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Campaigns and songs people are sick of hearing

Posted at 2:15 PM on June 28, 2011 by Bob Collins (19 Comments)
Filed under: Arts, Politics

Tom Petty is reportedly upset that Rep. Michele Bachmann played his song, "American Girl," at the conclusion of her announcement that she wants to be president of the United States.

It's an appropriate song beyond the title, perhaps, because American Girl, itself , has been fact-checked over the years, and meaning attributed to it has generally been wrong. Mrs. Bachmann, as NPR suggested today, is a fact-checker's dream.

One urban legend has suggested it's about a woman committing suicide at the University of Florida. That's wrong.

So what is the song about? Nothing, really. It was inspired by cars whizzing by his apartment. They sounded like waves at the beach, he said. Oh.

In selecting a song written in 1978, Mrs. Bachmann continues a political cliche: Using old songs while presenting oneself as a candidate of fresh ideas.

In the last presidential election, for example, Hillary Clinton used Bachmann-Turner Overdrive's "Taking Care of Business," a song from the early '70s (She also used "American Girl"), Mike Huckabee went with Boston's "More Than a Feeling," Chris Dodd chose the Temptations "Get Ready", and John McCain went with ABBA's, "Take a Chance on Me." Those are all songs from the '70s or mid-'60s. They all lost.

What were they trying to tap into if not music associated with some of the cruddiest years in our nation's history?

Barack Obama, meanwhile, alternated between the Black Eyed Peas, "Yes We Can," Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising" and U2's "City of Blinding Lights." Those were all songs that were popular in the same decade as the election.

There might be a lesson there.

Comments (19)

I think it's insulting that Ms. Bachmann feels the need to portray herself as a GIRL when she is a grown WOMAN.

Posted by Catherine | June 28, 2011 2:20 PM

Well, she couldn't very well use "American Woman."

American woman, stay away from me
American woman, mama let me be
Don't come hangin' around my door
I don't wanna see your face no more

I got more important things to do
Than spend my time growin' old with you
Now woman, I said stay away
American woman, listen what I say

Posted by Bob Collins | June 28, 2011 2:23 PM

Bob-

She can't? Why not? That would make her one heck of a straight shooter.

Posted by vjacobsen | June 28, 2011 2:30 PM

Re: the "Campaigns... sick of" part of your headline...

I am so very sick of the local news media's obsession with Bachmann and Pawlenty!! MPR especially treats stories about them as the most important nesw of the day -- day in and day out. Maybe I should say "HOUR in..." They are often the first story in a news broadcast, which one expects to be the biggest or most important story. Yesterday morning, NPR had Bachmann in their news breaks every half-hour, and then MPR would follow one minute later with the same damn story!! Like Minnesotans want to hear about it all over again!!

Posted by Jamie | June 28, 2011 2:43 PM

I'm trying to come up with music that fits your complaint, Jamie.

We can do the innuendo
We can dance and sing
When its said and done we havent told you a thing
We all know that crap is king
Give us dirty laundry!

That said, almost every Minnesota Web site will tell you that any post with Michele Bachmann in it automatically becomes one of the most viewed pages on their site. People lie; the numbers don't.

Posted by Bob Collins | June 28, 2011 3:09 PM

Wouldn't a little Pink Floyd also be appropriate, based on Bachmann's creative historical interpretations?

We don't need no education
We dont need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
...

Posted by MR | June 28, 2011 3:19 PM

There were over 130 comments on Michelle Bachman yesterday. really?
25% of those comments had some sense to them or held some humor, the remaining were nothing more that childish mud-slingings and namecalling that any *moron* can do.

The media makes her famous and any tribute to good and bad. If you are tired of the publicity stop handing your energy over to her.

Here's one for NewsCut:

The lunatic is in my head.
The lunatic is in my head
You raise the blade, you make the change
You re-arrange me 'til I'm sane.
You lock the door
And throw away the key
There's someone in my head but it's not me.

Posted by 4! | June 28, 2011 4:04 PM

// There were over 130 comments on Michelle Bachman yesterday. really?

Where are you looking? We had 6 on News Cut. We're different. (g)

Posted by Bob Collins | June 28, 2011 4:08 PM

On another music and news note, why hasn't anyone remixed "Hey Mickey!" for Ricky Rubio yet?

Posted by MR | June 28, 2011 4:37 PM

This is off-topic, but, Bob, have you heard about this?

http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2011/06/28/29562/gop_legislators_may_show_up_at_capitol_thursday_--_with_or_without_budget_agreement/?utm_source=MinnPost+e-mail+newsletters&utm_campaign=a78b84977c-Greater_MN_Newsletter_6_28_116_28_2011&utm_medium=email

Posted by Jamie | June 28, 2011 5:27 PM

I think we need a more in-depth history of candidates' win/loss records and the era their songs came from. What song did Bush use? What about John Kerry (I seem to remember him using U2's 'Beautiful Day')?

That could get real interesting... and then we could draw all kinds of pointless conclusions.

Posted by Kevin D. Hendricks | June 29, 2011 8:35 AM

although this is wikipedia...

