Having a Republican in the White House might at the very least give our musicians a much-needed sense of purpose and urgency
American pop music has been steeped in the idea of rebellion since the days when Elvis Presley's swivelling hips were deemed too hot for television. Should Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney pull out a victory next week, it could, for better or worse, reframe the narrative of rebellion, with popular acts having a lightning-rod figure to rail against and distressed thirtysomethings taking to their garages and, in a nod to the 80s hardcore scene, starting thrashy outfits called Romney Youth.
Looking at the artists who have backed Romney provides a bit of a jumping-off point for how this might play out. Kid Rock, the Detroit-born rap-rocker-turned-AutoTuned troubadour, is pop's most prominent Romney supporter; he'll perform at the Republican nominee's final rally this coming Monday in New Hampshire. Meat Loaf also made internet waves last month after he was photographed in a state of dashboard-light-adjacent levels of ecstasy while on stage with the candidate; John Rich of arena-country duo Big & Rich was also on that night's bill. This summer, karaoke stalwarts Journey played the Republican National Convention, where Republican vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan garnered laughs by bragging about how his listening to AC/DC and Led Zeppelin showed his relative hipness.
In contrast, Obama's recent rallies have featured performers such as Bruce Springsteen and Katy Perry (who wore a body-hugging dress bearing a ballot paper during her performance); pop power-couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé also threw a $4m fundraiser for the president at Jay's 40/40 Club in September. The demographic stratification here is pretty obvious and almost ridiculous in a high-school definition of "cool" sense. Romney's musician supporters tend to be older, whiter, and more often male, while Obama has youth, diversity, and Crazy in Love on his side. (Not that Romney hasn't tried; he told an interviewer this summer that he was a big fan of the Killers, whose Brandon Flowers shares Romney's Mormon faith. Last month, however, Flowers demurred when asked about his political leanings, telling the Guardian that the band was neutral on the subject of the election.)
The seeds of discontent have already been planted for reasons both political and personal. When Ryan mentioned his appreciation of Rage Against the Machine, the poli-rap-rock group's guitarist Tom Morello took some time out from soundtracking the Occupy movement to politely suggest that the Wisconsin politician (who he referred to as a "right wing nut job") should get to Googling the band's lyrics. He wasn't the only musician to get peeved by the Romney/Ryan playlist: the dreamgaze act Silversun Pickups had their lawyer shoot off a cease and desist order to the campaign after it used the group's song Panic Switch, and Dee Snider of Twisted Sister also objected to his band's agitated 80s anthem We're Not Gonna Take It being used at rallies.
Musicians have been getting angry at politicians for appropriating their songs ever since Ronald Reagan's campaign managers only paid attention to the chorus of Born in the USA, but it's not too much of a stretch to think that this agitation would spill over into music. In the rock world, that would represent something of a shift; mainstream rock in this decade is starting finally to shake off the post-grunge scowl that it has worn since the 90s, with Mumford & Sons dominating the sales charts and heirs to their folked-out throne such as the Lumineers and Of Monsters & Men making their own inroads. The music is airy and punctuated by campfire-choir singalongs and a feeling of optimism, if not happiness. Toughening them up might actually do them some good, or at least give them some of the urgency possessed by their other obvious forebears, Arcade Fire.
The place to look for a truly rebellious sound might seem like the least likely: radio stations pumping out top-40 hits. In recent years, a strain of pop that could be dubbed It-Gets-Better-Core has carved out a small, yet crucial, niche on the charts. And those chart-topping "you do you" songs, like Katy Perry's Firework and Ke$ha's We R Who We R, and even One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful, were seemingly inspired by the It Gets Better movement, which was started to help LGBTQ youth deal with harassment in school and at home. Given that Romney and his party are against basic rights for gay people to the point of vehemence, songs that are plainly about accepting one's self no matter what societal pressures exist might be a truly nervy form of political protest – and if they have a good beat and can be danced to, all the better.
Mitt Romney
Barack Obama
Bruce Springsteen
Katy Perry
Rage Against the Machine
Beyoncé
US elections 2012
United States
US politics
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