03/20/2018 The Economist FOR evidence that modern democracy has lost its pep, look back to the age of cheery campaign jingles. The art form dominated elections from America to the Philippines after the second world war. Australian political parties used them well into the 1980s. It is tempting to believe that melodious campaigns of the past were more enjoyable than today’s anxious, apocalyptic affairs. Sadly, a phobia of risk-taking among campaigns has killed them off in many countries. Modern candidates will sooner piggyback on popular songs (usually ones with drab titles like “Beautiful Day” or “New Sensation”) than craft an original. Silly, self-congratulatory jingles risk looking undignified. Yet a new model of campaign song is slowly emerging. An unaffiliated person can release a song, and if it strikes a chord the campaign can “adopt” it for official use. The two songs that defined Barack Obama’s election to the presidency, “Crush On Obama” and “Yes We Can”, both came to be with no campaign input. The same is supposedly true of Italy’s “Thank Goodness For Silvio”, penned by a fan of Silvio Berlusconi. Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters needed no instruction to merge his speeches with grime music or sing his name to the tune of a White Stripes song before British elections last year. Campaign music is back, but it sounds best when creators act alone. Read more...
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