//http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_song

Presidential campaign songs1824 and 1828: Andrew Jackson: "The Hunters of Kentucky" (Samuel Woodworth)
1840: William Henry Harrison: "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" (Alexander Coffman Ross)
1860: Abraham Lincoln: "Lincoln and Liberty" (Jesse Hutchinson of the Hutchinson Family Singers)
1864: Abraham Lincoln: "Battle Cry of Freedom" (George F. Root)
1928: Al Smith: "Sidewalks of New York"
1932: Franklin D. Roosevelt: "Happy Days Are Here Again"
1948: Harry S Truman: "I'm Just Wild About Harry"
1960: John F. Kennedy: "High Hopes"
1964: Lyndon B. Johnson: "Hello Lyndon" (Jerry Herman)
1964: Barry Goldwater: "Go with Goldwater" (Tom McDonnell and Otis Clements)
1968: Richard Nixon: "Nixon's the One" (Moose Charlap and Alvin Cooperman)
1972: George McGovern: "Bridge over Troubled Water" (Paul Simon)
1976: Jimmy Carter: "Ode to The Georgia Farmer" (K.E. and Julia Marsh)
1976: Gerald Ford: "I'm Feeling Good about America" (Robert K. Gardner)
1980: Ronald Reagan "California Here We Come"
1984: Walter Mondale "Gonna Fly Now"
1988: George H. W. Bush: "This Land Is Your Land" (Woody Guthrie)
1988: Michael Dukakis: "America" (Neil Diamond)
1992: Bill Clinton: Don't Stop (Fleetwood Mac)
1992: Ross Perot: Crazy (Patsy Cline)
1996: Bob Dole: "Dole Man" (Sam and Dave)
2000: George W. Bush: "I Won't Back Down" (Tom Petty) (Who threatened to sue Bush if he did not stop using the song. Petty then performed the song at Al Gore's home minutes after he conceded the election.), "We the People" (Billy Ray Cyrus), "Right Now" (Van Halen)
2000: Al Gore: "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet" (Bachman–Turner Overdrive),"Let the Day Begin" (The Call)
2004: George W. Bush: "Only in America" (Brooks & Dunn), "Wave on Wave" by Pat Green
2004: John Kerry: "No Surrender" (Bruce Springsteen) [1], "Fortunate Son" by John Fogerty, Beautiful Day by U2
2008: John McCain: "Take Us Out" by Jerry Goldsmith, "Take A Chance On Me" (ABBA), "Our Country" (John Mellencamp), "Raisin' McCain" (John Rich)
2008: Barack Obama: "Yes We Can" (will.i.am featuring various artists), "Better Way" (Ben Harper), "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" (Stevie Wonder), "City of Blinding Lights" (U2), "Higher and Higher" (Jackie Wilson), "Think" (Aretha Franklin), "The Rising" (Bruce Springsteen), "Only in America" (Brooks & Dunn)
2008 primary candidates: Hillary Clinton: "You and I" (Celine Dion), "Takin' Care of Business" by Bachman–Turner Overdrive, "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton and "American Girl" by Tom Petty; Chris Dodd: "Get Ready" and "Reach Out I'll Be There" by The Temptations; John Edwards: "Our Country" by John Mellencamp; Rudy Giuliani: Take Us Out by Jerry Goldsmith (theme from "Rudy") and "Rudie Can't Fail" by The Clash; Mike Huckabee: "More Than A Feeling" by Boston (Tom Scholz of Boston asked Huckabee to stop using the song)

Posted by lucy | June 29, 2011 9:43 AM

My goodness, people are in sour moods. The topic here is campaign music, people! It's not life or death.

Here's an interesting story from the 2008 race. It also notes that Kerry took months to settle on a campaign song, which figures.

Posted by Bob Collins | June 29, 2011 11:57 AM

Almost every politician could use Carly Simon's
"You're So Vain".

Posted by Jim Shapiro | June 29, 2011 11:57 AM

Bob
If you were running for a political position what would be YOUR theme song?

Posted by lucy | June 29, 2011 1:36 PM

Mark Wheat asked me that yesterday on The Current. Here was my answer.

If the lyrics got me in trouble -- and they probably would -- I'd switch to Louie Louie. In 50 years, nobody's been able to figure out THOSE lyrics.

Posted by Bob Collins | June 29, 2011 1:49 PM

Saffron-Sugarfoot Collins.

you should take up boxing. ;>)

Posted by lucy | June 29, 2011 2:30 PM

Bob -

Indiscernible lyrics to Louie Louie?
Au contraire, mon frere:

CHORUS:

Louie Louie, oh no
Me gotta go
Aye-yi-yi-yi, I said
Louie Louie, oh baby
Me gotta go

Fine little girl waits for me
Catch a ship across the sea
Sail that ship about, all alone
Never know if I make it home

CHORUS

Three nights and days I sail the sea
Think of girl, constantly
On that ship, I dream she's there
I smell the rose in her hair.

CHORUS

Okay, let's give it to 'em, right now!

GUITAR SOLO

See Jamaica, the moon above
It won't be long, me see me love
Take her in my arms again
Tell her I'll never leave again

CHORUS

Let's take it on outa here now
Let's go!!

-------------

Surreptitiously leaving the country to rendezvous with a lover?

OK, maybe a politician WOULDN'T wanna use that one.

Posted by Jim Shapiro | June 29, 2011 3:43 PM

This is off topic but Today's Question lured 145 comments and the subject matter was "Who do you blame?"

The personal attacks didn't start until later in the day this time. What does that mean?

Who do you blame? Blame it on the Boogie

That nasty boogie bugs me, but somehow it has drugged me
Spellbound rhythm gets me on my feet
I've changed my life completely, I've seen the lightning leave me
And my baby just can't take her eyes off me

Don't blame it on the sunshine
Don't blame it on the moonlight
Don't blame it on the good times
Blame it on the boogie

Posted by lucy | June 29, 2011 7:13 PM