# Republican Fanboys and the Bands that Hate Them **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 17, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815 "2012-08-17T20:15:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/41 "2012-08-18T01:04:07Z")
RATM should get back together and start touring alongside everywhere Ryan goes stumping and invite him to the concert each night, where they serenade him and his positions. If he had the balls to go, I’d probably simultaneously love and hate to see what would happen. (Though, I can’t imagine how his security team would sign off on it.) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/42 "2012-08-18T01:04:23Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > … and admit that politics aren’t everything? 😕 I understand the individual words and they are in grammatical order (in the British style), but I’m in Chicago and I cannot for the life of me understand that sentiment. EVERYTHING is politics. Except when everything is economics. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/43 "2012-08-18T02:45:12Z")
Is anybody shocked when an atheist says he loves, say, Haydn’s _ **Creation or Mozart’s Requiem or Michelangelo’s Pieta** _? Of course not! We all understand that people can love a piece of art without embracing the religious beliefs that inspired the art in the first place. In the same way, one can love Tom Morello’s Sabbath-inspired guitar riffs while still believing that Rage Against the Machine’s politics and lyrics are tripe. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/44 "2012-08-18T05:19:13Z")
I guess I’m having a hard time reconciling Ryan’s avowed love for RATM and their (very overt) leftist messaging. There are a number of bands I think are okay, maybe they have a song or two I really like, but to enter “fandom” (go to their show, buy their entire discography, rock a t-shirt) I have to be somewhat on board with them politically. This is precisely what makes them a favorite band. It doesn’t mean you are in lock-step with them every step of the way. I rock a Smiths “Meat is Murder” shirt but I’m not a vegan (I don’t wear the shirt to barbecues anymore, though). But for Ryan to profess love for the band that would likely slap the CD he’s trying to buy of theirs out of his hand, that shows me that the guy is either completely oblivious to the message or kind of dumb. Or maybe a little of both. RATM are such a “message” band, much more than Metallica or Guns 'N Roses were. It’s like liking U2 or Billy Bragg and not listening to the lyrics. Still, he’s not alone. David Cameron famously said The Smiths were his favorite band growing up, and Johnny Marr volunteered to reform the band if he’d resign. So I’m going to start a letter writing campaign to convince him to “stand down.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/45 "2012-08-18T05:19:54Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Who don’t particularly listen to, understand, or care about the lyrics. Sure. To be fair, I’m no conservative and plenty of time I don’t listen to, understand, or care about the lyrics of pop songs either. It’s just not what typically draws me to them. A large part of my collection consists of pop music in languages I don’t even understand, so clearly understanding the lyrics is not necessary for my enjoyment. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/46 "2012-08-18T05:34:41Z")
[Paul Weller](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-566613/Paul-Weller-attacks-David-Cameron-fan-music.html) has had the same problem. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/47 "2012-08-18T05:37:14Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > How dare the lead singer of Rage Against the Machine decide he has a political voice. What is he thinking? Nitpick: Morello doesn’t sing (or rap), he’s a guitarist. Zack de la Rocha is Rage’s vocalist. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/48 "2012-08-18T06:14:56Z")
I wonder if Ryan has one of these RATM T-Shirts? [http://badutbidut.blogspot.com/2011/02/rage-against-machine-che-guevara-tee.html?m=1](http://badutbidut.blogspot.com/2011/02/rage-against-machine-che-guevara-tee.html?m=1) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/49 "2012-08-18T07:07:04Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Nitpick: Morello doesn’t sing (or rap), he’s a guitarist. Zack de la Rocha is Rage’s vocalist. [However, he’s a pretty good singer on his solo albums.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFJasuefKzU) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/50 "2012-08-18T07:26:46Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Is anybody shocked when an atheist says he loves, say, Haydn’s _ **Creation or Mozart’s Requiem or Michelangelo’s Pieta** _? Of course not! We all understand that people can love a piece of art without embracing the religious beliefs that inspired the art in the first place. You can love Lord of the Rings without believing in hobbits. I think the far right candidates are just dumber these days. Say what you like about George Wallace; he never said “Only a Pawn in Their Game” was his favorite song. I doubt the Klan in general was that into Dylan. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/51 "2012-08-18T09:35:40Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > [However, he’s a pretty good singer on his solo albums.