Here is a question for you. Which one of these two concerts would you rather attend? Concert number one features the sounds of Sammy Hagar, LeAnn Rimes, Gretchen Wilson, Daddy Yankee, Charlie Daniels and John Rich of Big & Rich. Concert number 2 features performances by Public Enemy, Kayne West, Wyclef Jean, Rage Against The Machine, Stevie Wonder and the Cold War Kids. On the basis of combined record sales alone, concert number two would be the more likely sell out. Of course, there are people who would prefer to see line up number one, but as any concert promoter in the business of booking shows would tell you, concert number two would have the most potential for profit.
 
Beyond these cold hard facts of current music commerce, ask yourself this question. Whose musical opinion would you trust more? Someone who thinks Van Halen is better with Sammy, “I Can’t Drive 55” Hagar instead of David Lee Roth or someone who cranks, “Fight The Power” whenever they are given the opportunity to do so? This is my answer. If you seek out the musical advice of someone who believes the former rather than the latter, you won’t have to worry about me bugging you about what I simply must hear. I wouldn’t trust your opinion about anything.
 
These concerts are not hypothetical entertainment considerations. The list of performers in concert number one performed for private, GOP-friendly gigs at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul and concert number two features artists and groups that took to various stages in Denver during the Democratic Convention. On this basis alone, if the winner of the upcoming presidential election was to be determined solely by the two parties’ choice of musical accompaniment at their respective conventions, it wouldn’t even be close. Obama would win in a landslide.
 
Musically speaking, the GOP doesn’t inspire creative expression. You won’t find too many songs singing the praises of trickle down economics, the Bush doctrine or the Patriot Act and the tunes that they do try to appropriate as their own are sometimes at direct odds with the messages they are trying to get across. Recently, ’70s female rock sensation Heart issued a, “cease-and-desist” order demanding that McCain’s campaign stop playing their song, “Barracuda” as the “congratulatory theme for Sarah Palin” and they released the following statement to the press:

“Palin’s “views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song ‘Barracuda’ no longer be used to promote her image. The song ‘Barracuda’ was written in the late ’70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The ‘barracuda’ represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there’s irony in Republican strategists’ choice to make use of it there.”
 
And the Wilson sisters are not alone. Fellow artists such as Van Halen, John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Jackson Brown have issued similar statements and legal filings to get the Republican Party to stop using their songs. Even openly conservative musicians such as Johnny Ramone, Ted Nugent and Gene Simmons never expressed their political leanings in their music and no one would doubt that the messages contained in any of these three performers’ repertoires would not be fitting music for a family friendly political rally. Beyond the Ford Motor Company commercial country of John Rich’s, “Raisin’ McCain”, what currently passes as the Republican Party is a party without a song.
As someone who loves music, I find it interesting that nobody is picking up an instrument or singing a tune in favor of the man or the party that strives to represent core conservative beliefs. On the other hand, the candidacy of Barrack Obama has inspired thousands of acts of artistic expression. Coincidence? I think not.

Here’s follow up to this column. Even a lame 80’s band like Survivor doesn’t want to be associated with the McCain/Palin ticket.

check it:
http://newsroom.mtv.com/2008/10/15/mccain-campaign-gets-knocked-down-by-80s-rockers-survivor/

I just think it is interesting that McCain doesn’t inspire much creative expression in support of his campaign. Why do you think that is?

“He’s the biggest celebrity in the world. But is he ready to lead? With gas prices soaring, Barack Obama says no to offshore drilling and says he’ll raise taxes on electricity. Higher taxes, more foreign oil—that’s the real Obama,” the ad’s narrator says while crowds screaming, “Obama!” are shown.

In an e-mail to supporters last week, the McCain campaign said, “It’s pretty obvious that the media has a bizarre fascination with Barack Obama. Some may even say it’s a love affair.”

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/30/mccain.ad/index.html

I agree. It is not a coincidence.  Performers tend to be Democrats. 

However, I’m not quite sure why musicians think their opinion matters to the rest of Americans.  Just because somebody can perform a song well doesn’t mean he/she is politically astute.