Friday, September 5, 2008
Cream It Ain't Me: Music and Politics
Posted by Steve Haruch on Fri, Sep 5, 2008 at 10:14 AM
I somehow missed the fact that Sarah Palin's nickname is "barracuda," so when Heart's song of the same name followed that awful John Rich song last night at the RNC, I was kinda confused. As you may have heard, Heart have joined Van Halen and Jackson Browne in not wanting to be associated with the Good Ol' Party:
Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late ’70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The 'barracuda' represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there.
Speaking of irony, remember that Wrangler commercial with "Fortunate Son" as the music? They just played the part where Fogerty sings, "some folks are born, made to wave the flag, ooh that red white and blue," then cut off the part about pointing the cannon at you. Anyway, since you're reading this blog, I imagine there was some point at which your identity was largely defined by what music you listened to, and by who listened to the same music. If people you thought were lame started liking music you liked, you may have backed away, or stopped wearing the T-shirt. (Hipster.) It just speaks to music's associative power that musicians are actually saying, "No, don't play our song. We don't like you."
Related: The band Portugal. The Man hail from Wassilla, Ala., where Sarah Palin was mayor, and have posted about why they don't want Palin in the White House. "She has billed her self as this overly average 'hockey mom' and it is just not what I see. I see the sport hunter, the censor, choice taker, the revelations reader, and the high school cheerleader. It is endlessly embarrassing to watch people fall all over this idea. This is not my Alaska. The Alaska I know."
Comments (18)
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Palin should use that Features song "the Beginning"...
"i've got to figure out...just what this means and what to do."
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I saw Portugal. The Man when I was about 16 and they were a hardcore band called Anatomy of a Ghost. They played a little honkytonk in Hendersonville called the Longhollow Jamboree, and they tore the place apart. Ripped the ceiling down, rolled around on the floor, et cetera. The owners came and unplugged their mics mid-set because of all the destruction.
It's good to see they're taking a stand for something these days. Besides, Palin seems significantly more destructive than a group of goofy hardcore-turned-psychedelic dudes.
I don't disagree with Heart politically. But if you are willing to distribute your music en masse like they have, you really need to understand that people you don't like may very well end up playing it. I think that's kind of the point actually. I doubt that they restrict the sale of of their Super Hits remasters in red states.
I heard a lot of Kenny Loggins playing at the RNC,I wonder if he's a facist...ummm...I mean a Republican.
I'm sure most of us can agree that there's a huge difference between "understand[ing] that people you don't like may very well end up playing" your music and allowing such people to use your music to promote an ideology you don't believe in and/or don't wish to indirectly support at such a high-profile event
I heard them play AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" the other night and wondered if some snarky programmer wasn't the least bit tempted to maybe.. just maybe... 'accidentally' play "Highway to Hell" instead?
i agree with what burrito has to say for the most part but agree more with brian regarding the fact that as high profile of an event the dnc or rnc is, they really ought to "vett" the music they choose. i wouldn't want to play a song by an artist who is going to draw negative attention to my campaign. it's just... stupid... if you ask me. also... palin is an insult to women's rights. i'm absolutely disgusted by her pick as a running mate and even more sickened by her and her party mate's outright mocking of those involved in community service/organizing. They're acting like high schoolers. REMEMBER, OCTOBER 3RD is the deadline in TN to GET PEOPLE REGISTERED TO VOTE. Even though TN won't have much influence on the electoral map, it's important to get people signed up none the less.
I'm really looking forward to Obama saving the planet, getting rid of oil, and providing me with an electric car while he's president. Did you guys hear? He's also going to put candy machines in the cafeteria, and we're not going to have to do homework anymore!
While I understand your frustration, "voter", with the enthusiasm bordering on ga-ga fandom the Obama/Biden campaign has inspired in many Americans, your rhetoric aimed at claims neither said campaign or most of said campaign's supporters have made is way off the mark. In fact, your sarcasm is exactly the talking points of the RNC. Is your echo building UP our country or tearing it DOWN? The office of president is the one candidacy that can make broad promises. Whether or not this person can inspire the congress to push through legislation our country can benefit from is another story but ignoring a candidate's proven capability to inspire every day Americans (who elect their congress men/women) is foolish. Your mocking view, I'm sure, stems from realistic perceptions as to what is possible in our current government but it borders on impossible cynicism that does not bode well for our country's future. I ask you to have heart with your brains. Also, don't forget to vote, "voter".
Oh, I won't forget to vote. I will also not forget to inflate my tires and get regular oil changes.
That's a good idea. That'll actually affect how much you spend on gas. All that "drill now" rhetoric probably isn't going to help you.
god bless P.R.O. blanket licensing contracts that allow anybody to use any song in said catalog for a flat fee! now THAT is americuh. palin is a badass and i respect her. she has, after all, done more than you and she's only 44, which is much younger than most of the people on cream.
Trappy,do you really think she's "badass",because she had a few cliches in her speech?She said the "difference between a soccer mom and a pitbull is lipstick".Don't really think that makes her badass because her speech writer put that in her speech.She is in the pocket of big corporate lobbyists just like John McCain.That is not "badass at all".
I may be telling my age, but I remember being 14 in 1969 when Creedance Clear Water Revival's John Foggarty came out with "Fortunate Son"... one of the lyrics..."It ain't me, it ain't me--I'm no rich man's son y'all..."
My young, handsome brother was going to Fort Dix NJ to get a one day honeymoon with his high school sweetheart bride and a one-way ticket to Nam. He's alive today, but he never really came back. I recall rich folks sending their sons off to Canada or hiding them deep inside of a college or behind a made-up Doctor report to get out of the draft. My brother (not rich) went and only his body came back. We don't know where he lives today--he doesn't want anyone to know. I recall "A rich man's son" wanted to come home from the POW camp, but I recall "they" wouldn't let him. He was a POW and his plane went down due to his own negligence. That's right and we all knew it too! He wanted to come home, but his Father and Grandpa knew it would look terrible..."rich man's son.." Nowadays he tells it slightly differently. There was no "pride" in his POW time and no "pride" in his release either--I recall. He was just darn inconvenient all the way around back then. And he's a pain the tuckuss now.
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