Obama: Hip Hop and Hustle in Detroit

Friday, August 15th, 2008

Some youth and some senior citizens performing for Obama in Detroit. (Thanks, Sarolta Cump.) Lady Te is a young Motor City rapper. In this music video, she appeals to her peers to dig into important issues and go vote for Barack: If you're a Detroiter on the senior end of the ...

Ludacris’s Endorsement Backfires

Tuesday, August 5th, 2008

Obama praised rapper Ludacris as a great talent recently (though he wished he didn't have to worry about his daughters "getting bad images of themselves" should they listen to his music). Last week, Ludacris presumably thought he returned the favor with Politics As Usual, his endorsement of Barack. The ...

Obama for Obama in Obama

Monday, July 28th, 2008

In the town of Obama in Fukui Prefecture in Japan, there's a group called "Obama for Obama." And Obama for Obama in Obama has a special song, recorded here by undochu (thanks, Sarolta Cump): That little kid totally caught some air at the end.

Happy 4th of July (Soul of America)

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

Jellykka (Angelica Oung) explains that her inspiration for this song came from the Patriot Act, US-Mexico border issues, and Guantanamo. She had the idea, she says, a couple of years ago but had to "get some guitar skillz" before she could write it. She aimed for "a song that tied ...

Gas Prices Song

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

This funny, silly original tune will strike home if you took a roadtrip over Memorial Day (thanks, Sue Salinger). It's about gas prices and why they're so high -- a crowd-pleasing topic at any campaign event. The musicians, Rhett and Link, are boyhood pals from North Carolina; they've been writing ...

Tap Dancing for Obama

Thursday, May 15th, 2008

This takes citizen ads to a whole new level. It includes tap dancing, dogs in t-shirts, and dizzying costume changes -- all supported by a very(!) enthusiastic original song (thanks, Sue Salinger): Grace Uncensored is a performer from Springfield, IL.

Beatles Songs for the Candidates

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008

These spoofs of Princeton professor Cornel West -- by Los Angeles filmmaker David McMillan, aka "Professor Clifton East" -- match up the presidential candidates with Beatles songs. McMillan created these in 2007, when the candidate pool was considerably larger. In Part I, the Democrats: And in Part II, the Republicans: When Sarolta ...

More Criticism of PA Democratic Debate

Thursday, April 24th, 2008

These two videos found by Sue Salinger make it worth revisiting last week's ABC Democratic debate -- a debate that has been thoroughly trashed (by Democrats, anyway) for it near-total irrelevance. In this vein, up first: New York hip-hop vlogger Jay Smooth's mashup of debate footage and Soulja Boy: And next: ...

Swingin’ for Obama in PA

Monday, April 14th, 2008

The Pennsylvania Democratic primary polls show Clinton still in the lead, despite a narrowing gap. But Earl Pickens (from Lewisburg, PA) and The Band Named Thunder think otherwise. They're so sure Obama's going to win everywhere in Pennsylvania they had to sing about it. Notice how they work in "Yes ...

Obamamania: In or Out?

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008

Like many clubs, Obamamania looks pretty fun from the inside; less so if you're on the outside. First, the inside: This is another video found by co-curator Sarolta Cump. It shows avid Obama supporters waiting in the cold at 5:30 a.m. to see the senator and passing time with some ...

Monday Memory of Mike

Monday, March 24th, 2008

Since it's Monday, a dose of lightness. Mike Huckabee's been out of the race for a few weeks now, so think of this also as a final salute to his candidacy. Sarolta Cump, one of our new co-curators -- who will all be introducing themselves soon -- found this video. ...