Michael Stipe throws a hissy, gets ass handed back to him by Fox.

I guess with R.E.M. now defunct, Michael Stipe has a lot of time to watch T.V.

So much time in fact, he heard Fox News playing "Losing my Religion," on its morning show Fox & Friends.

Stipe quickly took to the official R.E.M. HQ site to act shocked--SHOCKED that they could dare use his song, and gin up the grass roots movement who are apparently comprised of: people who froth at the mouth whenever they hear the words "Fox" and "News," and overpaid musicians of the 1% like Michael Stipe:

R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" was used in the Fox News coverage of the Democratic National Convention last night. R.E.M. today, through its music publisher, Warner-Tamerlane Music, demanded that Fox News cease and desist from continuing its unlicensed and unauthorized use of the song. Michael Stipe said, "We have little or no respect for their puff adder brand of reportage. Our music does not belong there."

Ah but there's a problem with this self-righteous soap boxing. Namely, Fox had indeed licensed the song. And they weren't afraid to snark right back in Stipe's face:

Atlanta Magazine (a favorite of kidsleepy's when he lived in that great city) printed the response from Fox News reps addressing the cease and desist, which goes like this:

"Fox News Channel's use of an R.E.M. song was in full accordance with its license agreements with all appropriate parties. Nevertheless, we're always flattered to have this much attention for a song selection and we hope R.E.M. was able to satisfy their publicity fix."

It kind of tickles me to picture Michael Stipe, mug of organic hot cocoa in hand, snarling in his Snuggie at the thought of all those right wingers singing along to "Losing My Religion," when it comes on.

But hey, Michael. It's okay. Go on and rile up your base either way. And don't feel too bad: Fox & Friends is, for better or worse, one of the highest watched morning cable programs. So people are still hearing your music.

And if you're being honest, do you really care when there's a nice fat royalty check at the end of the month? So go on: eat your cake and have it, too.