It was arguably the most musical election in history — and Barack Obama had all the best tunes.
Hip hop star Will.i.am cut and spliced Obama’s powerful speech from January’s New Hampshire primary into the inspirational Yes We Can, which rapidly became a YouTube sensation and an anthem for his whole campaign.
While McCain lamely cited Abba as his personal favourites (it’s hard to picture the Vietnam veteran as a dancing queen), Obama featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, discussing the contents of his iPod. His was a persuasively eclectic selection spanning rap (Jay-Z), rock (Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones), blues (Howlin’ Wolf), singer-songwriters (Bob Dylan, Elton John), old-school soul (Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind and Fire are his all time favourites), classical (Yo-Yo Ma) and jazz (Miles Davis, John Coltrane).
When most politicians trot out their listening tastes, you get the feeling it is just the work of spin-doctors trying to send a particular message. But (like David Cameron in this country) Obama demonstrates an easy affinity with pop culture that suggests music is actually important to him. This has been part of his appeal to the younger demographic whose voter registration and participation was considered so vital.
As R&B singer John Legend said: ”I’m not going to personally convince people if they’re not for him. What I can do is inspire those who are for him, that they show up to vote, that they stay motivated, that they volunteer, that they get involved.” The proliferation of viral musical clips that accompanied his rise has much to do with Obama’s connection with youth culture. Both candidates will have had supporters trying to stir things up on the internet, but the spontaneous contributions of a young, — pop and internet savvy demographic have really exploited the medium with an instinctive understanding missing from the work of ad agencies.
The 72-year-old McCain, by contrast, seemed hopelessly out of sync with pop culture. He was publicly reprimanded by rockers John Mellencamp, the Foo Fighters and Jon Bon Jovi for using their songs at his rallies.
That is about as powerful a pair of iconic musicians as you could conceive on the same political platform. Springsteen is the ultimate blue-collar rocker, whose songs have become anthems of ordinary American life. With his blustery, roots-rock style, he is probably as beloved by Republicans as Democrats and stands as a powerful symbol that the black candidate, portrayed by his enemies as alien, privileged and elitist, is someone the white working class can trust.
Jay-Z speaks to a very different constituency. At 38, he is practically an elder statesman of hip hop, probably the most respected rapper in America, whose endorsement would carry huge weight not just among black music fans but the younger music listening generation in general.
Yet just as fascinating is the way Jay-Z maintained a crucial distance from the candidate. He was a signatory of an open letter, with hip hop superstar P Diddy (formerly Puff Daddy) and soul queen Mary J Blige, urging people to vote, but he has repeatedly said that he has no official affiliation to Obama: ”I’m just a private citizen doing my own thing.” Arguably, Obama was not elected because of his policies but because of the ideals he was seen to represent - a cloudy yet inspiring notion of hope, a vague yet promising concept of change. It is the kind of idealism rife in popular music, a world where war is bad and love will save us all. Yet the apparent triteness of such sentiments can become impossibly moving when allied with melody and the power of the human voice. Obama is a song everyone can sing along to.
Black America is, in many respects, defined by its music. Jazz, blues, rock and roll and soul have been its great cultural gifts to the world. Totally at ease in this milieu, Obama has shown himself to be the candidate with the X factor, a true presidential rock star, straight in at number one.