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MSNBC : Democrats Responsible for Crappy Music


Young, Democrat presidents usually inspire lame pop trends

By Tony Sclafani - updated 9:59 a.m. ET, Mon., Feb. 16, 2009

When Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on Jan. 20, Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” sat atop the pop charts. The ode to escapism might not have captured the mood of the whole country (everyone didn’t vote for change, after all), but it definitely reflected the sentiments of most of the musical community.

During the past few years, countless artists have vehemently despised George Bush, while voicing support for Obama. In the U.K., the Guardian noted “You could construct a decent box-set of anti-Bush songs… covering ground from Bright Eyes to Eminem, Pink to Public Enemy, Jay-Z to Elbow.”

All of which begs the question: what’s next? If history is any indicator, expect dance music. Lots of it. Lady Gaga seems to have lobbed the first volley in what might be the biggest dance music blitz since the disco era.

It’s easy to see why. When musicians are dissatisfied with presidential administrations, they write protest songs, march on Washington and mouth off on stage. When they’re happy, they make dance music. And even if some artists don’t follow this pattern, the public’s buying patterns do.

So, for the most part, that’s meant Republican administrations have inspired much of the best pop music of the past decades. Maybe they can put that in their next platform.


I would say the same might be true of comedy and satire....but Obama has Joe Biden.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Angst makes for better music.
February 16, 2009 at 7:42 PM
Bowly said…
I have the opposite view: most of my favorite music was made during Democratic presidencies. That author has heard of The Beatles, right? The Rolling Stones? Jimi Hendrix? Soundgarden? Weezer? Foo Fighters (first few albums were 90's, anyway, even though Dave Grohl is "Democratically" active now)? Maybe because artists have to write something more creative than "Republicans suck."

The best music comes out of bad relationships.
February 16, 2009 at 10:23 PM
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