New Yorkers love to complain that major party presidential candidates overlook them, figuring that NY is and will forever be a blue state. This may be true, but I know of an even more shunned group of people who barely get even a passing glance come election season: the indie crowd.
The explosion of the “indie movement” (whatever the fuck that may actually mean) in recent years signals a significant change in the direction that the music industry is taking – less major labels, more DIY. You’d think that a smart, ambitious candidate would notice this and try to take advantage of the ever-growing number of impressionable, voting-age indie music fans and scenesters. But no, not even youth demi-god Barack Obama has attempted to reach out to this overlooked, under-appreciated vein of potential voting gold, instead preferring to pander to mainstream music fans and buddy up with major label acts like Bon Jovi. I guess he’s hoping to lock up that coveted “32- to 50-year-old New Jerseyan with bad music taste” demographic. What’s even more troubling is 99 percent of the major rock acts politicians pander to are so out of touch with the political wants and needs of their average fan, it makes their support seem egotistical and selfish. Do you think Richie Sambora really cares about universal health care?
Indie bands, on the other hand, are way more in touch with the realities of everyday, middle class, blue collar life. Take A Place To Bury Strangers, for example:
But war and health care aren’t the only issues pertinent to the indie crowd. Believe it or not, not all of us are left-leaning, flag-burning, America-hating liberals as Fox News would have you believe. In fact, patriotism is a big deal to us. Indie bands just see things a bit differently. Remember the whole “Obama-flag-pin-patriotism fiasco?” Well thanks to Times New Viking, we now also have the “McCain-touchdown flap”:
Now I’m being realistic here. I don’t expect Obama or McCain to be making a surprise appearance at Pianos or The Music Hall of Williamsburg anytime soon, and I don’t expect anyone from their campaign to be reading this (probably because our blog and website are too hip for the politico crowd). But I do hope this inspires at least one or two people to go out and get our voice heard. Let the candidates know we are tired of being ignored, and we want some good campaign music to boot. Seriously, how cool would it be to see McCain or Obama come out to The Hold Steady?
TOPICS: theshark