We here on the Riff have tried to keep track of the musical metanarratives floating along beside the presidential candidates’ campaigns, but mostly, that’s consisted of tallying up musicians endorsing Obama and threatening to sue McCain. At points, though, both candidates have expressed their own personal tastes in music, perhaps McCain most infamously. Well, the smart kids over at online radio company Slacker have sifted through the interviews and events of the last 22 months and compiled songs the candidates have said they like and music played at their rallies, creating two new stations: Obama and McCain Radio. Full disclosure: I’ve done some audio production work for these guys, so I suppose this is logrolling, but the LA Times beat me to the story anyway. Programmer Scott Riggs told me he controlled his snarkier instincts, resisting the urge to include songs that could be interpreted as being about the candidates. I suggested Neil Young’s “Old Man” and maybe something from Dumbo (cause of the big ears, see) but the channels play it straight: Obama Radio features Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire and Sheryl Crow, while McCain Radio features the aforelinked ABBA, Elvis, The Beach Boys (har) and of course, John Rich’s “Raisin’ McCain.” Which station is better? Well, I have to admit, the ornery old McCain channel’s got a certain, um, erratic charm, while Obama’s looks a lot like middle-of-the-road AAA radio. But Obama’s got Kanye, so I think he wins.
Listen for free under “Slacker Spotlight” at Slacker.com.
