Shut Up and Sing

Hitting a sour note

by Thomas Lindaman
08/16/04

From the people who brought you the advertising contest that had a “Bush as Hitler” as an entry comes yet another foray into the media. MoveOn Pac, the political arm of MoveOn.org, is sponsoring a series of concerts starting October 1 with a group of artists calling themselves “Vote For Change” with concert proceeds going to America Coming Together, a group trying to oust George W. Bush in November. There will be 34 shows in 28 cities in key battleground states like Ohio, North Carolina, Florida, and my home state, Iowa. (I wonder if they recognize the irony of their name, considering if Kerry gets elected, all a lot of these performers will have in their pockets is change.)

At first I read the Associated Press story announcing this with some amusement. After all, looking to performers to give solid political analysis is like expecting your dog to balance your checkbook: it's entertaining for a time, but eventually you want to have someone who can do it take over. And having heard one of the performers in Vote For Change, Dave Matthews, talk about politics on an episode of “Politically Incorrect” a couple of years ago, I think it's time for me to say something to him, his cohorts, and any other celebrity who feels the need to talk about politics or social issues.

I don't care.

Yes, I understand you have a First Amendment right to speak your mind and I support that right wholeheartedly. But is it too much to ask that you do your homework before you speak? I've listened to a lot of celebrity commentary over the years and I haven't heard so many poorly constructed ideas since John Kerry’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention a couple of weeks ago.

I think I might have an explanation as to why celebrities all of the sudden have a burning need to be vocal social and political advocates. I call it Michael Stipe Syndrome. For those of you who don't know, Michael Stipe is the lead singer of REM. After the band had a hit song or two outside of college radio stations, Stipe took it upon himself to take up causes. I have nothing wrong with him doing this, but his tone was and is that of a disapproving parent. Mikey, I know the causes you advocate are good ones, but lay off the pretentiousness! Just because I don't want to support Midget Gay Bird Watchers for the Rainforest doesn't make me a bad person.

But here's the thing, kids. When you're on stage, do your job. Your fans bought your CDs, t-shirts, concert tickets, parking at the venue, etc., and what we want you to do is to entertain us. If we want political commentary, we'll turn on Fox News or CNN because that's what the commentators on those networks get paid to do. I'm not paying George Will, Robert Novak, and Alan Colmes to do their rendition of "I'm Too Sexy." (Now Sean Hannity...that's a different story.) So, why should I or any self-respecting fan of your music pay you to give political commentary, no matter how well intentioned?

Get it? We're not paying you to tell us why George W. Bush sucks. We're paying you to sing. Besides, if we think Bush sucks, we already know why we think the way we do. We don't need your validation.

Along those lines, I think the artists of Vote For Change need to think about what they're doing. Natalie Maines, singer of the Dixie Chicks, said in the AP article, “A change is in order. There's never been a political climate like this, which s so the polar opposite of me as a person and what I believe in.” Bad grammar aside, she has a point. The political climate right now has entered into new stratospheres of spin and partisan hate. But I have a question for you, Natalie. Just how much are you contributing to the political climate that you lament? This environment didn't come about solely because of George W. Bush or the Republicans. It also came about due to a group of sore losers still bitching about the 2000 election.

Sore losers…like MoveOn.org. Helloooooooo!

Ray Charles could see that connection, and he's dead. But I doubt Maines, Matthews, Bruce Springsteen, or any of the other artists involved in Vote For Change will get it because they're too busy stumping for Kerry to think beyond the words to the next song on their set lists. I will say this for you guys. It takes guts to put your beliefs out there for public consumption (and I should know). But you can find other ways to do it that don't take up valuable time from your respective jobs. Check with Paul Newman if you need help with it because he does activism right. And until you consult with him, do us all a favor and take the advice of conservative commentator Laura Ingraham.

Shut up and sing!

And that's the Bottom Line.