Pre-election playlist
November 1, 2008
Like most progressives in the US, I’m rapidly oscillating between giddy optimism and fear. Naturally, I had to find a set of songs that reflects this. For best effect, set your iTunes playlist to ‘shuffle.’
Hope:
MP3: The National – Mr November (National/Obama t-shirt, more National)
MP3: Bad Religion – You Are (the Government) (more Bad Religion, Overeducated musicians)
MP3: Billy Bragg – Waiting for the Great Leap Forward (more Billy Bragg, Concert notes)
MP3: Ted Leo – Keep on Pushing (Curtis Mayfield cover) (more Ted Leo, on z=z)
Despair:
MP3: Bishop Allen – The Bullet and Big D (more Bishop Allen, Listen local)
MP3: Jarvis Cocker – Running the World (NSFW) (more Jarvis Cocker, on z=z)
MP3: The Awkward Stage – The Morons are Winning (more The Awkward Stage)
MP3: The Weakerthans – Pamphleteer (more Weakerthans, on z=z)
And what I really need:
MP3: The Ramones – I Wanna Be Sedated (more Ramones)
zed equals zee 
A nicely ambiguous song somewhere in-between is “Democracy” by Leonard Cohen. Mostly it sounds like hope, but it’s pretty razor-edged hope. Also, the video provides the funny image of Cohen thumbing through a rhyming dictionary.
Unrelatedly, that issue is the last time I bought a Time Magazine. It’s still in the clutter of my home office somewhere.
Thanks for the heads-up. Of course, Cohen’s song “Everybody Knows” would fit nicely in the ‘despair’ column….
hi dear
and here is the photoblog of this legend, cohen : link