The Foo Fighters have reacted to reports that John McCain has been using their recording of  "My Hero" at his campaign rallies without permission.
The Foos' statement : "This isn't the first time the McCain campaign has used a song without making any attempt to get approval or permission from the artist. It's frustrating and infuriating that someone who claims to speak for the American people would repeatedly show such little respect for creativity and intellectual property. The saddest thing about this is that 'My Hero' was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential. To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song. We hope that the McCain campaign will do the right thing and stop using our song - and start asking artists' permission in general!"

Headline writers are known to get carried away at times and Brit music mag NME has a lifetime of headlines that go just a bit too far. Like the claim that Led Zeppelin somehow reunited at a Foo Fighters show. Not exactly. Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones  joined the Foos  to play "Rock 'n' Roll" and "Ramble On." Robert Plant is touring the U.S. with Alison Krauss.   And if you don't believe the story, there is even some "Bigfoot Spotted"-quality footage on their site.

Gossip mongers: The good news is that Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston (pictured between Alicia Keys and Fergie) look fabulous. Carrie Underwood was on hand at Clive Davis's party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel Saturday with Chace Crawford of "Gossip Girl" and she looked rather disinterested in the evening, even waving off Clive's effusive introduction.
Fellow "Idol" moneymaker Chris Daughtry played the highly respectful guest, giving the standing O to every major celebrity announced. And at the next table, Randy Jackson was big on the cheers, too.
As far as the music went, though, the evening was not one of Davis' more legendary marathon events. Videotapes of past years' highlights were played regularly to remind attendees how the party has achieved its legendary status and even Davis suggested that the evening would not be setting a new bar. Still, there were enough highlights to make this a good, if not great, night of pop music.
Evaluations, in order of appearance:
Foo Fighters. Did two songs, "The Pretender" and "Best of You." Potent and hearty, it was exactly what one would expect from Dave Grohl and the boys. Nothing we haven't seen before.
Leona Lewis. The British "Pop Idol" champ did two songs, the second of which was "First Time Ever You Saw My Face." She has a big voice and tender personality, two trademarks of Whitney Houston in her early years. But what I didn't sense from Lewis that I did sense from Houston back then was the desire to be liked and welcomed into the music world. Lewis steps in gingerly, with a graciousness that should endear her to many. But is she a major pop star? Not sure. The album comes out in two months.
Daughtry with Chad Kroeger and Slash. First tune, by just Chris Daughtry and his band, was rote commercial rock; to spice things up, the "American Idol" contender and guests waddled through John Fogerty's "Born on the Bayou." Slash delivered standard-issue solos - enough to hold the interest but not necessarily amaze. Worse, Kroeger has a banal voice and Daughtry seems hell-bent on following in his footsteps.
Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli. On paper, this sounds like a PBS nightmare. I have a fear of heights and this is the sappy musical equivalent of peering over the edge of the observation deck of the Empire State Building. Yet their performance of "The Prayer" worked. Not chill-inducing, but a pleasant interaction between two singers working with just piano and synth accompaniment. Both stayed within themselves and made it a delightful two-voice performance.
Fantasia. On Broadway, she stopped "The Color Purple" with "I'm Here" and she did it again Saturday night. Right performer, right song. And if the music industry is truly paying attention, they should realize that contemporary Broadway composers are creating interesting and dramatic material that can work for modern singers. In the digital download age, Broadway shows could be a great source of material and there are not enough A&R execs mining this increasingly rich territory.
Alicia Keys. Performs "Like You'll Never See Me Again" and "No One" after Davis gives her a lengthy introduction that suggests the label people were somehow surprised that her record would be great, sell vast quantities and should have somehow been in consideration for a Grammy. No, the J folks chose to release it in the 2008-09 eligibility period and just place the single in the 07-08 territory. Keys, as she has done at so many of Davis's parties, was spectacular. "No One" was the night's rousing highlight and there's no amount of praise that can be heaped on this woman that goes too far. She is simply the best.
Akon and Wyclef. Nice pairing and they dove into a little Bob Marley ("No Woman No Cry") and some political wordplay promoting Barack Obama and Clive Davis for president. The two sang about blood diamonds and romped through Akon's  "I Wanna Love You" with grace and precision.
Davis always introduces members of the audience - he  gave props to about 70 Saturday - and 
the biggest cheers of the night went to Michael Strahan, Gladys Knight and Quincy Jones.

Foo Fighters have confirmed the bulk of their first American tour in support of their new album "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace," including their first-ever show at Madison Square Garden.
A limited number of premium tickets for some shows will be available through Ticketmaster auctions, proceeds from which will benefit local tree planting through TreeBank. Most shows go on sale Saturday.
The second half of March is filled with Canadian dates, leaving the first part of either March or April  open for West Coast shows. Band is booked Down Under at the end of April.
For the tour, Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins and Chris Shiflett will be joined by Pat Smear on guitar, Rami Jaffee on keyboards, Drew Hester on percussion, and Jessy Greene on strings.
Tour dates:
1/16 - Sunrise, Fla. BankAtlantic Center
1/17 - Orlando, Fla. Amway Arena
1/19 - Birmingham, Ala. BJCC Arena
1/20 - Pensacola, Fla. Pensacola Civic Center
1/22 - Houston Toyota Center
1/23 - Dallas American Airlines Center (on sale now)
1/25 - Memphis, Tenn. FedEx Forum (on sale now)
1/26 - Nashville, Tenn. Nashville Municipal Auditorium (on sale now)
1/28 - Fayetteville, Ark. Barnhill Arena
1/29 - Oklahoma City Ford Center
2/18 - Worcester, Mass. DCU Center (on sale now)
2/19 - New York Madison Square Garden
2/21 - Philadelphia Wachovia Spectrum (on sale now)
2/24 - Detroit Joe Louis Arena (on sale now)
2/25 - Chicago Allstate Arena
2/27 - Minneapolis Target Center