Election time has come and gone here at good old Florida Atlantic University, the posters with the smiling faces of candidates still hang, now tattered and weather-beaten
The Breezeway is no longer choked with campaigners lunging at passersby with all sorts of promotional handouts, and the sounds of pro-Red party rap music still echoes in your ears. Yes, that’s right – for those of you who have not heard this sonic assault, the Red party sent out a nice little ditty that lauded their praises.
Such campaign tactics are well heard of. I can remember sitting in political science classes and hearing about how Steve Forbes could have won had he unleashed the power of his hip-hop number “Flat Taxes, Fat Asses.”
All criticisms aside, this song does bring up many important issues. Ancel Pratt III, Blue party presidential candidate, felt that the song was cute but very misinforming. He countered the song’s accusations by stating that most of the complaints that were mentioned, such as lack of on-campus lighting, the scarcity of dorms, and shuttle services, are either not things that SG has control over or are in the works. He urged FAU’s students to elect a candidate based on credentials, past experiences, and proven record, and not to let a song sway them.
The song, performed by Savage Kid and DJ Snake, comes across as a serious attempt to gain votes but falls short after a while. The concept soon becomes silly. I began laughing, though it soon became apparent that the song had a devious secret, this song is mind control.
The song hammers home its message in a way that would make Big Brother proud (it’s from a book, not the ridiculous television show). All day I couldn’t get the words “vote red” out of my mind. No matter where I went or what I did, all I could think of was this song and its hypnotic chorus: “VOTE RED.”
The catchy beat and easily remembered lyrics do exactly what the creators were hoping to do – grab attention and hammer a message into the subconscious minds of the listeners.
Even while I was voting, the song’s rhythm and thought-stealing lyrics repeated the slogans in my brain. While the song may have been catchy, it did not thrust the red party to the seat of power. Voters chose Ancel Pratt III as the new SG president, and he never cut an album.
