“We’re not gonna take it”, the 80s anthem by US heavy metal band Twisted Sister, has endured an interesting second life in recent years.
It’s currently a rallying cry for Ukrainians resisting Russia’s invasion of the nation and the band’s lead signer, Dee Snider, is with them all the way – while also taking a swipe and anti-maskers who tried to co-opt the song to their cause.
People are asking me why I endorsed the use of "We're Not Gonna Take It" for the Ukrainian people and did not for the anti-maskers. Well, one use is for a righteous battle against oppression; the other is a infantile feet stomping against an inconvenience.
— Dee Snider🇺🇸🎤 (@deesnider) February 27, 2022
Of course last year it became a nice littler earner for Snider when billionaire wannabe political powerbroker Clive Palmer lost a copyright case over lifting the melody without permission for his 2019 United Australia Party campaign. Setting the song to “we aint gonna cop it” in political ads for TV – Palmer’s lawyers claimed the inspiration was the Christmas hymn “O Come, All Ye Faithful” – cost the litigious mining $1.5 million in damages, plus legal costs.
Palmer had refused to pay the $150,00 fee the band asked for to use it.
HALLELUJAH!! Just found out that the copyright infringement of "We're Not Gonna Take It" by "politician" Clive Palmer in Australia has been decided MAJORLY in favor of myself as writer and @UMG as publishers! WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT ANY MORE!!
— Dee Snider🇺🇸🎤 (@deesnider) April 30, 2021
Snider called the Palmer version “awful”.
Now the song has been enlisted by former Facebook director Randi Zuckerberg (she has a brother called Mark), for a parody song spruiking the glories of cryptocurrency.
She’s a self-proclaimed “passionate supporter of women in tech and finance, big collector of women-led NFTs” as well as the founder of @thehugxyz a Web3 creator platform & growth incubator.
Ms Zuck’s called her version “We’re All Gonna Make It”, is a riff on the crypto acronym WAGMI.
A decade ago, I sang this song on Broadway. Today I sing this song, surrounded by new friends, as a rallying cry for the women of web3. Together, we can accomplish anything. And have fun doing it! #WAGMI
PS Look for some fun cameos!
PPS Sorry for *language* at the end 🤣 pic.twitter.com/W9pYZmxwXz— Randi Zuckerberg 🤗 (@randizuckerberg) February 28, 2022
Her lyrics are peppered with crypto terminology in what she calls “a rallying cry for the women of web3”.
Here’s a sample: “It’s just the start so gm/Carpe your crypto diem/ DYOR and pick a coin/BTD Buy the dip it/Our diamond hands won’t flip it/HODL and we’ll all join”.
If you’re not familiar with the terms, there’s a handy guide to crypto slang here. (HODL is a misspelling of hold or “hold on for dear life”).
She explained her reasoning on Twitter, saying: “I’ve been thinking about a fun way to explain crypto jargon to newcomers. All the acronyms/phrases can feel super intimidating at first. Hope this video is a fun 2-min crypto lingo 101 lesson that speaks to the spirit of women in Web3.”
The clip is also dig at crypto bros, and is receiving less than favourable responses on Twitter from both men and women.
Zuckerberg is defiant in the face of the criticism:
A special thanks to all the crypto bros hating on my music video by retweeting and sharing it more broadly. Couldn’t have asked for a better guerilla, I mean gorilla, marketing department! 🤣🤣🤣
— Randi Zuckerberg 🤗 (@randizuckerberg) March 3, 2022
And TBH, it’s a lot more fun, creative and less cringeworthy that the time her brother did this on July 4.
And more recently, this:
And it’s an improvement on last month’s attempt to explain crypto using Adele’s “Hello”.
https://twitter.com/randizuckerberg/status/1494416366710910992
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