#TuesdayTop10: Artists You Will NOT Hear at the Republican National Convention

republican national convention, RNC, rage against the machineThe Republican National Convention is ready to get into full swing tonight with big speeches from New Jersey governor Chris Christie and first lady hopeful, Anne Romney. While it has been widely reported who is going to be there, I could not find a single list of people who would definitely not be there. I decided to compile such a list. Welcome to the ten people you are sure NOT to see in Tampa this week.

10. LMFAO
Back in February, you might remember Mitt Romney was involved in an altercation on a flight. Romney got said passenger kicked off the plane. Said passenger was SkyBlu from LMFAO who insisted that Mitt Romney got physical first. I am not taking sides in this one; I am just fairly sure that SkyBlu will not be invited to Tampa this week.
MP3: LMFAO “Party Rock Anthem”

graham nash, crosby stills and nash, crosby stills nash and young09. Graham Nash
Crosby, Stills and Nash member, Graham Nash has often talked about his role as a political singer/songwriter. In an interview with the AP, he lashed about Mitt Romney’s take on the massacre at the Colorado movie theater saying “And what was it Mitt Romney said? We don’t need to change the gun laws because of Colorado, wow. If those were any of his kids it would be in the Constitution by now.”
MP3: Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young “Deja Vu”

meatmen, tesco vee08. The Meatmen
I do not think there was much chance of hearing the Meatmen at the Republican National Convention regardless if Tesco Vee spoke out against Mitt Romney or not, but the frontman’s vocal criticism of Romney put him on the campaign’s definite no-no list. Vee called Romney a “vacuous Howdy Doody neocon puppet” and “the personification of what is wrong with Washington” in an interview with Vice.com
MP3: The Meatmen “Morrisey Must Die”

07. Ry Cooder
In an interview with British paper The Guardian, legendary guitarist Ry Cooder had some incendiary comments about Mitt Romney. Cooder called Romney “as bad as anyone can be,” adding “he’s a dangerous man. He’s a cruel man.”

bruce springsteen06. Bruce Springsteen
There is no love lost between Bruce Springsteen and the republican party. The Boss has been a called a “Limousine Liberal” by his ardent fan and Keynote speaker of the RNC, New Jersey governor Chris Christie. Although Springsteen has never mentioned the Governor by name, he has criticized the Governor’s actions like state budget cuts that, as he put it, “are eating away at the lower edges of the middle class, not just those already classified as in poverty, and are likely to continue to get worse over the next few years.”
MP3: Bruce Springsteen “We Shall Overcome”

tom morello, rage against the machine05. Rage Against the Machine
After Paul Ryan listed Rage Against the Machine as one of his favorite bands on his Facebook page, guitarist Tom Morello ripped into Ryan calling him “embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades.”
MP3: Rage Against the Machine “Bulls on Parade”

04. Devo
Mark Mothersbaugh has never been known as a protest songwriter but that all changed with this year’s “Don’t Roof Rack Me Bro.” Using his quirky style, Devo penned a tongue-in-cheek protest using the plight of Mitt Romney’s dog Shamus as inspiration.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/54760832″ iframe=”true” /]

knaan, wavin flag03. K’Naan
K’Naan’s “Wavin’ Flag” was Coca-Cola’s anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It was, also, used on Romney’s campaign trail until K’Naan threatened legal action. Just to add insult to injury, K’Naan made it clearly that he would gladly let President Obama use the song.
MP3: K’Naan “Wavin’ Flag”

silversun pickups, panic switch02. Silversun Pickups
Silversun Pickups had to issue Mitt Romney a warning after using “Panic Switch” at campaign events. Band representative, Ken Weinstein said in a statement: “seems as if the GOP is once again whimsically ignoring our great nation’s laws to do whatever it wants to do, and shooting itself in the foot in the process.”
MP3: Silversun Pickups “Panic Switch (Live Acoustic)”

twisted sister, were not gonna take it, dee snider01. Twisted Sister
Since Paul Ryan could not find a Rage Against the Machine song that properly summarized his white guy rage without profanity he turned to 80s hair rockers, Twisted Sister‘s classic “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” Unfortunately, Sister mouthpiece Dee Snider was not gonna take that. He issued a statement saying “I emphatically denounce Paul Ryan’s use of my song ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ as recorded by my band Twisted Sister. There is almost nothing on which I agree with Paul Ryan, except perhaps the use of the P90X.” Burned by a guy who just released an album of Broadway covers…oof that’s gotta hurt.
MP3: Twisted Sister “We’re Not Gonna Take It”

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