TAIPEI TIMES MONDAY, JANUARY 1 9 , 2 0 0 9 PAGE 1 3 [ THE WEEKENDER ] ‘Son of a Bush’ There was plenty of musical outrage at Torquil Campbell, left, and Amy Millan of the Montreal Bush’s presidency. But who was listening? indie-pop band Stars, who played at The Wall last Monday. PHOTO: DAVID CHEN, TAIPEI TIMES BY DorIan LynSKey THE GUARDIAN, LONDON Indie stars rock wo weeks before Richard la Rocha, were longstanding liberals Bush administration weren’t songs at The Wall Nixon left the White and leftists who cut their teeth during all, but the off-the-cuff comments by House in August 1974, the eras of Reagan and Bush senior. Maines and West. Stevie Wonder released One mark of a truly bad leader is the Tannenbaum sees something Mogwai and Canadian an album, Fulfillingness’ ability to stir outrage among artists significant in that: “They found a group Stars cement The TFirst Finale, which contained the who usually leave their politics at different kind of medium rather than toxic goodbye You Haven’t Done the studio door. Just before the 2004 getting a song on the radio. What’s Wall’s reputation for Nothin’. “We are sick and tired of election, Eminem labeled Bush a the point of writing a protest song? hearing your song,” Wonder scolded “weapon of mass destruction” in his [US radio giant] Clear Channel isn’t hosting international acts the departing POTUS. The 43rd stirringly surly anti-war record Mosh, going to play it. MTV doesn’t play president demands no such hurrying. and Green Day released American videos. What you need is something BY DAVId CHen AND jacK HEWSon Even though he doesn’t step down Idiot, which, if it wasn’t specifically far more viral and guerrilla. I think STAFF REPORTER AND CONTRIBUTING WRITER until tomorrow, US President W. about the president, didn’t bend there’s a distrust of the traditional George Bush’s song has been all but over backwards to discourage that mode of protest songs.” One inaudible for the past year. As his interpretation. Evidently, though, culprit, he suggests, is the cultural aipei’s top indie rock club The Wall opponents have sublimated Bush no artistic efforts mobilized enough fragmentation of the digital age. “If (這牆) had a banner week as it hosted hate into Obama love, he has become younger voters to put John Kerry in you wanted to reach alienated young t Montreal band Stars last Monday and a ghost president, hardly worth the the Oval Office. After Bush’s people in 1968 you got a song on the venerable post-rock outfit Mogwai on Friday bother of attacking. re-election, and with Iraq’s continued radio and they would all hear it in night. If you require a good-riddance descent into chaos, the songs grew the same week. Now there isn’t one Judging from the response of the near- Kanye West, top, and the Flaming Lips are just two of many bands that tackled US President sound track, however, there are more bitter. As the second term station that everyone is tuned into capacity crowd on Monday, Stars lived up to George W. Bush in song. PHOTOS: REUTERS AND NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE plenty to draw on from the preceding began, Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst — I don’t just mean a radio station, I their name. Their pop-rock sound, a mix of years. Between Dixie Chick Natalie memorably depicted Bush as a mean a central media station.” New Wave, electronica and soul, made for a Maines telling a London audience in deluded religious maniac in When the Riot Act tour, Crosby, Stills, Nash war”), then Hurricane Katrina was the Wayne Coyne points out another spirited and fun evening. March 2003 that she was “ashamed President Talks to God (2005). and Young with their Deja Vu shows, tipping point. significant difference between the Many in the audience of some 400 people the president of the United States Rob Tannenbaum, music editor and the Flaming Lips, who included While one should be wary of 2000s and the 1960s: “My older danced and sang along throughout the band’s is from Texas” and Kanye West of the US music magazine Blender, a fistful of protest songs, including comparing hip-hop to the broadly brothers knew guys at high school two-hour show. Fans in front of the stage, declaring on a live telethon in heard Oberst sing it at New York The Yeah Yeah Song, on 2006’s At conservative country music scene, who got drafted [Coyne is 47], went which was adorned with roses, squealed as September 2005 that “George Bush town hall that January: “I can’t think War With the Mystics album and the impotent right-wing outrage to Vietnam and two