There’s kind of a rule in national politics. Man, you better at least carry your home state. Walter Mondale got creamed by Reagan in ’84, but he won his home state of Minnesota. In part, Al Gore lost in 2000 because he didn’t win his home state of Tennessee. So, it’s probably not helpful for [...]
Do not worship false dichotomies
I’ve mentioned many times before of my keen interest in the culture wars (e.g. see here). But something has changed. For example, in the Fifties, the lines were clear. Rock ‘n’ roll was the devil’s music and a tool of anti-American forces. Patti Page and Perry Como were on the side of goodness and patriotism. [...]
What are expectations after an Obama win?
You may recall this post from three months ago, which concerned someone unexpectedly performing “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” to the tune of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” in place of a tradition version of the National Anthem. In light of this more recent news from Virginia (via Matt Yglesias), it’s good to revisit the issue. Bobby [...]
“We have come to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now.”
As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t write much about current events on this blog. I don’t feel as qualified as some of the great political bloggers I read. But every four years I get swept up heavily in politics and it’s almost impossible for it not to creep into my writing. Back in 2000, I [...]
The Chicago Way
Last Friday, Democratic candidate Barack Obama was speaking in Philadelphia. Obama promised a tough response to Republican attacks. He warned that the general election campaign could get ugly. “They’re going to try to scare people. They’re going to try to say that ‘that Obama is a scary guy,’” he said. A donor yelled out a [...]
Pop culture out of context
I want to follow up on the post below, where I spoke of the collision/collusion between pop culture and politics. In their most recent diavlog at bloggingheads.tv, Robert Wright discussed the “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” incident with Mickey Kaus. Watch this exchange where Wright (who has no idea who Jay-Z is and clearly has never [...]
“I’m the realest that run it, I just happen to rap.”
My new Spot-on column is up: A Revolutionary Soundtrack. It examines the relationship between politics and pop music and looks at an example from a few weeks ago when Barack Obama channeled Jay-Z. A lot of pop music ignores politics altogether. Some pop music is very earnest about pop music. You don’t often see artists [...]
Spot on Authenticity & Winehouse
In the spirit of catching up, I never linked to my last two Spot-on columns. Back in February, I wrote a piece called “Days of Wine and Roses,” which was inspired by the fact that I knew a few people who really hated Amy Winehouse. Their dislike seemed to be focused on the fact that [...]
The Magic Negro
The last week of April, the blogosphere finally took notice of a song that aired in March on Rush Limbaugh‘s program entitled “Barack The Magic Negro.” Comedian Paul Shanklin impersonated Al Sharpton singing (to the tune of “Puff the Magic Dragon”) a lament that Barack Obama appealed to people in ways that the Reverend Al [...]