If Musicians Picked The President...

Billie Joe wants to see Blvd of Broken Dreams fixed

Early in April I saw a headline that seemed... off and, well, counterintuitive: Male U.S. rock fans likely to vote Republican: survey. "If you are male and a Led Zeppelin fan," it began, "chances are you may be leaning toward voting Republican in the U.S. presidential election, according to a survey of rock radio fans released on Wednesday." Or maybe not. And if you are a make fan of Bruce Springsteen or Bob Dylan? And what about women and people born after 1950?

The survey found women and fans of alternative radio, featuring '80s and '90s rock, tend to be Democratic, while men and classic rockers lean Republican.

Asked about their overall presidential preference, Democrat Barack Obama led the pack with 26 percent support among those planning on voting in the November election.

McCain ranked second with 22 percent and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton drew 18 percent.

There were also a fair share of write-in votes. Mickey Mouse ranked as the top presidential choice of 11 respondents, and singer Ted Nugent was written in by three members of the Rock sample.

A couple weeks ago Rolling Stone did a more serious and systematic look at how musicians were feeling about the candidates, although not about what impact they might have on their fans. If musicians picked presidents Obama wouldn't have to worry. Many of them are inspired by his message of hope.

The night Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination for president, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong found himself experiencing an unfamiliar emotion: hope. "After his acceptance speech, I have to admit, it took me an hour to get the lump out of my throat," says Armstrong, whose band's American Idiot was the defining protest album of the Bush years. "Obama inspires people, and this country needs inspiration. People are jaded, pissed off and embarrassed."

Much as the Bush administration generated more protest songs and political action from musicians than any time since the Sixties, the Obama campaign has ignited an unprecedented level of support from a broad spectrum of artists. "The biggest difference between 2004 and now," says Conor Oberst, who toured in support of John Kerry along with Bruce Springsteen, John Fogerty and Dave Matthews on Vote for Change, "is that then we were campaigning and voting against something. Now we are campaigning and voting for something, which is a completely different dynamic." Adds another Vote for Change vet, David Crosby, "I worked for Kerry but with large reservations because I thought he was kind of a wooden Indian. You look at Barack, and you can't help feeling hopeful."

And, despite the lame headline from April, the enthusiasm for Obama crosses all demographic lines. Among the Obama fans noted by the Stone are Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, Arcade Fire, Usher, Springsteen, John Legend, Jay-Z, R.E.M., the Decembrists, Jay-Z, Fall Out Boy, Death Cab for Cutie, Will.i.am, Bob Weir, Wilco, Ludacris, and Dave Matthews.

Last night I mentioned that I wasn't sure where Orange County-based rockers the Damn Automatics stand politically. After all, they are from politically conservative Orange County. I wanted to know because I loved a song of there's a turned it into a typically DWT anti-McBush polemic. I felt a little nervous about using someone's song for my own political agenda. So I found the lead singer's phone number and called him. Jeff Wright isn't really into politics but he feels this is a special time. He didn't want to go beyond a pretty bland statement of support for Obama. When I asked him what he thought of McCain he referred to him as the Crpyt Keeper and then started talking about how he couldn't understand how so many people watched the same thing unfolding in the last 7 years as he did and still wanted to opt for 4 more years. "How is that possible?," he asked. "Are we not listening to the same station? I don't think our country can take four more years down this path. There has never been a time in my life when I could actually feel that something was about to and needs to change more than right now." (And here's Jeff's band's new song.)