The Beastie Boys have licensed one of their tracks for the first time ever and it’s against Donald Trump. The band’s 1994 hit ‘Sabotage’ soundtracked a commercial televised during the NFL game on Saturday, October 17th, in support of the Joe Biden campaign.
The commercial delved into the impact that coronavirus has had on live music venues, highlighting the crippling effect that Trump’s bungled coronavirus response has had on the performance industry.
It focused on the Blind Pig — an iconic venue in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that has been a live-music stalwart in the community for 50 years. The Blind Pig was forced to close its doors this year amid the pandemic. The video features an interview with co-owner, Joe Malcoun.
“For 50 years, the Blind Pig has been open and crowded, but right now, it’s an empty room,” Malcoun explains. “This is the reality of Trump’s Covid response. We don’t know how much longer we can survive without any revenue. A lot of restaurants and bars that have been mainstays for years will not make it through this.”
“This is Donald Trump’s economy,” he continues. “There is no plan and you don’t know how to go forward.”
Check out The Beastie Boys soundtracking Joe Biden for President 2020:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW86jyTsYe4&feature=emb_title
The live music industry has been decimated amid the coronavirus pandemic. Over the weekend, #SOSfest took place, a virtual festival dedicated to raising essential funds for independent music venues that risk closure as a result of the pandemic.
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#SOSfest saw 35 of the most esteemed artists in the music industry band together to deliver performances across 25 venues.
Foo Fighters took to the Troubadour stage on Saturday to make their way through a half-hour set that saw them play a bunch of fan-favourite tracks. Whilst Miley Cyrus graced the stage of Whisky a Go Go to deliver covers of The Cure’s ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ and The Cranberries’ ‘Zombie.’
