[JPL] Re: jazzproglist Digest, Vol 10, Issue 131

[Bill Anschell]

If you look closely at Obama's favorites, there's no way they'd be  
chosen by a staffer for political gain.  Quite the contrary - it  
seems like astonishing honesty by today's campaign standards.  As we  
know too well, jazz and classical music speak to a very small  
percentage of Americans.  That's half his picks right there, with two  
deceased jazz greats listed first and second.  Dylan opens him up to  
charges of sixties radicalism; Stevie Wonder and The Fugees - while  
both having wider appeal - don't exactly speak to the white blue  
collar and rural vote that analysts say is his biggest electoral  
challenge.

I won't name names, but if you want to see a list that's cherry- 
picked to hit the broadest segments of the electorate, check out his  
opponent's seemingly focus-group driven choices on Facebook.  They  
include the Rolling Stones, U2 and Aretha Franklin, and she caps it  
off by listing her favorite tv show as American Idol.

I wrote a tongue-in-cheek article about this, but didn't have any  
takers.  I'd be happy to email a copy to anyone interested (just  
email me directly).  It dissects McCain's musical tastes as well.

--Bill Anschell

On May 9, 2008, at 1:01 AM, jazzproglist-request at jazzweek.com wrote:

> Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 21:43:19 -0700
> From: Forrest Bryant <jazz at kzsu.stanford.edu>
> Subject: Re: [JPL] Obama/Jazz
> To: jazzproglist at jazzweek.com
> Message-ID: <B3BA0F89-E69B-4B6F-8ABD-AA8DC7024764 at kzsu.stanford.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes
>
> Hi, Jae:
>
> The following appears on the Obama campaign's official Facebook page
> (which is linked directly from the front page of barackobama.com so it
> appears to be legit)...
>
> Favorite Music:	
> Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder,
> Johann Sebastian Bach (cello suites), and The Fugees
>
> Whether or not those are his real picks or just what some staffer
> thought sounded good are an open question. I choose to believe they're
> his own selections. :-)
>
> [FB]