Some Tips on How to Think About the Veepstakes and Rockumentaries

1. I can’t say who would be best for Romney’s Veep pick, but Pete has persuaded me about the problems a Ryan pick would pose. But then on the other hand, I think Romney needs to go bold, and Ryan would be bold. Unfortunately such boldness would bog the campaign down to defending Ryan’s various plans from the media onslaught.

McDonnell is good for his serious knowledge and competence, but that pick would exhibit little boldness. Jindal would be a little better on the boldness point, plus he has the same seriousness as McDonnell. However, Jindal does not seem to be getting much traction in the general Veepstakes chatter. Petraeus would be excellent for both boldness and seriousness, but as Pete noted, does anyone know how well versed he is on the pressing domestic issues? And does he really want to be Vice-President?

So without picking the name I think would be best, I’ll simply point to this Mark Halperin piece which gives some useful tips for figuring out who the pick will be. His last point, not really a tip (No. 10), is worthwhile remembering—

“Given modern technology, the length and depth of preparation, and the ethos of the Obama campaign, Romney’s pick will be hit harder and faster than any selection ever.”

2. In one of Carl’s previous Songbook posts he mentioned that he might write something on Rock Docs or Rockumentaries. I thought I would give his research a boost if he ever chooses to do this post. Here is a link to twenty rock documentaries that can be viewed in their entirety on You Tube.

Not every movie on the list is officially a Rock Doc. Some of them are simply movies featuring live performances, such as the long forgotten Urgh! A Music War which features the Police, Wall of Voodoo, XTC, Dead Kennedys, X, The Cramps, Gang of Four, The Fleshtones. and several other ‘80s bands. That one is a blast from the past!

At any rate, this research tip is an attempt to spur Carl to write something about rock documentaries.

UPDATE: Having spent the evening watching Urgh! A Music War, I must comment on the excellenece of the following performances I didn’t mention before: Echo and the Bunnymen, the GoGos, Joan Jett, Steel Pulse, Gary Numan, and as a Facebook friend reminded me, the essential weirdness of Klaus Nomi.

It is of interest that the subtitle to this film refers to war. It is no “moral equivalent of war,” but for a generation that had “known no war” as Pete Townsend put it (i.e., war in terms of a WWII type war), the tensions between these bands, their styles of music, and their fan bases often entailed an antagonism bordering on war.

But a war for what? One’s own subculture? There seems to be a serious diminishment here. Ben Folds has a personalized emo take on this phenomenon— Missing the War .

Maybe the blonde guy with the mustache in the crowd that the film kept showing could provide the answer in terms of what experience shows.