Presidential Campaigns Are Like Wildfires/State of the Union Songbook

July 17, 2016 12:14 PM

Michael Friedman is engaged in an unusual form of journalism. The composer, who has worked on shows including “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” and “Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play,” is travelling the country talking to voters about what’s on their minds in this election, and then turning his interview transcripts into original songs. “The New Yorker Radio Hour” has been documenting his work. In California, Friedman spoke with a network-news producer whose jaded feelings about political coverage was shocked by Donald Trump’s hijacking of politics for entertainment

Presidential Campaigns Are Like Wildfires...

from The State of The Union Songbook
posted by y2karl (4 comments total)

This is really great. Make sure to check out the songs in the second link.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:24 PM on July 17, 2016

These are too great. The one titled "The Crazy 2016 Campaign, in Song" ends with a story of an undocumented immigrant who is pulled over in Arizona (as a passenger) and the policeman demands ID from everyone in the car, so the storyteller ends up handing the cop a Sam's Club card: "If you buy in bulk you must be American."
posted by zachlipton at 1:01 PM on July 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

Even without the music these would be really interesting stories and perspectives.
posted by teponaztli at 2:35 PM on July 17, 2016

I love the stories but the music... It seems like a parody of folk songs.
posted by dogrose at 3:04 PM on July 17, 2016