Truemors
UPDATED: The Huffington Post is now suggesting that the will.i.am-produced pro-Obama video could significantly impact the outcome of Super Tuesday. Do you agree?
This election cycle marks the first time when distribution has been so easy — and so cheap, and not concentrated in the hands of the campaigns. YouTube carries the message here (like it did for Hillary Clinton's Sopranos spoof video, it must be mentioned) and the ease with which video is posted and embedded means that a product can be seen without reliance on the official airwaves. In this way, (c) takes a back seat to (a), which is the real driver of (b). Could this swing Super Tuesday? Who knows — but given the wide circulation already and the fact that the press seems to be picking up on it today (most of those articles linked above were from today), it seems that the video will crest/has crested right in time for Super Tuesday. For those who think that getting thousands (likely millions at this point) of views is of value the day before a neck-and-neck election, the video just might prove to have an impact. Indeed, if you believe in such things, you might be tempted to go even further than that and assert that yes, it can.
Eight years later, with Nader's nadir long lost in the distant political past, a new and growing group of celebrity musicians, actors, and athletes are stepping forward to proclaim their affection for, and endorsement of, Barack Obama.
Obama has been incredibly effective at mobilizing public support among not only influential political folks, like the Kennedy clan, but also from big stars in the youth-focused world of entertainment. Everyone from indie rockers (Arcade Fire, Wilco, and Bright Eyes) and mainstream urban artists (will.i.am., John Legend) to screen sirens (Scarlet Johansson) and veteran folk musicians (Joan Baez), are being brought into the 'Yes We Can' fold.
Last week, hip-hop artist will.i.am. gathered a long list of celebrity friends and, in the span of just 48 hours, produced and recorded 'Yes We Can' - a star-studded endorsement song/video set to Obama's impassioned New Hampshire speech.
If you're still wondering -- after endorsements from Jeff Tweedy and Conor Oberst and Win Butler and Craig Wedren & Stella's cast and the rest of the cool kids (literally) -- who the hip pick is in this election, let this roll call of random famous faces be what finally provides you an answer. will.i.am organized the recording in two days, taking Barack's New Hampshire concession speech and setting it to music, bringing together everyone from John Legend to Ashley Banks to Dr. Addison Montgomery to Michael from LOST.
I was sitting in my recording studio watching the debates...
Torn between the candidates [...]
The outcome of the last 2 elections has saddened me...
on how unfair, backwards, upside down, unbalanced, untruthful,
corrupt, and just simply, how wrong the world and "politics" are [...]
And then came New Hampshire...
And i was captivated [...]
That speech made me think of Martin Luther King...
Kennedy...
and Lincoln...
and all the others that have fought for what we have today[...]it was pure inspiration...
so I called my friends...
and they called their friends...
in a matter of 2 days...
We made the song and video...
Usually this process would take months...
a bunch of record company people figuring out strategies and release dates...
interviews...
all that stuff...
but this time i took it in my own hands...
so i called my friends sarah pantera, mike jurkovac, fred goldring, and jesse dylan to help make it happen...
and they called their friends..
and we did it together in 48 hours...
and instead of putting it in the hands of profit we put it in the hands of inspiration..."
“I have attempted throughout my life to give a voice to the voiceless, hope to the hopeless, encouragement to the discouraged, and options to the cynical and complacent,” she wrote. [...] "Through all those years, I chose not to engage in party politics. Though I was asked many times to endorse candidates at every level, I was never comfortable doing so...At this time, however, changing that posture feels like the responsible thing to do,” she said. "
“If anyone can navigate the contaminated waters of Washington, lift up the poor, and appeal to the rich to share their wealth, it is Barack Obama. If anyone can bring light to the darkened corners of this nation and restore our positive influence in world affairs, it is Barack Obama. If anyone can begin the process of healing and bring unity to a country that has been divided for too long, it is Barack Obama. It is time to begin a new journey.”
Will these public declarations of admiration and praise add further fuel to the surging political fire that is Obama's
campaign and, most importantly, will they translate into votes? Not everyone agrees that they will:
Last election cycle, a politician’s own ill-chosen words became a viral video that cost him his candidacy. This November, will a politician get undermined by an ill-conceived viral video made by his own supporters? That’s the thought I had after watching “Yes We Can“, a new YouTube video currently storming The Viral Video chart. It’s a putative tribute to Senator Barack Obama’s stirring words after the New Hampshire primary, directed by Jesse Dylan with music by will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas. (Who’s better known for his stirring words, “Whatcha gonna do with all that junk … inside your trunk?”)
The video was made without the Obama campaign’s participation or permission, according to ABC News, which is a good thing, because it’s an appalling exercise in celebrity self-congratulation, reducing the Senator’s soaring plea for optimistic unity into an opportunity for some popstars to preen in front of the camera.
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