And I Approve This Message

"All music is political, because the truth is political."
-Joseph Shabalala

There's already been a fair amount of writing both on blogs and in the press about music in the current campaign. Perhaps most famously, will.i.am put together the "Yes, We Can" video that set Obama's speech after the New Hampshire primary to music, with the help of, among others, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Herbie Hancock. (Herbie, by the way, also obliquely referenced his support for the Obama campaign when he won the Grammy for best album this past spring. He said something like, "No one ever thought that jazz would ever be able to win the Grammy for album of the year, but I'm here to tell you, yes, we can.")

And then there are the McCain Girls. Dear God, how I love the McCain girls. I'm not sure that their most recent video is up to snuff, but their debut, "It's Raining McCain," is one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen in my life. I love the fact that they can't really sing, that one of them is singing a very high harmony part during the chorus, that the video features little McCain raindrops, that the whole production is sort of endearingly amateur and enthusiastic. What's not to like?

It's pretty clear that the Democrats have better music going for them. In fact, in terms of longevity, quality of their music, extent of appeal, and plain old mensch-ness, the Democrats have probably the two best living artists in American popular music actively stumping for them: Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen. You would have to find a pretty cold person who doesn't like either Stevie or Bruce.

And the Republicans have, who, John Rich of Big and Rich? Do they even have Big? Let me know when John Rich writes something as good as "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" or "Thunder Road."