I figured with the Great Trollrating Angst Party going on, a diary on a slightly sillier subject might be in order.
When I asked if there would be a dance party or two at YearlyKos, and if so, what music would be played, the Fabulous Fabooj suggested that I start a diary on the subject and get some suggestions. So I have. I don't know if there's be a party yet, but if there is, we'll have a playlist ready!
I've tried to list music suitable for fast and slow dancing (some protest songs make great listening but are lousy to dance to), and have some relevance in lyrics or title, however tenuous, to progressive politics, the netroots, the mendacity of Republicans and the Kool Kids media, and of course the slow-motion train wreck that is the Bush Administration. More below...
I've listed a dedication for each song. Some may have more than one; feel free to add suggestions as they occur to you, whether serious, snarky or satirical. Oddly enough, the bad guys seem to have all the good songs. Isn't that always the way? And I've left out some obvious targets for dedications on both sides (like John Kerry, Rummy, Hannity, Cindy Sheehan, the Gropenator, Samuel Alito, Jon Stewart, Karl Rove, James Dobson, and Nancy Pelosi), for your commenting pleasure.
So forthwith, my suggestions (which of necessity reflect my own generation and musical biases) are below. Rock on!
Bloggers' Medley:
"What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye (for progressives)
"Respect" by Aretha Franklin (for the netroots)
"Taking It To the Streets" by the Doobie Brothers (for the Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party)
"We Will Rock You/We are the Champions" by Queen (for the Angry Left)
"War" by Edwin Starr (no explanation needed, I would hope)
Individual bloggers:
For Kos: "Baby Face" by Wing & A Prayer Fife & Drum Corps
For Atrios: "Philadelphia Freedom" by Elton John
For Jerome: "Life in Wartime" by the Talking Heads
For Skippy: "Tie Me Kangaroo Down" by Rolf Harris
For Armando: "Rock the Boat" by the Hues Corporation
For PastorDan: "Higher Love" by Steve Winwood
For MSOC: "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper
For The Good Guys
"You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon (for Al Gore)
"Secret Agent Man" by Johnny Rivers (for Valerie Plame)
"Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac or "Mama Told Me Not to Come" by Three Dog Night (for the Big Dog--sorry, couldn't resist!)
"Shout!" by the Isley Brothers (for Howard Dean)
"I Gotcha" by Joe Tex (for Patrick Fitzgerald)
"Wind Beneath My Wings" (for Congressman John Murtha)
"Simply Irresistible" by Robert Palmer (for Stephen Colbert)
For the Bad Guys
For Bush: Oh, there are simply so many. How about:
"Shame" by Evelyn 'Champagne' King
"Smiling Faces" by The Undisputed Truth (for Bush's "apology")
"Idiot Son of an Asshole" by NOFX (kinda obvious, huh?)
"Drive My Car" by the Beatles or "Vehicle" by the Ides of March (for Laura "Pickled" Bush)
"Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen (for Tom DeLay)
"You Haven't Done Nothing" by Steve Wonder (for Richard Nixon, may he rot in hell)
"Shotgun" by Jr. Walker and the All-Stars (for "Deadeye" Dick Cheney)
"American Woman" by the Guess Who (for Condi "I don't need your war machines" Rice)
"Fool on the Hill" by Sergio Mendez and Brasil '66 (for Dennis Hastert)
"If I Had A Million Dollars" by Barenaked Ladies (for Roy Blunt)
"Cat Scratch Fever" by Ted Nugent (for Bill Frist)
"Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs (for Jim Sensenbrenner)
"Maniac" by Michal Sembello (for Jean Schmidt)
"Hit the Road, Jack" by Ray Charles (for Jack Abramoff)
"Every Breath You Take" by Sting or "I Can See for Miles" by the Who (for the NSA)
"Heard it Through the Grapevine" by Gladys Knight and the Pips (for General "Snoopy" Hayden)
"I'm Looking Through You" by the Beatles (for Joe "Mentum" Lieberman)
"The Back Stabbers" by the O'Jays (for the DLC)
"Mr. Big Stuff" by Jean Knight (for Joe Klein)
"The Hustle" by McCoy, Van (for Bob Shrum)
"Devil with A Blue Dress" by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels (for Monica)
"Aqualung" by Jethro Tull (for most of the DHS, it seems)
"Brick House" by the Commodores (for Katherine "Boobs of Death" Harris)
"Who Let the Dogs Out" by Baha Men(for Rick "Frothy Dance Mix" Santorum)
"Bad Luck" by Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes (for Bill "Slots" Bennett)
"I Need a Man" by Grace Jones (for Ken Mehlman)
"Dirty Laundry" by Don Henley (for the MSM)
"Macho Man" by the Village People (for Jeff "Uncut" Gannon)
"Lies" by the Knickerbockers (for Scott McClellan)
"Tell Me Something Good" by Rufus and Chaka Khan (for Ari Fleisher)
"Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys (for Bill O'Reilly)
"Judy's Turn to Cry" by Leslie Gore (for Judith Fucking Miller)
"Time Won't Let Me" by the Outsiders (for Viveca Novak)
"The Bitch is Back" by Elton John (for Barbara "Chuckles" Bush)
"Busted" by Ray Charles (for Ben Dolmenech)
"Evil Woman" by ELO (for Michele Mangalangadingdong)
"A Little Help from My Friends" by the Beatles (for Duke Cunningham)
"I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" by the New Seekers (for Clarence Thomas)
"I Touch Myself" by Divinyls (for District Judge Donald "Penis Pump" Thompson)
"Na Na Hey Hey, Goodbye" by Steam (for the GOP)