President Trump has ruined a lot of things over the last decade and there will be plenty more to come, pissing off a lot of musicians by appropriating their songs in White House propaganda ads, videos, and rallies without permission, including many who stand in firm, disgusted opposition to everything he stands for. But this one is a surprise.
The White House's social media accounts posted a 15-second video set to "Deep Time," an atmospheric instrumental from Inferno, the first Boards of Canada album in 13 years, which comes out tomorrow. BoC have always made futuristic, dystopian music, but being set to imagery of American flags, ICE detention centers, and border patrols without consent has made even the Scottish duo nauseous themselves. It's extra bizarre that the clip faithfully adopts the duo's aesthetic, with fuzzy VHS-style filtering. Would be a masterful troll if it wasn't literally the most powerful government on earth trying to misuse beloved music for authoritarian purposes.
Sanely, the group's label, Warp, made a statement denouncing the clip: “Warp Records and Boards of Canada do not condone the unauthorised use of their music for political messaging.” Here's hoping they take big legal steps because fuck that shit. But the morbidly curious can watch the misbegotten video with the unauthorized song usage below.
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