Dancing in the Streets vs. Same Old Song: Campaign Playlists
Listening to the soundtracks of the RND and DNC conventions was the most revealing poll of who will win the presidency. Not only were crowd sizes at the DNA convention larger than the RNC’s, the Dems exuberant Roll Call playlist with hip D.J. Cassidy, went viral. The GOP’s songs were nostalgic and stale, and many stolen from musicians who protested their use. But musicians such as Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, and Taylor Swift graciously gave the DNC convention the rights to play their music.
Trump has been whining for four years about a “stolen election” but look at all the music he’s stolen and the musicians who have opposed his use of their songs — from Adele to Celine Dion to Elton John to Earth, Wind, and Fire. Some musicians have issued legal cease-and-desist lawsuits against Trump’s stolen usage. But the star-studded popular musicians at the DNC included in-person, triumphant performances from James Taylor, Pink, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Lil’ John, and The Chicks.
When the sisters of country-band The Chicks raised their stunning harmonies to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” they signaled that the Dems have reclaimed patriotism from the tacky lapel-pin flag of would-be GOP autocrats. The Chicks themselves are a musical lesson in how our country has evolved. After the Right attacked them for their criticism of President George Bush, they dropped “Dixie” from their name. The word “Dixie” recalled the Old South of plantations, slavery, and segregation; it was an “Anthem for the Confederacy.” The Chicks, liberated from the racial and sexist stains of “Dixie,” sing of social justice, like their upbeat “March,” or their rebellious response to the Far Right, “Not Ready to Make Nice;” or even their women’s subversive revenge song, “Goodbye Earl,” in which a wife and her friends rid themselves of the abusive husband, who violates a restraining order.
We’ve long needed a strong restraining order against an abusive Trump and his violent MAGA gangs. The courts haven’t managed to restrain Trump or hold him accountable in several long-overdue trials, including the Jan 6th and Georgia election fraud indictments. A wanna-be MAGA and would-be SCOTUS justice, Aileen Cannon, has tipped the judicial scales sideways by dropping the case against Trump for other things he’s stolen — like our nation’s top-secret documents.
It’s not only the gender gap that is enlivening this presidential election, it’s the music gap. Kamala’s Dancing in the Streets vs. Trump’s Same Old Song. Music can be our inspiration and guide in finally defeating and drowning out Trump endless drone. We can relegate him to some late-night radio station that we never want again on our dial. Trump famously trolls opponents as “low-energy” but the MAGA fever energy has finally broken and you can simply hear it in their tired Oldies’ soundtracks.
Musical soundtracks define everything from our romances to our wars to our political conventions. Trump slouched smugly onstage to “It’s a Man’s World” while Kamala strode in accompanied by Beyonce’s “Freedom,” granted full permission from Queen Bey for her buoyant song. Their acceptance speeches were also like soundtracks — Trump’s One-Note-Samba-of-Self to Kamala’s fearless embodiment of Aretha’s “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.” Listening to the music of both conventions was like hearing a faded RNC rock band reduced to covers at far-flung small venues, but the DNC was a dance party. And we all know Trump’s “YMCA” weird shuffle and hand-job dance moves vs. Kamala’s jubilant hip-hop.
Music rouses us not to just dance, but also to “Do something!” as Michelle Obama, in her full black regalia and glorious braid, commanded. I’m not just strapping on my headphones and singing. I’m volunteering, donating money, calling from nationwide phone banks, and attending postcard-signing parties to address voters. At our postcard party, of course, we’ll play the DNC playlist non-stop.
Here’s another song to add to the Kamala for President Playlist from a Facebook post of young women who sing about our future, “What Happens When a Woman Takes Power.” This should be the soundtrack when Kamala Harris climbs the shining and sacred capitol steps to take the oath of office. Listen up! Stamp your feet, clap your hands! VOTE!
Bio: Brenda Peterson is the author of over 20 books, including the memoir I Want to Be Left Behind: Finding Rapture Here on Earth, which was chosen as an Indie Next and “Great Read” by independent booksellers. Her novel, Duck and Cover, was a New York Times “Notable Book of the Year” and her new books are Wild Chorus: Finding Harmony with Whales, Wolves, and Other Animals and Stiletto, a murder mystery, both also just out in audiobook. www.BrendaPetersonBooks.com
