Indie Rock Campaign Anthems 2007- The Democrats

So yes… I’m aware I owe a Pitchfork Fest recap, and that I haven’t posted for well over two weeks. Basically, I fail at blogging. However, I would like to get a few things out there that have been kicking around my head this summer in terms of amateur music journalism before real life sets in entirely again, so hopefully those of you left reading will find them worthwhile, however intermittent they may be.

Today, I’d like to talk campaign anthems. Aside from rock snobbery, my other great passion/waste of time is politics, so naturally I’m pretty psyched for this all out free-for all in both parties for the 2008 presidential nod. I do have one complaint thus far, however—the music sucks. Granted, its been going downhill for a while from the glory days of Bill Clinton and “Don’t Stop Thinkin’ About Tomorrow” in 1992 (possibly the best political soundtracking ever), but its just gotten sad. Celine Dion? John Mellencamp’s song from the car commercials? And don’t even get me started on the number of candidates who think use of “Beatiful Day” is a one way ticket to hip optimism (even the beloved and fictional Matt Santos couldn’t resist the dark side on “The West Wing”).

Clearly, its time for a change, and I’m ready to start making requests. Below are my picks, in glorious YouTube, for the top four Democrats in the 08 race:

Hillary Clinton

I’m sorry, but I’m just not a huge Hilary fan. I love her biography, and she seems like a good person, but everything about her campaign seems phony and contrived so far. Even the one clever moment of political theater thus far—incidentally a send-up of the Sopranos finale complete with cameo from Bill to reveal her campaign anthem—was sullied by her godawful pick—a Celine Dion number originally written for AirCanada (not to mention the awful memory of Bill Clinton uttering the line “Well, I know I’m rooting for Smash Mouth”). For all of this and more, I’m offering her a moment of unexpected, self-deprecating humor that could offer some hope… sure, it’s a cheap shot, but just use this song at one rally, and I might regain faith in you:



Barack Obama

Ah, to be the rock star of the party… young, hip, hot on the trail of the establishment—heck, its almost like he doesn’t need a soundtrack. Yet Obama is also an adopted son of the city of Chicago, which also houses my personal favorite band of all time, Wilco. Most of Wilco’s songs are dark, brooding affairs unfit for the political stage, but there’s one I’ve always wanted to hear pumping through the speakers at a rally, and I think Barack could pull it off. “War on War” was used beautifully in some Chicago tourism ads a few years back, and has a great sense of motion and energy to it that could warm up a crowd nicely. The trick, of course, is getting over the lyrics, which range from the nonsensically poetic “you are not my typewriter, but you can be my demon moving forward through the flaming doors” to the ominous sounding “you have to lose/you have to learn how to die/if you wanna wanna stay alive”.



John Edwards

Edwards is probably my second favorite candidate in the field, in part because he’s hired my political hero David Bonior as a campaign manager. Nevertheless, this song is far better than he deserves, given his penchant for corny fare supposedly designed to emphasize his down-home, small town roots (such as the aforementioned “Our Country” by Mellencamp… if you want to believe Edwards is driving his truck out to the fields every morning, then be my guest). He’d be far better to take on the excellent rock anthem by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists that is “Walking to Do”. Like most of Ted’s music, its layered—there’s a theme of moving, of progress and brighter days to come, which Edwards is all about, but there’s also something about love and relationships in there (as indicated most strongly by the final words “if you do, and I do, there’s a whole lotta walking to do”), which brings to mind Edward’s own wife Elizabeth, who serves as one of his strongest assets in my opinion (anyone who can fight cancer and Ann Coulter at the same time is a winner in my book). Plus, its just an amazingly energetic song that never fails to lift my spirits (even in this shoddy concert footage).



Bill Richardson

Finally, we come to my guy in the race (I’m sadly noting that this list is in order of who’s leading in the polls as well as the reverse order of my preferences). I’m a fan of Richardson for his straight talk, his unparalleled experience, and his commitment to alternative energy and improved diplomacy, but sadly, he doesn’t seem to be catching on quite yet (there’s still a long time until Iowa though, and he is picking up speed little by little it seems). Because of his status as the number one underdog in the race, the most likely to be a dark horse come primary season, I’m recommending that Bill takes on what might be my favorite song of Summer 2007. Play this at rallies, print up some shirts that say “Fear the Underdog” on them, and I think we’ll have an anthem on our hands.


*note that I'm ignoring the fact that the song features maraccas and mariachi horns and the general appropriateness of this fact for the candidate... some jokes are just waaay too easy, even for me.

Of course, the real challenge would be to come up with a comprable list for the GOP... suggestions, anybody?