Since today is the day of the Daytona 500, I thought it would be a good day to honor one of the best political songs that has been written during the Bush administration.
Talkin' NASCAR Blues is written and performed by Bhi Bhiman, and recently was released on his debut solo album, The Cookbook. The video (which may induce seizures) can be blamed on myself, an attempt to give a largely literal rendering of the song. I'd recommend listening to the song once through before watching the video...
Disclaimer: This is not an official video for Talkin' NASCAR Blues, but permission was granted by the artist to proceed with the project, which took roughly 30 hours to complete.
"Terror, Terror, Freedom, Freedom, Dubya, Dubya, Nascar, Nascar." is the refrain throughout Talkin' NASCAR, and though the words don't look funny or catchy when written down, they are surprisingly both when sung by Bhiman. For political junkies, the song delivers on a few levels... it mercilessly mocks the Bush Administration and its cronies, as well as the politics of fear. On top of this, it has a great rhythm that might help settle the nerves and lower the blood pressure if you happen to be stressed during this primary season.
San Francisco Bay Guardian:
The first thing you notice about Bhiman is his voice; it's instantly striking and unique, a slapdash mixture of Bill Withers, Richie Havens, and Little Richard. With Hippie Grenade, his voice sometimes gets lost in the mix, but when he's solo, it takes center stage. Of course, a good voice alone can't carry an act if the songs aren't there, but luckily they are, displaying the folky troubadour aesthetic of Bob Dylan and the wry eye for detail of Randy Newman. "Talking NASCAR," for example, is probably the only anti-W protest song, written from the point of view of the decider in chief, to reference Douglas Feith, Capri Sun, and "Islams."
San Francisco Chronicle:
Pronounced "Bee Bee-men," this first-generation Sri Lankan American musician is pretty sure there's no one else in the world with his name. Even if there is, chances are no other Bhi Bhiman could write a song as cool and catchy as the Bay Area's Bhi Bhiman can...
...Bhiman wrote "Talkin' NASCAR," from the perspective of President Bush, which has lines such as "Fool me once in Texas and you'll fool me twice in Tennessee." Sarcasm and humor are among his favorite instruments, but Bhiman's debut solo album on HinJu Records, "The Cookbook," has recipes with a serious taste to them, too. "I like to write about serious topics but in a way that's thought-provoking and clever without being preachy."
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Since the song and video invoke NASCAR, it's worth thinking about the amount of fuel used by the cars, the car teams, and the fans. The statistics aren't all too easily found, but here is a start:
According to NASCAR, about 6,000 U.S. gallons of fuel are consumed during a typical NEXTEL Cup weekend. For the 2006 season, which includes 36 points races, the total for the season would be 216,000 U.S. gallons. One environmental critic recently estimated NASCAR's total fuel consumption across all series at 2 million U.S. gallons (7.57 million liters) of gas for one season; however, the methodology used has been a point of dispute.
At race speeds, NEXTEL Cup cars get 2 to 5 miles per gallon. Consumption under caution can be estimated at 14-18 mpg, based on comparable engines generally available to the public. Interestingly, the rate of fuel consumption tends to be the same regardless of the actual speeds of the cars, as teams change gear ratios for each race to ensure that the engine always operates in its optimum power band; however, the fuel mileage will vary for each race, depending on the maximum speeds attained.
For what it's worth, I had no idea while working on the video this weekend that the Daytona was today. I heard it in an hourly news update on NPR while uploading. A pleasant coincidence.