Update: 1/26/2015 Dropkick Murphys have now released a statement:
“The bottom line is: when a politician uses our music to walk out to, for better or worse, it brands us with that person. If one our favorite teams’ rivals, such as the Montreal Canadiens, used a Dropkick Murphys song when they took the ice, we’d be equally displeased.”
“We feel that we have the right to ask to not be associated with certain events or people – we don’t think that’s too much to ask. This isn’t a legal issue to us—we’re not looking to sue someone. Yes, our words were a little harsh, but it was borne out of frustration with past history of Wisconsin Republicans, such as Jeff Fitzgerald, using our music.” “The band has stood for and aligned itself with certain principles since its inception in 1996, so people who react as though we’re jumping on some sort of political bandwagon simply don’t know the history of the band.” “We are what we are, we believe what we believe—and for the most part, try to leave our politics to our lyrics. ”
OK, that’s that. Time to start shoveling!
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Dropkick Murphys took to Twitter to tell the governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, to stop using their music. What’s even more ironic, is the Murphys dedicated their song “Take em Down,” from their 2011 album, “Going Out In style,” to the Wisconsin protesters that were protesting the right to collective bargaining against a very anti-union Walker.
@ScottWalker @GovWalker please stop using our music in any way…we literally hate you !!!
Love, Dropkick Murphys
— Dropkick Murphys (@DropkickMurphys) January 25, 2015
As similar incident happened in 2012, when Senate candidate Jeff Fitzgerald used “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” as his intro music for a Republican convention. The Murphys posted a message on Facebook stating that Fitzgerald had unauthorized use of the song, and that their music went completely against his political ideologies.