There's no convention without a party, and there's no party without music. In the next couple of weeks, conventioneers from blue and red states will converge on Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul to nominate Barack Obama and John McCain, offering a great chance for each group to party down with their favorite tunes.
Plenty of artists sing about politics, but which ones are singing at politics? We assembled a list of the bands playing at each convention using an Associated Press article as a starting point, including one song for each artist, to provide a sonic representation of each party's sound. To keep things fair, we selected the first song that showed up on imeem – or failing that, YouTube – for each artist (with the exception of the Beach Boys' "Feel Flows," which is just too good not to include).
Interestingly, the RIAA is covering its bases by hosting shows at bothconventions, both parties are throwing Jambalaya-themedfundraisers for New Orleans and Flobots are performing at both (updated). That's about all the two conventions havein common, though, musically speaking.
The Democrats' list is longer, hipperand more varied, while the Republicans favor country music, classicrock, religious themes and American Idol. I'm generalizing, of course– draw your own conclusions and vote below.
Democratic Party
1964 - The Tribute (Beatles)
Ani DiFranco
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A Tribe Called Quest
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B.O.B.
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Bouncing Souls
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Circle Jerks
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Cool Kids
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David Crosby
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Dead Prez
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Dierks Bentley
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Jakob Dylan
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Melissa Etheridge
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Fall Out Boy
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Flobots (Updated)
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Frontside Five
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Lannie Garrett
Ghostface
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Immortal Technique
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Jay Electronica
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Kid Sister
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Kidz in the Hall
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Cyndi Lauper
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Method Man
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The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
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Mos Def
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Murs
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Nas
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Graham Nash
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Willie Nelson
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NOFX
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The One Campaign & RIAA Featuring Kanye West
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The Pharcyde
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Rage Against the Machine
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Raekwon
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Redman
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Spank Rock
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Street Dogs
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James Taylor
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Rufus Wainwright
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Wale
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Wyclef Jean
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Republican Party
Beach Boys
Bellamy Brothers
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Big Head Todd
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The Boogie Knights
Charlie Daniels Band
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Cowboy Troy
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Grammys rock the convention featuring Flobots and Brett James(songwriter of "Jesus, Take The Wheel" by American Idol's CarrieUnderwood and "Blessed" by Martina McBride)
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Sammy Hagar
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Jack Ingram
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Robert Earl Keen
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The One Campaign & RIAA Featuring American Idol's Daughtry
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John Rich
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LeAnn Rimes
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Smash Mouth
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Styx
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Super Diamond
Gretchen Wilson
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Bobby Yang
Update: Flobots are playing at both conventions.
See Also:
- Lily Allen's 'Guess Who, Batman' Draws Bush Comparisons
- Ludacris' 'Obama Is Here' Song Invites, Ignites Controversy
- Barack Obama's Victory Soundtrack
- First Paris, Now This: Jackson Browne Sues John McCain
- McCain Campaign's Obama-Britney Video Spurs A Backlash Online
Photo: rollerboogie
