neriS eht
College Tribune | October 28th 2008
MUSIC
at Heart
5
A sideways look at...
US Election Anthems With just 1 week until the election between “That One” and a geriatric, the elucidated editor of this hallowed music section has decided to compile what will henceforth be cheerfully referred to as Now That’s What I Call US Election Anthems 2008! Here is a run-down of the best, worst and downright weirdest songs used by US Presidential candidates in campaigns gone by… 5. BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER – SIMON & GARFUNKEL If you can show me a song less suited to getting a crowd jumping on a wave of optimism and activism then I’ll eat my own face. Democrat George McGovern decided to use this in his election campaign against incumbent Richard Nixon in 1972, and got completely annihilated, winning just 2 States. Coincidence? I think not. 4. BORN IN THE USA – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN This anti-war tale of a disillusioned Vietnam veteran who returns to an apathetic nation was cynically appropriated by chickenhawk knucklehead Republican Ronald Reagan during his 1984 re-election campaign. It’s difficult to imagine a candidate who embodies less of what The Boss stands for than ‘The Gipper’. Reagan praised the song’s “message of hope”, managing to spectacularly misinterpret it with typical aplomb. Dumbass. Still. Least he’s dead now.
3. SOUL MAN – SAM & DAVE In a move of absolutely staggering cringeworthiness, Republican Bob Dole’s ill-fated campaign in 1996 picked this as their signature tune, changing the lyrics so that it sang “Dole Man” instead. 2. I WON’T BACK DOWN – TOM PETTY In many ways, Dubya Bush is the perfect candidate for this column – his 2 campaigns were forced to pull no less than 4 songs amid complaints by the artists themselves. This one, utilized for the 2000 campaign, exhibited lyrics about stubbornness in the face of overwhelming unpopularity. In fairness, that’s Dubya down to a tee. Petty didn’t see it that way, refusing to let his anthem of personal independence be co-opted by a politician who has practically made cracking down on civil liberties an art form. 1. TAKE A CHANCE ON ME ABBA Possibly the most laughably apt of the bunch. God bless John McCain… The ‘Maverick’ picked this pop nugget to advertise himself during the Republican Primaries at the start of this year. At least the bugger’s honest – this one really does reflect the overwhelming impression that anyone silly enough to vote for the senile, right-wing, free-market worshipping Republican is taking an almighty gamble of absolutely sub-prime proportions. SEBASTIAN CLARE
scene, Spunt seems almost bemused by all the recent attention; “I don’t know, it’s fun to play to your friends’ bands but then there have always been so many great bands in LA, I don’t know why at this one time it’s working.” Conscious of indie rock’s elitist tendencies, Spunt stresses his love for all pop music. “We’re definitely fans of nerdy stuff, like the commercial hip-hop you hear on the radio, we live in LA and we drive cars a bunch so the same tapes you have in your car get old.” While recent upheavals in the music industry have shrunk the traditional distance between rock bands and their fans, with No Age the gap is non-existent. Happy to interact with fans before, during and after shows, Spunt sees this as a healthier arrangement; “It means more to us and I hope it means more to the audience. Having a close relationship with your fans keeps you on your toes.” Carrying on punk-rock’s long tradition of political involvement, No Age have begun to use their profile to publicize issues they feel strongly about, the notoriously harsh US healthcare system being their main bugbear. In the face of what he sees as an increasingly apathetic youth culture, Spunt is keen to bring home some truths on an individual level. “If someone’s prepared to live a life
of complacency and doesn’t see how outside influences affect their life, how are you going to energise that person? You have to show people how they are personally affected and hopefully they’ll wake up and see there’s a reason they can’t make any money, there’s a reason they don’t have a job, there’s a reason the envi-
My dad was like ‘Come on, sing something for your granddad’, I had to explain to them that it’s not really that kind of singing!” ronment is being destroyed, people have to take responsibility for their own lives, their use of gasoline, their support for corporations with no human rights standards. I’d encourage people to view politics in a personal way, what you do every day affects the rest of the world.” A few weeks ago No Age were about to play their current single, Eraser, on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, when a network employee informed Randall that he couldn’t go on-stage wearing a Barack Obama t-shirt. The employee cited an equal-time rule, similar to the one we have for referenda
here in Ireland. The band-members briefly considered walking away but scrawled ‘free health care’ on the reversed t-shirt and played anyway. “At first I felt a little jilted, it felt like they were trying to silence us, but I don’t think they had a rightwing agenda. They were just trying to watch their backs. There’s regulatory laws in America that are absurd, trying to enforce them on a small band like us on a small TV show like Craig Ferguson just doesn’t make any sense”. Given that the rule only applies to free-toair television it generally favours the cashed-up Republican party who - Barack Obama aside - have always out-spent their Democratic rivals on advertising. This aspect of the experience bothers Spunt: “Money means you can talk and if you don’t have money you can’t talk. There are rules for people who don’t have money; if you have money you write your own rules”. One place Spunt is happy to censor himself is at family gatherings, where his success as a singer is beginning to generate interest. “My grandad was having his 80th birthday recently and everyone was trying to make me get up and sing. My dad was like ‘Come on, sing something for your granddad’, I had to explain to them that it’s not really that kind of singing!”
» No Age’s second album, Nouns, is out now
Wednesday 29th October: Seasick Steve, National Stadium, €34.50, doors at 8pm Friday 31st October: Crayonsmith, Whelan’s, €10, doors at 8pm Saturday 1st November Motörhead, Ambassador, €49, doors at 8pm Lambchop, Tripod, €32.50, doors at 7.30pm Roots Manuva, Academy, €20.50, doors at 7pm Sunday 2nd November Mercury Rev, Vicar Street, €33.50, doors at 8pm Martha Wainwright, Olympia, €26, doors at 7.30pm The Walkmen, Button Factory, €20.50, doors at 7.30pm Monday 3rd November MGMT, Ambassador, €24.50, doors at 8pm Dirty Pretty Things, Academy, €25, doors at 7.30pm The Kills, Tripod, €22.50, doors at 7.30pm Tuesday 4th November Neon Neon, Tripod, €28, doors at 7.30pm
Ida Maria, Academy, €14.50, doors at 7.30pm Wednesday 5th November Cold War Kids, Academy, €28.50, doors at 7pm Thursday 6th November One Night Only, Academy, €15.50, doors at 7.30pm Friday 7th November Goldfrapp, Tripod, €35.50, doors at 7.30pm Okkervil River, Academy, €21, doors at 8pm Saturday 8th November Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Ambassador, €33.60, doors at 7.30pm Extreme, Academy, €33.60, doors at 7pm Sunday 9th November Kanye West, RDS, €66, doors at 8pm The Wombats, Academy, €20, doors at 7.30pm Monday 10th November Airbourne, Ambassador, €22, doors at 7.30pm Paul Weller, RDS, €53, doors at 8pm Seb’s Pick: Extreme play the Academy on Saturday November 8th