weeks later vocalist Torquil Campbell reached his hand doesn’t care about black people,” the of many occasions when I felt an attacked the president from the stage that followed Kanye West’s telethon they were dead. That’s a powerful out into the crowd while singing. Everyone president’s approval rating halved and audience was so engrossed in the at show after show. “The frustration outburst paled beside the boycotts experience. When Green Day are seemed to know all the lyrics. the trickle of critical songs became a drama of a song and I don’t know was coming out of us in the songs,” and death threats that greeted the singing a song, you’re like, “Cool song Vocalist Amy Millan was taken aback by torrent. You could construct a decent that I’ve ever seen a singer project says frontman Wayne Coyne. “But Dixie Chicks 30 months earlier. With dude, I got my new iPhone.” That’s the boisterous response. “We heard rumors box-set of anti-Bush songs — Songs as much sincerity. There was a point the other side of that is just dumb much of New Orleans under water, not a powerful experience. The youth that you were docile [in Taiwan],” she told in the Key of W, perhaps — covering when I thought he was going to cheering along. We really do love criticizing the president became less aren’t dying in the same way. A lot of the audience halfway through the show. ground from Bright Eyes to Eminem, start crying.” But over the next few having someone we can all hate.” a risk than a civic duty. Houston people didn’t really feel the effects of Campbell and Millan were perfect Pink to Public Enemy, Jay-Z to months, echoing Bob Dylan’s painful And yet when Neil Young was duo the Legendary KO immediately Bush. They weren’t powerless — they counterparts on stage, just as they are on Elbow. Neither Nixon nor Ronald efforts to disentangle himself from promoting his Living With War adapted West’s hit Gold Digger into just didn’t give a shit.” their albums. He came across as flamboyant Reagan attracted such consistent and politics in the 1960s, Oberst fled album in May 2006 and said: “I was the protest record George Bush Looking back on all the songs and melodramatic, prancing about the stage wide-ranging personal opprobrium. from the song. He later complained hoping some young person would Doesn’t Care About Black People, opposing the Bush presidency, it and gesturing while singing. She was steady Bush was a gift to songwriters to the Guardian: “I guess they see come along and sing some songs New Orleans’ own Lil’ Wayne seems that what was missing wasn’t and quiet, grounded at her spot with a guitar because he allowed so many lines some kind of glimmer in you, the about it, but I didn’t see anybody, moulded a Ray Charles sample into passion, but cohesion. Until Obama and swaying gently with the band. They both of attack. To Public Enemy in left, and they want you to be an so I’m doing it myself,” nobody Georgia Bush (“We should’ve called it provided a flag to rally around, flung rose petals into the audience all through Son of a Bush (2002) it was an activist full time.” rushed to contradict him. That such a Hurricane Georgia Bush”) and Jay-Z musical dissent was so diffuse that the evening. alleged coke habit (which Bush had It was a forgivable reaction. patently inaccurate statement passed weighed in with Minority Report. to the average listener it could The band started with The Night Starts previously denied) and execution- Since the early 1960s, more unchallenged raises the question: And yet, unless one is moved to become inaudible. Conversely, Here, a synthesizer-heavy song with a driving happy record as governor of Texas. politically outspoken musicians despite so many voices being raised seek out examples, it doesn’t feel like the tidy narratives of the 1960s or beat. A few kinks in the sound system threw To the Beastie Boys in In a World have backed down through fear of against Bush, was anybody really we have just lived through a boom punk exaggerate the significance the band off, but they recovered quickly with Gone Mad (2003) it was his bellicose leftwing expectation than rightwing hearing them? A protest song is like in protest songs, because there was of previous protest songs. As a rousing version of the anthemic Take Me to posturing: “George Bush, you’re persecution. It takes overwhelming the theoretical falling tree: if nobody no melding them into a persuasive Christgau observes, “Cultural reach the Riot. looking like Zoolander/Trying to conviction to do more than record a hears it, does it make a sound? cultural movement.