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Music
Jul 02, 2008, 06:05AM

Would You Vote For An ABBA Fan?

Looking for another deciding factor in the upcoming election, this columnist breaks down the Democratic and Republican candidates by their music tastes. How does Obama's diverse, trendy selections pair up to McCain's strict love for 70's Swedish pop?

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Photo courtesy of www.topnews.in

Logically, policy questions trump most others in the lead-up to any major election. That's wise and fair. But an exorbitant amount of coverage is devoted to some of the most pointless, arbitrary and benign topics known to man. Barack Obama didn't wear a flag pin on his lapel! John McCain's wife is frightening to look at! Who cares?

Good people can like awful music. But doesn't the media's message that consumption defines a person's character still matter? Surely, the consequences are not as pronounced as the angry parents who point fingers at Marilyn Manson every time there's a school shooting would like you to believe, but there are implications. That said, it's a bit disconcerting that the two presumptive presidential nominees have remained largely candid about their musical tastes.These are difficult questions with evasive answers. But after much scouring, the historically moderate A&E department is set to endorse a nominee based on what matters most: taste.

Barack Obama

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Obama divulged the contents of his iPod and the results were widely encouraging. Singer/songwriter legends Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan were among his favorites, along with the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder and Howlin' Wolf. Not an objectionable one in the bunch. On top of that, Obama is also a fan of some exceptional jazz: Miles Davis, Charlie "Bird" Parker and John Coltrane.

Sheryl Crow was a vapid pop misstep, but he redeemed himself by professing his admiration for Jay-Z. Overall, Obama's tastes are safe, but also - for the most part - indisputable in terms of overall quality. Not that it reflects on his tastes, in particular, but The Decemberists, Arcade Fire and Wilco have all voiced their support of Obama.
If only he could entice the influential Toby Keith of "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue (The Angry American)" fame.

John McCain

Apparently, John McCain's tastes can be summed up in four letters, and/or one crappy Swedish pop group: ABBA.

According to The Austin American Statesman, McCain fiercely defended the '70s group, stating that "ABBA was the largest selling (recording act ever). Nobody likes them, but they sold more records than anybody in the history of the world, including the Beatles. But everybody hates them. (But) you're a no-class guy if you like ABBA. Why does everybody go see 'Mamma Mia?' Hypocrisy! Rank hypocrisy! I'm not embarrassed to say I like ABBA."

In separate interviews, McCain has advocated that ABBA be played in the White House elevators, and it was reported that, upon entering a hybrid SUV equipped with a voice activated iPod, McCain barked, "Play ABBA!"

 

Discussion
  • Why is McCain's daughter "suspiciously hot"? That strikes me as a little weird and off-putting. Obama has no control over his supporters, but this kind of innuendo doesn't help him.

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  • She's suspiciously hot because her mom looks like an alien and her dad is 71 years old. Does alien+grandpa=hot daughter? Most would say no, and most people wouldn't read political innuendo into a comment like that.

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  • Of course there's innuendo, just judging by your comment. Are you suggesting the hot daughter has different parents? McCain wasn't 71 when she was conceived; the mother wasn't near 50. Calling Cindy McCain an "alien" only serves to inflame McCain supporters and does nothing positive for Obama.

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  • Ok, someone's assuming I know more than I actually do. I'm going to take a minute and do a little wikipedia searching...and I can only discover a picture of his daughter Meghan. Is there another hot McCain daughter out there? I have yet to see a picture, but if I do I'll be sure to apply the same rigorous objective standards that I used to verify that Cindy McCain indeed looks like an alien, and that Meghan McCain's attractiveness is somewhat surprising given that airtight proof of alienness. As for the innuendo, methinketh you doth protesteth too much. It may surprise you, but there are things you can say about these people that are not political. The alien thing does not only serve to inflame McCain supporters, nor does it make any sense to only evaluate it based on whether it supports Obama or not. I actually didn't consider the electoral ramifications of remarking on her similarity to extraterrestrials. Saying that might insult some, make some laugh, and get no reaction from others, all without consideration of politics. Would it be political if I said any other famous person looked like an alien, like say Tyra Banks's striking facial resemblance to the aliens from Close Encounters of the Third Kind? Viewing everything in such narrow and absolute political terms seems like an awfully limited way to see the world.

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  • Mr. Deities, you must be having an off day, since your commentary is usually more substantive. Remember the hue and cry when conservatives would make fun of Chelsea Clinton (John McCain incuded)? That had no place in politics, or wouldn't, in a saner political climate. Tyra Banks has nothing to do with. Of course anything to do with the presidential candidates will be viewed in "narrow and absolute political terms." You know that. Just yesterday, on the Today show, Matt Lauer had a slip of the tongue and called Obama "Osama" and immediately apologized and corrected himself.

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  • McCain just went down a few notches in my book. The man lived through a history of great music and he landed on 70's pop? I doubt there's much validity to this, though. No one likes Abba that much.

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  • The irony is quite rich dan! Here you are, a creative genius for the eons being lowered to comment on something as transient as a presidential race! I spilled brandy all over my keyboard laughing about it! Also, i like that mccain is admitting what he likes. You can't say he doesn't have principal now.

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  • A dumb article, typifying the tripe that passes for political commentary (or weak attempts at satire) leading up to the general election. I assume the author meant JOHN Denver (the schmaltzy singer) and not BOB Denver (Gilligan). Dylan's endorsement was elliptical, given to a UK reporter, and the the gist was that he too thought change in the political system in the US was overdue. If he plays for an Obama rally I'd be surprised, unless there was a Victoria's Secret-like paycheck at the end of the show. My parents, bless their hearts, turned ABBA off in the car when I was a kid. And Mort, you're right, I don't think McCain gives a shit about pop music. Which is fine by me: early Fleetwood Mac, before Stevie Nicks, was great, but Bill Clinton forever besmirched any reputation they had by adopting that "Don't Stop Thinking About the Bridge to the 21st Century" song.

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