A New Canadian Controversy, This One Musical
By Juliet Eilperin and Rena Kirsch
As Barack Obama heads into what could be the defining set of primaries against Hillary Clinton, the Illinois Democrat is doing everything he can to court the youth vote by cornering the indie band market.
It wasn't enough that Obama had won the support of the Chicago-based Wilco, which has performed on the campaign trail and recently told an audience at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club that they hail from the "Land of Obama." No, the leading members of Arcade Fire had to get into the act, performing Sunday night at Stuart's Opera House in Nelsonville, Ohio. That's when things started getting ugly.
According to a report in today's New York Times, Clinton aides launched an anti-immigrant counterattack in retaliation. Adam Nagourney wrote in a parenthetical note in his front-page piece, "(Aides to Mrs. Clinton, distressed that a band with many fans at the Clinton headquarters would join the line of supporters heading into the Obama camp, pointed out that the band was Canadian; in fact, while its members live there now, they grew up in Texas.)"
The Trail did some fact checking and would like to set the record straight before this alternative band battle gets out of hand.
Fact 1: The band's members hail from multiple countries, including the United States and Canada. Arcade Fire lead singer Win Butler grew up in the Houston suburbs, attended the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, and met his Haitian-born wife (and band keyboardist) Régine Chassagne at Canada's McGill University. The group's bass player and guitarist Tim Kingsbury hails from Guelph, Canada. Butler's brother Will moved from Texas to Montreal to join the band after graduating from college. Other Arcade Fire members include Jeremy Gara, Richard Reed Parry, Sarah Neufeld and Owen Pallet, all of whom are Canadian. (The touring lineup can include close to a dozen members, so it gets quite confusing.)
Fact 2: Clinton's communications director Howard Wolfson would never, ever criticize Arcade Fire. When asked via e-mail whether the Clinton campaign had, indeed, insinuated that Arcade Fire was a Canadian band, Wolfson shot back a reply in five minutes quashing such speculation. "I never said that," Wolfson wrote. "I love those guys." Later in the evening, Wolfson followed up with another heartfelt message. "I was sorry that they went for Obama. I'm really a big fan," he wrote.
Fact 3: One reason Clinton staffers shouldn't get into a Canadian rocker tit-for-tat is that the New York senator frequently plays "Taking Care of Business" by Winnipeg's own Bachman Turner Overdrive. So he or she who is without Canadian backup music should cast the first stone.
In closing, it's worth noting that one of the incentives Arcade Fire has for staying in Montreal is that the city's government offers professional artists property- and business-tax refunds as well as some subsidies. Should an Obama administration come to pass, watch out for big government subsidies to hip musicians.
Posted at 10:00 PM ET on Mar 2, 2008
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Posted by: davestickler | March 3, 2008 2:51 PM
Miami, America? You're right that nobody would say that. They could and do say Miami, United States, though. Mostly they would just say Miami, period.
United States is not equal to America. How about Guelph, America?
Guelph, Earth!
Posted by: steven.arnerich | March 3, 2008 2:39 PM
Guelph is in the province of Ontario, in Canada. You'd say Guelph, Ontario. Guelph, Canada just sounds strange, like saying Miami, America. It also sounds suspiciously like you don't know what province Guelph is in. I don't know how they do it in Washington, America, but up here...
Posted by: sgkent | March 3, 2008 12:25 PM
And it was Hillary Clinton in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 who blamed it on terrorists coming across the Canadian border. And no subsequent apology. She really is "Bush-lite" when it comes to jingoistic national security paranoia.
Posted by: eyendall1 | March 3, 2008 11:26 AM
Weren't there similarly foolish complaints - but from her own supporters, mainly - when at least one of her possible campaign songs was by a non-American (I think one was from Celine Dion)?
Note to Team Clinton: when your campaign arguments start to be about Saturday Night Live sketches and which bands like your opponent, you've become beyond irrelevant.
Posted by: C.Prachniak | March 3, 2008 11:23 AM
obama,,, no experience. He's passed 2 whooping pieces of legislation n the senate.
He NAMED A POST OFFICE
and he gave US tax dollars to Ghana to promote democracy.
that's his whole list of accomplishments.
TWO.
Posted by: newagent99 | March 3, 2008 9:22 AM
Say, I thought Clinton was for NAFTA? (Musicians and bands have been incorporating around the world for years anyway.)
In any event, with numbers like these leading into Texas, no wonder her camp is pulling out all stops;
Texas Primary- Hillary vs. Barack:
http://newsusa.myfeedportal.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=50
Posted by: davidmwe | March 3, 2008 7:16 AM
Maybe Clinton will demand a 'time-out' on the globalization of bands and music?
Posted by: TomJx | March 3, 2008 12:13 AM
For those who aren't familiar with these groups.
Arcade Fire is great, here's a very aptly titled "Rebellion" (against the same old politics of the Clintons)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42g4T_tZPTA
Wilco is also a very great group, with another aptly titled pro-Obama titled song:
War on war:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2ThA_m5MY0
(i.e. a war against those (Clinton & McCain) who put this country in a needless war.
...and, speaking of hip music, of course, there's Will.i.am's Barack Obama theme song: Yes We Can
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY
Very moving, and very uplifting....and captures the hope that Obama brings to this nation.
Posted by: kevinlarmee | March 2, 2008 10:42 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
newagen99, you left out the Lugar-Obama non-proliferation legislation that helps secure loose nuclear and conventional weapons. Or the Coburn-Obama "Google for Government" bill that increases government transparency. Or major ethics reform that passed the Senate. Or legislation that he's worked on to start the process of preparing for an avian flu epidemic, or legislation to improve conditions for veterans with both physical and mental wounds.
To name a few.