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Monday, May 24, 2010 9:15 PM UTC

David Byrne sues Charlie Crist

The legendary songwriter didn't give the Florida governor permission to use "Road to Nowhere" in an attack ad

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Topics: War Room, 2010 Elections, Charlie Crist,

David Byrne sues Charlie Crist

Florida Governor and independent Senate candidate Charlie Crist has had better days. First, he failed to secure an endorsement from the AFL-CIO. Then, David Byrne sued him for a million dollars for using the Talking Heads song “Road to Nowhere” in a campaign ad against Marco Rubio. (On the plus side, Crist is ahead in all the polls, with Democratic support.)

Byrne’s attorney is the same guy who represented sadsack singer-songwriter Jackson Browne in his successful suit against John McCain and the RNC for their use of “Running on Empty.”

If these songwriters don’t want Republicans and former Republicans misappropriating their music, they shouldn’t have written songs with titles that sound vaguely like political attacks. I bet this has never happened to, say, Lemmy.

Alex Pareene

Alex Pareene writes about politics for Salon and is the author of "The Rude Guide to Mitt." Email him at apareene@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @pareene More Alex Pareene.

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  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

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