Silver Lake's Silversun Pickups Tell Off Romney Campaign

Earlier this week, a band commonly identified with Silver Lake found themselves dropped into the national political conversation--thanks to a tweet.

Via Twitter, the Silversun Pickups learned Wednesday that their 2009 alt rock hit "Panic Switch" had just played before a Mitt Romney rally in North Carolina.

Soon after an attorney for the Dangerbird Records artists band sent a cease and desist letter to the Romney campaign, creating a national media firestorm.

A Romney spokeswoman told the Huffington Post that the song was inadvertently played during the set up for an event, noting the campaign's blanket music licenses covered it anyway.

"While he is inadvertently playing a song that describes his whole campaign, we doubt that 'Panic Switch' really sends the message he intends," said bandmember Brian Aubert in a statement.

The comments section on the "Panic Switch" video posted on YouTube is filled with political rant, causing one user to comment Thursday night:

I came hear to listen to the song. I kept hearing about this band , and the Romney dispute reminded me to check them out' If y'all want to argue politics, go to the page where you read the article and argue politics there.

The Silversun Pickups, of course, began their career with gigs at places like the and Spaceland (now ).

The band's name refers to at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Parkman Avenue, just off Silver Lake Boulevard.

Silversun Pickups have recorded for Silver Lake-based Dangerbird Records since 2005.