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFJasuefKzU) Ignorance fought! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/52 "2012-08-18T13:45:32Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Is anybody shocked when an atheist says he loves, say, Haydn’s _ **Creation or Mozart’s Requiem or Michelangelo’s Pieta** _? Of course not! We all understand that people can love a piece of art without embracing the religious beliefs that inspired the art in the first place. That’s just fine and dandy, but we all know that the (ridiculous) “what kind of music do you like?” softball politician question is nothing more than a chance for them to prove something about themselves and show how hip or cool they are. If RATM really is Paul Ryan’s favorite band (and there’s nothing wrong with that, really), he’s a moron for admitting it during an election. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/53 "2012-08-18T13:58:29Z")
Ryan has carelessly given himself away. In fact he is a secret radical leftist, attempting to destroy the Republican Party from within by pushing it towards absurdly extremist, and potentially hugely unpopular (if anyone paid attention), policies. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/54 "2012-08-18T14:02:56Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > If RATM really is Paul Ryan’s favorite band (and there’s nothing wrong with that, really), he’s a moron for admitting it during an election. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/55 "2012-08-18T14:14:30Z")
> [@Rhaegar](#): > > I’m actually surprised that the entertainers would speak publicly about their own political views. For every George Clooney, Jane Fonda and Barbara Streisand out there, you have a Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan who clam up whenever the topic gets too controversial to avoid alienating any fans. Pretty hard for Springsteen or RATM to do that, whose hit songs happen to be political ones. On the whole it’s not much of a story either way, but I gotta say I’m in tears imagining Ryan, who looks like every marketing director you’ve ever met crossed with every long-in-the-tooth lawyer you’ve ever met, going all “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me !” down in the mosh pit. Does not compute. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/56 "2012-08-18T14:35:48Z")
I’ve had a few cases of liking music but abhorring the lyrics (AC/DC, much of the time). I can see Christie liking Springsteen, but the Ryan/RATM thing’s a little weird. In general, though, the lyrics are half of the song (that’s how songwriting credits work), and to ignore them is to ignore half of the song. I don’t have too much of a problem with that, but it’s certainly a case non-musical tone deafness. ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/57 "2012-08-18T15:13:58Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > I can see Christie liking Springsteen, but the Ryan/RATM thing’s a little weird. Agreed. I was thinking about this, and I’m having a hard time coming up with a band that was popular in the 90s whose worldview was more diametrically opposed to Ryan’s than RATM. I mean, if Ryan had mentioned just about any other band (Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Blink 182, Matchbox 20, etc., etc.) it wouldn’t have seemed as weird. It’s like he went out of his way to pick the one band that no one would expect he liked. The cynic in me wonders if this was on purpose – maybe he was attempting to show that he isn’t as one-dimensional as he is portrayed in the media, that he has the ability to reach across the aisle, etc., by showing that he can appreciate other points of view. Or maybe he just likes going down Rodeo with a shotgun, and I’m reading to much into it. ---
**Author:** ![Hookit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/71e660/32.png) [@Hookit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hookit)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/58 "2012-08-18T19:10:37Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > I accept the fact that there are countless gifted artists whose work I enjoy who disagree with my politics. Big deal. The more smug, entitled types can be annoying, but not too much. I really don’t care, and I can enjoy art for its own merits. > > I am a huge, hero-worshipping Beatles fan. I fully accept the fact that John and I would probably agree on NOTHING politically, were he still alive. The OP’s premise, “It must suck to be a Republican rock fanboy” is a fail, for most of the people I know at least. Nobody cares. You honestly believe Lennon gave two shits about the causes that he spoke of? The guy was an entertainer and nothing more.All that “Give Peace A Chance” and bed protests were marketing ploys to draw in liberals,that’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/59 "2012-08-18T19:15:00Z")
Yep, it’s not just June or July, but all of Summer 2012… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815/60 "2012-08-18T20:17:42Z")
Eh. I like lots of music that has a political slant I disagree with. Seems to me you’d have to be pretty small minded to want to live in an echo chamber. Art is something you react to on an emotional level. Real life politics is an intellectual exercise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republican-fanboys-and-the-bands-that-hate-them/631815.md?page=4)