Following the terrorist assault on Eagles of Death Metal’s Paris concert earlier this month, the group has called upon artists of all genres to cover its Zipper Down track “I Love You All the Time” with the intention of donating all proceeds to the families of the attack’s victims, including the band’s merchandise manager Nick Alexander. My Morning Jacket were among the first to cover the song at their New York City gig Saturday, and now the Dean Ween Group have contributed their own buoyant version of the track alongside a message from Eagles of Death Metal’s Josh Homme.
“The senseless and violent terrorist attacks of November 13th, 2015 in Paris have left us all unsettled and we dare not give another second of precious time to those who have tried to steal our freedoms and take away our power,” Homme wrote. “Instead, we are writing to ask for your help to ‘Play It Forward.’
“We are calling upon our friends to donate their time, talent and good will in a show of solidarity to help the victims of these atrocious acts in Paris and those affected by terrorism worldwide. We are asking for you to cover our song ‘I Love You All the Time.’ For every cover sold, we pledge to donate 100 percent of the publishing income to The Sweet Stuff Foundation. We ask that you also donate the money generated from sales of the song to the charity. In the same spirit, we would encourage you to offer one of your songs up to be covered by another artist, and follow suit – donate the publishing monies to charity – the ‘Play it Forward Initiative.'”
Homme called upon artists across all musical genres – “soul or R&B; hip-hop or ‘hippy’; garage, goth, country, punk or pop; death metal or DJ” – to try their hands at the tune. If the track isn’t their style, Homme encouraged artists to help out the Paris victims in another way, much like Duran Duran, who are donating royalties from their “Save a Prayer,” a track Eagles of Death Metal covered on Zipper Down, to charity. Homme also asked all digital retailers and streaming services donate their fees from the covers to charity as well.
“We are the songs of our forefathers,” Homme wrote. “We are the hymns of God. The songs of the broken-hearted. The unchained melodies. The songs of puppy love and of love that cannot be broken. We are the music of hope and possibility. We are the call to arms. We are the chorus of victory. We are songs in the key of life. We are the champions … of the world.”
Read Homme’s full letter below:
Hello talented friend, The senseless and violent terrorist attacks of Nov. 13, 2015 in Paris have left us all unsettled and we dare not give another second of precious time to those who have tried to steal our freedoms and take away our power.
Instead, we are writing to ask for your help to Play It Forward. We are calling upon our friends to donate their time, talent and good will in a show of solidarity to help the victims of these atrocious acts in Paris and those affected by terrorism worldwide.
We are asking for you to cover our song “I Love You All The Time.” For every cover sold, we pledge to donate 100% of the publishing income to The Sweet Stuff Foundation. We ask that you also donate the money generated from sales of the song to the charity.
In the same spirit, we would encourage you to offer one of your songs up to be covered by another artist, and follow suit – donate the publishing monies to charity – The Play it Forward Initiative.
Whether you’re Soul or R&B; Hip Hop or Hippy; Garage, Goth, Country, Punk or Pop; Death Metal or DJ; It matters not. Whether your version is faithful to ours, instrumental, uses only lyrics or fragments thereof or is completely reimagined in every way, it matters not. Your individual musical differences become our collective strength. Simultaneously, we will call upon iTunes, Tidal, Amazon, Spotify & all others who will sell these covers, to join us and donate their portions to a charity as a symbol of unity. So many wonderfully talented artists have offered their love & support or have reached out asking, “How can we help?” Our answer is simple; Unite with us. All of us. The musicians, the bands, the music companies & the fans… because we are music. We are the anthems of great nations. We are the songs of our forefathers. We are the hymns of God. The songs of the broken hearted. The unchained melodies. The songs of puppy love & of love that cannot be broken. We are the music of hope & possibility. We are the call to arms. We are the chorus of victory. We are songs in the key of life.
We are the Champions… of the World.
In the event our song doesn’t float your boat, we encourage you to help unite our business by any means possible. If you’re drawing a blank, donate something of yours or the proceeds from one of your songs, as Duran Duran has so graciously done. But do join us help & heal through music. They attacked us all, please hear the call.
Thank you for your time & love to you all,
Eagles of Death Metal
