Now, be nice. 
Yeah, as another data point, I love NOFX, but I’m pretty sure they would kick my Christian, lukewarm-conservative, non-drug-using, middle American ass if I were to ever meet them for more than five minutes. And if I were running for office, and someone asked me my favorite music, I would make sure to throw them in there, just for the fun of watching everyone talk about it.
I can see Ryan saying that he has “Bulls on Parade” or “Sleep Now In The Fire” on his iPod during his P90X workouts. Those are killer riffs in those songs. If I was in the gym and needed someone to yell in my face figuratively, these songs would be on my playlist (along with Helmet’s “Unsung” and Prodigy’s “Firestarter”).
But if he is in fact a fan, surely he saw the video for “Sleep Now In The Fire,” directed by and starring Michael Moore. Here’s WIkipedia’s description of the video:
This is my favorite RATM song and one of the most popular… so I would imagine if Ryan is a fan he’s heard it and seen the video. No cognitive dissonance felt?
I do kind of feel bad for the guy. Angst and fury are great musical ingredients… self-satisfaction and comfort, not so much. The roster of bands that have a leftist agenda and are angry are much more gnarly than that of those on the right (I guess they have Dave Mustaine now).
Stratocaster’s right. This isn’t going to sway the election one way or the other, mainly because veeps don’t matter in the electoral contest, and it just isn’t that big of a deal. But it speaks to the rationalizations that Republicans tend to make about their influences. This guy likes RATM and Ayn Rand, both of whom have radically differing world views from his. And it’s not like one has to fall in lock step with your favorite author or musician politically, but if I were running for public office and you looked through my music… I think you’d find pretty good congruence between my politics and those of my favorite bands.
Anyway, Ryan strikes me as a Nickelback fan.
I repeat- there are MILLIONS of people who love art that was inspired by ideologies or beliefs that they don’t share.
Even a Daniel Dennett or Sam Harris can appreciate the artwork in the Sistine Chapel, and it would be STUPID for any Catholic to insist “You CAN’T love that art if you don’t embrace the religious spirit that inspired it, because Catholic faith is the whole POINT of that art!”
It would be STUPID for JRR Tolkien’s heirs to rip the millions of people who’ve embraced Lord of the Rings without embracing the Catholic faith that inspired Tolkien to write it.
And it’s STUPID to rip Paul Ryan for liking a metal band he has nothing in common with ideologically.
Shoot, if I purged my iPod of every artist whose lifestyle or ideologies I hate, I wouldn’t have much left.
Correction: NJ Governor **Chris Christie **is HUGE, HUGE, HUGE.
I don’t know if he’s a fan, but for a while there Rush Limbaugh was playing Todd Rundgren all the time. I mean, this is a guy who has a song with the chorus “…fuck you Jesse Helmes” and another that samples Dan Quayle.
Not surprised. I love Soviet music and the Beatles.
Yeah, but the song itself is not political.
I mean, people are going to like what they like. It’s not really a big deal. I’m just surprised about this in the same way I’d be surprised if, say, Dan Cathy mentioned he really liked American Idiot. Kind of hard to ignore the politics when the song itself says “Well maybe I’m the faggot America/I’m not a part of a redneck agenda.”
Paul Ryan is the right age to like RATM. I am conservative and like RATM. If he was merely trying to cater to voters you’d think he would pick a band thats more relevant right now.
Just because you like the band doesn’t mean you live by the lyrics. RATM to me was mostly about the sound, the energy, well, the rage. If you learn a little about injustice while you’re at it, so be it, it never hurts to hear opposing viewpoints.
Dee Snyder of Twisted Sister has rebuked Paul Ryan for using their song ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ as an intro.
Damn Paul, figure it out.
I wonder if Bocephus gets all chafed when Barbara Boxer uses Honky Tonkin’ at her rallies.
This is not just confined to Ryan and Christie, Obama was filmed singing a bit of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” at a campaign stop in Harlem. He must not have known that Al Green is an ordained minister and thus stands against Obama and his war on religion. Plus the song lyrics are obviously pro-family, supporting monogamy and undying commitment. It is strange that Obama who has done so much in the culture wars would sing a song that is so against everything he stands for.
Someone forgot to tell Al Green to be offended, and that Obama is leading a “War on Religion.”
Wait, did a Republican just accuse Obama of being opposed to monogamy? The cognitive dissonance, it burns!
I find it really strange that Todd Akin is a Juggalo.
I thought he was a gay country singer.
This is a whoosh, right? We’re being whooshed here?
Editor’s note: Firefox spell check totally recognizes “whooshed” as a word.
:dubious::rolleyes::smack:
What “war on religion” are you talking about? Obama isn’t pro-family? The guy who’s been married to his only wife for 20 years and has 2 kids? He’s not monogamous? Cite?
The stupid quotient of that post is off the charts.
What about the ones that tell the press that they think you–yes, you, personally–are an asshole? Would you keep them in rotation?
Paul Ryan being a fan of ‘Rage Against the Machine’ is kinda like Dick Cheney being a fan of ‘Heart’.
Stole that from someone on my Twitter feed