Wednesday, February 13, 2008

I Didn't Realize Obama Songs Were a Thing

I found one by the guy from the Black Eyed Peas that features a lot of people, including John Legend, Scarlett Johannson (who sings!), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who doesn't), the guy from Live (the band- I want to say, off the top of my head, that his name is Ed Kowalczyk), and I think it's the girl from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. The crazy thing is that it's pretty good. Have a listen:



I can't quite figure out, though, if the song is really all that good or if that speech (if I'm not mistaken, that's the New Hampshire primary speech) flies under my bullshit detector and makes me, just for a second, almost hope for the political future of the nation. I understand that there isn't enough information to determine whether or not Barak Obama might be an agent of change or what change he might actually foment, but I want to hope. I don't, but I want to so badly.

13 comments:

avk said...

Side note: I think the sign language woman is actually saying something very impolite.

Unknown said...

Yes we can...do it in the butt.

Wolf said...

Here's the text of the speech.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2008/01/obama-yes-we-can.html

Wolf said...

Looks like that URL was cut off. Don't know how to make it a link.

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2008/01/
obama-yes-we-can.html

andrew said...

#1 I totally agree that "We are not as divided as our politics suggnest"

#2 "yes we can" yes, we can. But we have always been able too, except normally we just don't bother....

#3 What we SHOULD do is look at policies, not compare who gets the most celebrities to follow them. In fact, in all things, my first gut instinct is "if a whole bunch of celebrities are saying X, X is probably wrong"

But then, I am a contrarian by nature.

w1ndst0rm said...

No you're not.

Speeches and be good, empty and hopeful all at the same time. None of the above too.

cardinal23 said...

I agree with looking at policies. Fortunately, in Obama, I find a man with whom I agree on all the issues I consider important. That his speaking also can bring a lump to my throat is an added benefit.

Unknown said...

Policies-schmolicies. After eight years of wrist-slitting gloominess this country needs hugs. Then somebody who will stop the bleeding.

avk said...

Andy-
I agree that there isn't any reason you should put more stock in what a celebrity says than anyone else. A celebrity is just a billboard- the writing on a billboard isn't more meaningful or substantive than what's written in, say, the 9-11 Commission report, but a whole hell of a lot more people read what's on any given billboard. Not listening to someone just because they're a celebrity is as stupid as not listening to them because they're rich or poor, white or black, or if they're from Iowa. By the way this song and video was not produced, funded or even known about by the Obama campaign, so it isn't a campaign tactic to get a bunch of celebrities on board, as you accuse- each one of those individuals came to the project for their own individual reasons.

Sometime you'll have to explain to me how a lifetime of straight-ticket voting reconciles with "looking at policies."

andrew said...

Aardvark, (which is what I often think when I see those 3 letters)

I partly agree and partly disagree and partly as tim likes to say "had words put in my mouth"

Celebs vs Billboards. Yes, sometimes celebs are very much like billboards, but not just that bigger and more often seen. I see celebs and billboards as advertisements. I don't trust advertisement. I know their goal is to manipulate me with something other than facts. If they had facts on their side, the'd hit me with facts, not catchy ad logos, partially clad hotties, cartoon characters, or celebrities

If a billboard says it I am inclined to disbelieve it as well...or more accurately, suspect cherry picking of figures. I expect the donuts at Holiday all taste like cardboard.

Part of it is, its like that dumb kid in your class, or the moron at work. If Johnny Moron writes "The Capitol of (blank) is (blank)" he can write it big or small, my history with Johnny Moron tells me that whatever he writes is probably wrong. Same with celebs.

I am not going to believe Jennifer Love Hewett on parenting, car maintenance, dog training or whatever, because I am going to think "Why do you send this messanger? what are you trying to keep me from noticing?"

It's like giving my dog his weekly pill wrapped up in bacon. The dog should have said "Wait a minute...why would he be giving me bacon? There is no reason for that! He never did it before! Hey maybe there is something really nasty in there I wouldn't normally swallow!"

And it doesn't even have to be that someone is behind the scenes sending the celeb. Part of it is my view that celebs live such a drastically different life than the average person I don't trust them to be down to earth on say, how to fill out your taxes yourself, how to change your own oil.

I'd also not trust Samuel Curtis Johnson either if say he was talking about tax reform. Of course, I'd think he knew what he was talking about, he was jsut lying. I'd figure a celeb was suckered in, or suckered themselves in.

By that I mean I realize the Obama campaign is isn't actively behind that music video, and all those celebs weren't called by him and asked to be in it. I am saying whatever draws celebs, I am warry of. And sometimes that's "show the celeb the cute animal picture...aww cute baby squirrel, and then tell the celeb that evil men want to take away the baby squirrel's nice home, and that makes you sad...and then watch the celeb say oh, "I should speak out on that! Agent, call letterman and get me a guest spot!"

okay I am rambling a bit, so the end

Unknown said...

Janeane Garofalo warned that Iraq would become a Vietnam-style quagmire. She was obviously wrong and was duly punished with a torpedoed career for having the gall do something other than make people laugh.

Also. Fuck John Lennon. Peace never deserved a chance.

w1ndst0rm said...

I <3 Bono.
Could he be the exception to Andy's rule?
Please?

Anonymous said...

I've got some more songs over at the Obama Mixtape.

Blog Archive