Top Los Angeles radio station KIIS-FM has removed Foster The People’s ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ from their playlist, and many other stations around the country have either followed or are expected to. In the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, TMZ reports the song has been removed due to lyrics that depict a school shooting.
The trio have previously said the song was meant to raise awareness to gun violence in school. The song’s chorus includes the lyrics “All the other kids with the pumped up kicks/You better run, better run, outrun my gun/All the other kids with the pumped up kicks/You better run, better run, faster than my bullet”.
Foster The People have been rallying support against gun violence via their Twitter page, encouraging fans to donate money to the victims families and pushing for gun law reform. Just this morning, the band tweeted the following,
There needs to be real change if we are going to evolve into a better society. It starts with a loud booming unified voice of common sense.
— Foster The People (@fosterthepeople) December 19, 2012
Doesn’t it seem reasonable to move on from our wild west mentality of being gun-toting cowboys? That was over a hundred years ago.
— Foster The People (@fosterthepeople) December 19, 2012
Even though I’ve heard ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ more times than I would have liked, I had no idea the song was about a school shooting. I thought it was about sneakers. In other news, Ke$ha’s recent hit ‘Die Young’ completely dropped off the iTunes chart this week as well.