Instead of having Romney desist from using “Panic Switch”, Silversun Pickups should grant permission in exchange for Romney releasing the tax returns that, according to Columbia professor Michael Graetz in the New York Times, probably show that he undervalued an asset to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, which would be equivalent of earning the tax payers and costing the rich guy a few million.

Even better would be if they said “Romney you can use our song but you have to pay 1 percent of the value of that undervalued asset to the boyfriend of our lead singer’s wife’s step-mom’s sister” (that would be me, Mark Weiss of Earthwise Productions of Palo Alto).

My understanding is the band is actually managed by Q Prime.

edit to ad: Rumor has it that the Romney campaign is now negotiating with Boots Riley to produce a special edit of his song “Five Million Ways to Kill a CEO”.

edit to add, Saturday: Robert Levine at Bloomsberg online had a more-thorough discussion on this, and how it’s a little over-reactionary, although he is still a little weak on songwriter vs. publisher, license vs. performing rights societies; I am a little weak on it. The bottom line is the artists, performers, songwriters and publishers feel some ownership of the work and, even as snippets, don’t want to be associated and will raise a fuss. Meanwhile, Black Keys claim that a pizza chain is stealing their riffs and imitating them, I also read today. And I bugged Ian MacKaye perhaps gratuitously because I like bugging him, texting him warning that a chainsaw add seemed to be stealing or copying “furniture” by Fugazi. Next stop: reviewing the lyrics to Randy Newman, “I Love LA”.