Three Chords and the Truth!
My two passions are politics and music.
When the two collide, I really enjoy it.
I am not alone as when 19 candidates showed up at the Democrat Hall of Fame dinner, the walk up selections went viral.
Everyone from Slate to Vanity Fair to Spin to Vogue went to work writing an article and why not? What fun!
Here is what you need to know
I Would Have Called You Woody, Joe
The first thing most reporters noted was that there were 2 Clash songs selected. We have reached the generation growing up with Joe Strummer replacing the 60s icons as our go-to Political music spokesperson.
Beto O’Rourke is young and hip. That’s his thing, so it’s a natural pick. Heck, he has punk bona fides, playing bass with Cedric Bixler-Zavala before Ced went on to fame in At the Drive In and Mars Volta.
Clampdown is probably a good pick, with so many Clash songs about terrorist bombings, riots and avoiding the draft, the decision is tricky. Beto famously quoted it when running against Ted Cruz saying that Ted worked for the Clampdown.
So, I get Beto; but Bill de Blasio’s choice of “Rudie Can’t Fail” is odd.
Great song. It’s just that de Blasio isn’t even the first NYC Mayor who come to mind when I hear “Rudie”
Still, the Mayor went on CNN last month and said he loved the Ramones, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and ska.
He even was photographed at a Trash Talk concert (Keith Morris endorsed hardcore band whose biggest media moment besides the De Blasio pic, is the pic of a fan urinating into his mouth at a concert of theirs in Australia, which hit reddit fame).
(I’ll opt to show the de Basio pic)
He doesn’t feel “hip”, but when you are the mayor of the town that gave us CBGBs and Murphy’s Law. The remaining question is why he didn’t go NYC and use a Toasters song.
You Probably Never Heard of Them
Kudos to Amy Klobuchar who uses a Dessa song - “The Bullpen” -picking a constituent over a trendy artist. Dessa has appeared on NPRs Best Albums list and she contributed a track to the #1 album The Hamilton Mixtape.
Kirsten Gillibrand using Lizzo is a good selection. I would say “Good as Hell” isn’t Presidential, but these days, all bets are off
What you did there, I see it
Elizabeth Warren using Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” is inspired. If you forgot, the movie is about kidnapping and planning to murder your boss to improve labor conditions. The only bum note is Dolly didn’t approve the usage.
Andrew Yang’s “Return of the Mack” is a pretty solid choice for old school swagger. John Delaney using “I’ve Been Everywhere” is brilliant, and highlights the time Delaney spent in the state.
Green New Deal advocate Jay Inslee used ELOs “Mr Blue Sky”. Subtle.
(Elle suggests he may have used the Weezer cover, though it was probably ELO and any case, the comment stands. )
Bernie Sanders using Lennon’s “Power to the People” is well fit and old news by now. Insert “What? No ‘The Internationale’? Joke here.
Cover of the Rolling Stone
The most popular song of 2019 “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X was used by Tim Ryan. Everyone is talking about whether it’s Country music or not. Billboard says No but they also say Big &Rich, Florida-Georgia Line and Tim McGraw & Nelly are country, so...? It’s a topic everyone is taking about. No one’s talking about Tim Ryan. Well, it’s worth a shot. Maybe he should have came to the stage with a recording of “Yanny”/Laurel”?
I suppose there is a deeper meaning in Marianne Williamson’s “Higher Ground” (Wonder, not Chili Peppers) and Kamala Harris using Mary J Blige’s “Work That”, but otherwise they’re just great walk up music.
Same goes for Cory Booker using Bill Withers’s “Lovely Day” and Tulsi Gabbard with Marvin and Tammi’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. They are classics though there is a message. I could probably put them in the category below.
One of these days I am going to get organizized.
With this level of creativity, I suspect that their campaign poster is a kitten on a tree branch saying Hang in There
.
Michael Bennet used Springsteen’s “The Rising” which is what I would do if I was using “Generic Campaign Song” in a movie.
If not The Rising, then surely Mellencamp’s “Small Town”, picked by Montana’s red state governor Steve Bullock.
Pete Buttigieg used a rap/remix of Panic at the Disco’s “High Hopes”, which is just a hipster’s version of Springsteen or Mellencamp. Odd given, a professed love for Spoon, Radiohead and Phish
“Good Life” by One Republic (Used by John Hickenlooper, who otherwise seems to have good taste. He’s showed up on stage with Old Crow Medical Show before) is generic Campaign music for someone who thinks Mellencamp or The Boss are too edgy.
Eric Swalwell went with “Caught in the Country” by Rodney Atkins which is just n-th generation Springsteen (via Garth Brooks and Blake Shelton) flavored country anyway. At least it was contemporary and something not too overplayed.
