Let your musical taste influence your vote

For those of us searching for any reason at all to vote for anyone on Nov. 2, here’s as good a… For those of us searching for any reason at all to vote for anyone on Nov. 2, here’s as good a one as I’ve found: Kerry has better musical support.

AOL.com has, in its never-ending quest to keep users abreast of all the politics that matter, grabbed from the Associated Press a short list of musician alliances for the presidential candidates.

Backing Kerry are many of the artists that put together the “Vote for Change” tour earlier this month: Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., James Taylor, Pearl Jam, John Mellancamp, and Dave Matthews are the best of the bunch, but obviously it’s a pretty varied list.

Bush’s support, on the other hand, reads a lot like a pop-country hall of — something. In addition to heavyweights Clint Black, Brooks and Dunn, and Kid Rock, the president’s got some support from legends like Wayne Newton and Pat Boone, whom, the article failed to note, are actually still alive.

In a head-to-head matchup, the names on Bush’s side don’t fare so well. His Reba McIntyre is cancelled out by Bonnie Raitt, who’s a Kerry nut. I don’t know who the Gatlin Brothers are, but I imagine they’re on roughly the same plane as the Dixie Chicks, who I’ve heard are Kerry supporters. As badassed as Pat Boone’s hard-rock cover album was, I think he and Newton are probably worth, together, about what Mellancamp and Taylor are, if we’re being generous.

Brooks and Dunn, at their best, combine with Clint Black to equal something like half of Bruce Springsteen’s career, but let’s give them the whole thing for the sake of argument and say they balance out The Boss. Who, then, does Bush come up with to counter once-chart-topping R.E.M.? Lee Ann Womack, who “hit the campaign trail with Bush to sing her hit ‘I Hope You Dance’ at a rally in Ohio.”

Not that “I Hope You Dance,” isn’t as hard-core a rock anthem as “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” or “Losing My Religion,” but I’m giving the edge there to Michael Stipe.

It’s all down hill from there for the Bushie musicians. He musters up Kid Rock to go against Pearl Jam (we’ll call it even because Eddie Vedder’s a jerk and Rock could beat him up, but we all know Vedder’s music is just better), but that’s the last gasp, because Kerry’s still got Dave Matthews and Good Charlotte in his camp, not to mention Green Day, which devoted an entire No. 1 album to how much they hate the president.

It’s true that Bush has one more artist listed as backing him, but I don’t think Britney’s music is quite up to the challenge.

As a footnote, the normally outspoken Ted Nugent was not listed as being on either side; I suppose it’s possible no one asked for his endorsement. Don’t worry, Ted, we still love you — please don’t shoot me.

So there you have it; the talent has spoken. If you’re a music fan looking for an excuse to vote, it’s hard to find better rock ‘n’ roll credentials than Kerry.

Unless, that is, you’re one of those Pat Boone groupies.