So I was bored and inspired by
this and
this diary. Now that we all know what is and what should be on Dubya's playlist, what songs seem right for other pols?
First, for Giuliani, we borrow from The Clash, with
Rudy Can't Fail (changing can't to can, of course). This verse seems particularly appropriate for Rudy and the NY GOP:
Now first you must cure your temper
Then you find a job in the paper
You need someone for a saviour
Oh, Rudy can't fail
For Santorum this from The Bloodhound Gang:
You and me baby ain't nothing but mammals
So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel
The Bloodhound Gang also provides this which seems appropriate for both my senators, DeMint and Graham.
Howard Dean came out to Revolution by the Beatles during the Convention, which I thought was particularly fitting, almost a meta commentary on his campaign. He did start a revolution in the party, it was evolution, and the DLC felt he was destruction. Ultimately he did change the party, but not as much as he could have or we wanted.
For John Kerry, Jackson Browne's Running on Empty is symbolic of him and his campaign.
In sixty-nine I was twenty-one and I called the road my own
I don't know when that road turned onto the road I'm on
evokes his personal history, the decorated veteran, the man who asked who will be the last to die for a mistake, the crusading prosecutor, the freshman Senator who helped pull the plug on Iran-Contra. I think many of us wonder when that brave man turned into the cautious, play-it-safe man we saw during most of the campaign. And the chorus
Running on - running on empty
Running on - running blind
Running on - running into the sun
But I'm running behind
It seemed like Shrum was running blind, and going against the lies and smears and thuggery of Rove and the SwiftBoaters seemed like running into the Sun, and of course, he was running behind most of the race.
And finally, even though my testosterone level is going to plummet when I say this, I like Liz Phair. When I was in high school, my friends and I listened to Flower and giggled like the typical immature guys we were. Now I'm 27, and still not her target demographic, and yes, some of her stuff is too much like generic female angst ("Polyester Bride", for example, even though it has a damn catchy hook, or "What Makes You Happy"), but I still like a lot of her stuff. And when I heard her South Dakota , partially excerpted here
Born in South Dakota
Hey, we're going to a rodeo town
Born in South Dakota
I was born in South Dakota
I was born in South Dakota
Hey, all you city fucks, it's a prairieman's world
It's wide open
Hey, all you city fucks, it's a prairieman's world
Mason and lumberchucks, says God as my squirrel
Mr. fliptop and razorback, you know I'm your girl
I'm wide open
I said I'm wide open
Dakota
which, while well, juvenile (appropriately enough since it's on her Juvenilia EP), I laughed and thought the Republican-lite stances of Stephanie Herseth and the verbal ogling she took around here made it an appropriate song for her.
What songs would you match to which politician?