(Bonus track: I actually have a friend who attended the dinner. He said it was a bit of a frenzied pace. According to him, the winners of the night were Booker, Warren and Klobuchar, which is in line with what Politico reported)
I am not alone as when 19 candidates showed up at the Democrat Hall of Fame dinner, the walk up selections went viral.
Everyone from Slate to Vanity Fair to Spin to Vogue went to work writing an article and why not? What fun!
Here is what you need to know
I Would Have Called You Woody, Joe
The first thing most reporters noted was that there were 2 Clash songs selected. We have reached the generation growing up with Joe Strummer replacing the 60s icons as our go-to Political music spokesperson.
Beto O’Rourke is young and hip. That’s his thing, so it’s a natural pick. Heck, he has punk bona fides, playing bass with Cedric Bixler-Zavala before Ced went on to fame in At the Drive In and Mars Volta.
Clampdown is probably a good pick, with so many Clash songs about terrorist bombings, riots and avoiding the draft, the decision is tricky. Beto famously quoted it when running against Ted Cruz saying that Ted worked for the Clampdown.
So, I get Beto; but Bill de Blasio’s choice of “Rudie Can’t Fail” is odd.
Great song. It’s just that de Blasio isn’t even the first NYC Mayor who come to mind when I hear “Rudie”
Still, the Mayor went on CNN last month and said he loved the Ramones, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and ska.
He even was photographed at a Trash Talk concert (Keith Morris endorsed hardcore band whose biggest media moment besides the De Blasio pic, is the pic of a fan urinating into his mouth at a concert of theirs in Australia, which hit reddit fame).
(I’ll opt to show the de Basio pic)He doesn’t feel “hip”, but when you are the mayor of the town that gave us CBGBs and Murphy’s Law. The remaining question is why he didn’t go NYC and use a Toasters song.
You Probably Never Heard of Them
Kudos to Amy Klobuchar who uses a Dessa song - “The Bullpen” -picking a constituent over a trendy artist. Dessa has appeared on NPRs Best Albums list and she contributed a track to the #1 album The Hamilton Mixtape.
Kirsten Gillibrand using Lizzo is a good selection. I would say “Good as Hell” isn’t Presidential, but these days, all bets are off
What you did there, I see it
Elizabeth Warren using Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” is inspired. If you forgot, the movie is about kidnapping and planning to murder your boss to improve labor conditions. The only bum note is Dolly didn’t approve the usage.
Andrew Yang’s “Return of the Mack” is a pretty solid choice for old school swagger. John Delaney using “I’ve Been Everywhere” is brilliant, and highlights the time Delaney spent in the state.
Green New Deal advocate Jay Inslee used ELOs “Mr Blue Sky”. Subtle.
(Elle suggests he may have used the Weezer cover, though it was probably ELO and any case, the comment stands. )
Bernie Sanders using Lennon’s “Power to the People” is well fit and old news by now. Insert “What? No ‘The Internationale’? Joke here.
Cover of the Rolling Stone
The most popular song of 2019 “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X was used by Tim Ryan. Everyone is talking about whether it’s Country music or not. Billboard says No but they also say Big &Rich, Florida-Georgia Line and Tim McGraw & Nelly are country, so...? It’s a topic everyone is taking about. No one’s talking about Tim Ryan. Well, it’s worth a shot. Maybe he should have came to the stage with a recording of “Yanny”/Laurel”?
I suppose there is a deeper meaning in Marianne Williamson’s “Higher Ground” (Wonder, not Chili Peppers) and Kamala Harris using Mary J Blige’s “Work That”, but otherwise they’re just great walk up music.
Same goes for Cory Booker using Bill Withers’s “Lovely Day” and Tulsi Gabbard with Marvin and Tammi’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. They are classics though there is a message. I could probably put them in the category below.
One of these days I am going to get organizized.
With this level of creativity, I suspect that their campaign poster is a kitten on a tree branch saying Hang in There
.
Michael Bennet used Springsteen’s “The Rising” which is what I would do if I was using “Generic Campaign Song” in a movie.
If not The Rising, then surely Mellencamp’s “Small Town”, picked by Montana’s red state governor Steve Bullock.
Pete Buttigieg used a rap/remix of Panic at the Disco’s “High Hopes”, which is just a hipster’s version of Springsteen or Mellencamp. Odd given, a professed love for Spoon, Radiohead and Phish
“Good Life” by One Republic (Used by John Hickenlooper, who otherwise seems to have good taste. He’s showed up on stage with Old Crow Medical Show before) is generic Campaign music for someone who thinks Mellencamp or The Boss are too edgy.
Eric Swalwell went with “Caught in the Country” by Rodney Atkins which is just n-th generation Springsteen (via Garth Brooks and Blake Shelton) flavored country anyway. At least it was contemporary and something not too overplayed.
(Bonus track: I actually have a friend who attended the dinner. He said it was a bit of a frenzied pace. According to him, the winners of the night were Booker, Warren and Klobuchar, which is in line with what Politico reported)
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