Anyone who has been to the appearance of a Presidential candidate knows that waiting for the candidate is the longest part, and music fills the time and the venue, sometimes for hours. The difference in the playlists between Democrat and Republican events is stark.
Let’s face it. The music at GOP events screams uncool. Don’t get me wrong, I own several Brooks and Dunn CD’s, but how many elections do we have to hear Only in America to warm up the campaign crowd? And dinosaur rock isn’t the answer either. Rush would be great (seen them 18 times) but that demographic isn’t in play. Journey soars (great video game, if you remember), but Tony Soprano has stolen their act.
Before law school, I was a DJ on a commercial rock station. The power of music to set a mood, to draw on the emotions and excite is unmistakable.
This fall, there will be thousands of disaffected sub-40 voters who were tricked in 2008 and voted for Obama. It’s time to update the Republican campaign playlist to warm up the crowd and appeal to these folks. Mood and emotion drives political events.
Maybe the Romney campaign DJ’s have already thought through this and have new, more contemporary tunes loaded up. But just in case they don’t, perhaps PJ Tatler readers can make a few suggestions after mine (in the comments below).
Of course we don’t want choices that will unduly rattle the over-60 crowd, otherwise I’d suggest pumping things up before Romney arrives with some M83, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin or the Ramones.
But here are some suggestions to update the Romney DJ’s music to play in the hours and minutes before the candidate arrives. For a campaign that gets criticized for being decidedly un-cool, it’s an easy adjustment to make.
If you listen real carefully, you might even hear a sense of things you appreciate.
Feel free to add suggestions in the comments.
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