The short answer to the question asked in the headline is: neither. Neither the Republican or Democratic National Convention, which go down August 27–30 in Tampa and September 4–6 in Charlotte, have good musical acts lined up. Obviously, people don’t go to the DNC (or Charlotte) to hear good music, but really, they couldn’t do any better than something called Inspire the Fire? K-Ci & JoJo are from Charlotte; they could rework the lyrics to “Don’t Rush (Take Love Slowly)” to be about Rush Limbaugh giving Mitt Romney a handie.
But enough talk about Rush Limbaugh and penises. Let’s see who’s playing.
So far, Democrats have lined up:
Five-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee James Taylor; local performing arts group and stars of America’s Got Talent, Inspire the Fire; and genre-bending rock band Delta Rae. (Via)
Republicans, on the other hands, have booked:
The performance lineup will feature an exclusive, worldwide premiere of “One Light,” a new single from the Grammy award-winning rock band, 3 Doors Down. The group has sold more than 20 million recordings since its 2000 debut…Other performers include Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Oak Ridge Boys, Neal Boyd, Randy Owens, Jack Blades of Night Ranger, Taylor Hicks, and BeBe Winans. (Via)
So far, the clear-cut winner is the RNC, simply because the image of thousands of white dudes wearing starched shirts and khakis shouting out the lyrics to “Kryptonite” makes me giggle. Plus, you haven’t heard “Free Bird” until you’ve heard “Free Bird” performed by original member Gary Rossington and a bunch of ringers. But the DNC hasn’t announced all of its acts yet — if Obama could somehow convince REO Speedwagon to head to Charlotte, this contest would be a lot closer.
