A Taste of Presidential Music

Lily Ronney

With the presidential election drawing nearer, we need to look further into the lives of the candidates, and pry into their personal feelings, opinions, and preferences. One factor researchers of the candidates are unlikely to look into is their taste in music. A person's music choices can show a great deal about their nature. The same is, therefore, true for presidential candidates, as we are able to assume they too have some human emotions.

The difference between the actions of someone interested in hip-hop and those of someone whose tastes are more inclined towards jazz is very apparent. One who listens to hip-hop may have actions more inclined to the type of lifestyle associated to that music, and the same for all other genres. These differences could possibly have major influences on a candidate’s actions in the White House, were he to become president. We need to know the effects of these opinions in order to vote and support the right candidate.

The democratic front-runner, and basically the only candidate from the democratic party since the “Super Tuesday” elimination of John Edwards, John Kerry has quite possibly the most interesting taste in music of the candidates. Other candidates, like John Edwards who names John Mellencamp as one of his favorite artists; Al Sharpton, who names his favorite album as Believe by Yolanda Adams; Joseph Lieberman, who chooses Suenos by Andrea Bocelli as favorite album; and Dennis Kucinich, who liked The Liza Minnelli concert best, and likes Bonnie Raitt and Ani DiFranco best of all artists. All of these men have some quite unexciting favorites, showing that none of them are very passionate about their music. John Kerry is known to appreciate The Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead, and Bruce Springsteen, and his favorite album is Abbey Road by the Beatles. While these are interesting choices, do we really want a president who listens to the Stones and the Dead? Well, we must take into consideration that Howard Dean said, according to WashingtonPost reporter David Segal, that Metallica “totally freaking rules”. Although he stained all his credibility, his taste in music is eclectic, choosing Wyclef Jean’s Jaspora as his favorite song, and also stating that he enjoys the sounds of Led Zepplin, Simon and Garfunkel and Jackson Browne. So, with that in mind, we’ve not learned much except that Kerry could either be a complete loon or a great president.

Bush is an “all-American” man from Texas who appreciates his Country music, maybe a little too much. His great American ideals are revealed in the music he listens to. With this to consider, maybe we should look for a candidate who is a hardcore heavy metal fan.