Song About Obama Is Painful
Jack of All Blogs could really care less about the American presidential election. The reality is, regardless of which political hack is in office, this bloggers’ life will remain the same. It’s not that I don’t care about kids dying overseas or global warming or people having their homes confiscated by foreclosure madness. The reality is, at the end of the day, life is the same. Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton. Whatever.
If leadership is about inspiration, then perhaps Barack Obama is your man. His campaign steams towards Super Tuesday with amazing momentum and a growing number of star-powered endorsements. The latest coming from the participants of a song honoring Obama’s “Yes, We Can!” catchphrase.
While I don’t fashion myself a music critic, I have spent years in or close to the industry – and am a die hard fan of all genres. But I must say, this might not be the kind of support Obama’s looking for.
In fact, if he really tells the truth, he might ask, ‘can I get a better song, please?’
Directed by Bob Dylan’s oldest son Jesse, whose notable credits include the
Method Man comedy How High and American Wedding (the third American Pie movie), the video appears to have been recorded in a basement and slapped together by a hack. Sometimes apples do fall far away from trees.
will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas has the ego to sing along with Barack’s speech. And a list of B-level-at-best stars join the ride, messily talking over Barack audio clips. The most notable star is Scarlett Johansson, and if this is an indication of what to expect from her forthcoming album, the writing is on the wall: the NYC-born native is no Jenny From the Block. Heck, she’s no Minnie Driver either.
Online videos are powerful. This one will make the rounds. Regardless of how you feel about Barack, the song simply sucks. Candidates would be better served if they just fuc**d Matt Damon.
Subject: New Barack Obama Song
Hello,
I think you will be interested in a song I have just written titled ILLINOIS BOY, inspired by Barack Obama. I first heard about the Senator while on one of my annual holidays in Honolulu, where he grew up. Some of our Hawaiian friends’ children had gone to school with him. They told me of their pride in this Senator from Illinois.
ILLINOIS BOY is witty, whimsical and fun, with a slight country flavor. A few friends have suggested that you can’t refer to a black man in America as a boy. But it’s not unusual in country music to call a youthful man a boy, and I think they are overlooking the change in race relations that Obama’s candidacy so clearly embodies.
So, boys and girls, as it says in the last verse of ILLINOIS BOY, “Nothing’s ever gonna be the same!”
You can hear a 2 minute clip instantly and for free at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/anniepalovcik . Please give it a listen.
ANNIE PALOVCIK
annie palovcik said this on February 12, 2008 7:29 am