we are "in this together" the way two scorpions in a bottle are "in this together".
I wonder who lit the fire that ended up with Loggins' statement. Like E. F. Hutton with financial advice, when the Dems make threats people listen.
Danger Zone must by now be available under fair use exceptions to copyright law, after the Top Gun movie and parodies such as in Family Guy and Archer repopularized the song so thoroughly. Loggins has asked. That request, I supect, can legally be ignored unless money is being made directly off the use of the song and royalties are due.
Kak: "That's what a fool believes, Donald."
Everyone, regardless of ideology, must watch the Yacht Rock web series right f'in now!! You will not be disappointed. CC, JSM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNTARSM-Fjc&list=PLBEB75B6A1F9C1D01
Loggins didn't write the music or the lyrics. He merely performed the music composed by Giorgio Moroder and lyrics written by Tom Whitlock. I don't see that he has any ownership over the song, except the use of his voice.
"Loggins would probably say the inauguration is an attempt to unite the country after a contentious election. It wasn't a dump on the losing side by the other."
One might also say that Trump's efforts to eliminate crime in DC is an attempt to unite the country after a contentious election. I mean- it's not like it helps Republicans all that much.
Lots of people don't seem to see it that way, though.
There is no ‘us and them’ — that’s not who we are, nor is it what we should be.
Tell that to the people who celebrated Charlie Kirk's murder.
And then GFY.
The unification window closed when they tried to lawfare him, and then assassinate him.
We aren't in Oz any longer Dorothy. We sure aren't in Kansas either. Some people continue to cling to some notion that were "all one", pffft. Half the country voted for a total incompetent, twice. First Biden, then the choice of the Oligarchs, Harris.
I know Trump is rough around the edges, posts dumb AI memes, says stupid things, has a language all his own; but he has one common theme, he puts Americans first. Period. END OF STORY.
"but he has one common theme, he puts Americans first."
That won't please the people who voted for Biden and Harris- they think America sucks.
There certainly is an ‘us and them’ and "they" can jump off a cliff for all I care.
Shittin' In was one of my favorite albums.
mikee,
"Danger Zone must *by now* be available under fair use exceptions to copyright law," [emphasis added]
Since when is there a time-based aspect of fair use?
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