Election Special
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''Election Special'' is the 15th
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...
. It was released on August 16, 2012, by Perro Verde and
Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Non ...
. Cooder recorded and produced the album mostly at Drive-By Studios in
North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...
, performing all of the instrumentation, including bass, guitar, and mandolin, with the exception of drums, which were played by his son Joachim. Based in American roots and
blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...
music, ''Election Special'' features upbeat melodies, simple instrumentation, and sparse arrangements as a backdrop for
protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...
s that continue the topical storylines of Cooder's previous album '' Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down'' (2011). Displeased with the Republican Party and its financial supporters, Cooder wanted to write an album that would address listeners during the United States presidential election of 2012, which he believed would be a critical event in the country's history. A deeply political album, ''Election Special'' expands on its predecessor's
socio-political Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how ...
musings and current event topics with forthright, satirical lyrics and song-form
vignettes Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...
. Cooder's songwriting also exhibits
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
and
populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
sentiments, while drawing on older musical sources such as
broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...
ballads and
country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...
. Released one week before the
2012 Republican National Convention The 2012 Republican National Convention was a gathering held by the Republican Party (United States), U.S. Republican Party during which Delegate (American politics), delegates officially nominated former List of governors of Massachusetts, Ma ...
, ''Election Special'' was met with generally positive reviews from critics, who applauded its topical protest songs and Cooder's musicianship. The album peaked at number 164 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, but charted significantly higher in other countries. Cooder did not
tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed b ...
in promotion of the album, citing a lost interest in both playing large concert venues and the commercial aspect of releasing records.


Background

In 2011, Cooder recorded '' Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down'' after being inspired by a headline about bankers and other affluent people profiting from bank
bailout A bailout is the provision of financial help to a corporation or country which otherwise would be on the brink of bankruptcy. A bailout differs from the term ''bail-in'' (coined in 2010) under which the bondholders or depositors of global sys ...
s and the resulting recession during the late-2000s. Released in August to critical acclaim, it showcased Cooder's return to his early work's musical style and told topical stories about political and social corruption, various economic victims, and an emerging class war. With the album finished, Cooder had developed a penchant for writing such songs and wanted to continue writing more storyline-inspired songs. A month after the album's release, Cooder had his first short-story collection, ''
Los Angeles Stories ''Los Angeles Stories'' is a short-story collection by Ry Cooder. Cooder's first published story collection, the book was published by City Lights Books in late 2011 as part of its City Lights Noir collection. Table of Contents * All in a day's w ...
'', published by
City Lights Bookstore City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination in San Francisco, California, that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected tit ...
. In June 2012, he joined ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' political columnist
Joe Klein Joe Klein (born September 7, 1946) is an American political commentator and author. He is best known for his work as a columnist for ''Time'' magazine and his novel ''Primary Colors'', an anonymously written roman à clef portraying Bill Clinton' ...
on the latter's road trip across the United States, speaking out to people in towns about the state of the nation and its forthcoming presidential election in 2012.


Writing and recording

With ''Election Special'', Cooder wanted to write an album with direct lyrics and encourage urgency in listeners during the US presidential election of 2012. He felt that the election season was "the time of decision in this country ... the most critical time in the history of the country". When asked about concerns over "
preaching to the choir ''Preaching to the Choir'' is a 2006 American musical comedy-drama film directed by Charles Randolph-Wright and starring Billoah Greene, Darien Sills-Evans, Novella Nelson, Janine Green, Rosa Arredondo, Eartha Kitt, Tichina Arnold and Adewale Ak ...
", Cooder said in an interview for the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', "I thought I should have a record that says, 'This here record is for you during election time.' Rather than be vague and poetic, let's just call this what it is. That way I may get people's attention. That's the idea." Cooder drew on music he grew up listening to such as
Depression-era The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The Financial contagion, ...
songs and sought to appropriate contemporary subject matter to them. When writing the album, he also touched on the
Occupy movement The Occupy movement was an international populist socio-political movement that expressed opposition to social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of "real democracy" around the world. It aimed primarily to advance social and econo ...
, which he felt optimistic about, saying that "There's a sign of something. Those people are having conversations, and the conversations become issues and the issues become talked about. Pretty soon, the rest of the world picks up on it, even the politicians." Cooder's displeasure with the Republican Party and its financial supporters, particularly the Koch Brothers, also inspired his songwriting. He found the party to be "insanely dangerous" to
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
's presidency and the US, and said of them in an interview for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', "in case anybody thinks
Michele Bachmann Michele Marie Bachmann (; née Amble; born April 6, 1956) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2007 until 2015. A member of the Republican Party, she was a candidate for President of the United States in the 20 ...
or
Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...
are clowns because they misspeak or don't know their history or they say silly things: that's just an act, and it's a useful act. Everything is a distraction from the core truths which are, first of all, that
corporations A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...
have taken over the country." He viewed that his songs for the album provide a more convenient alternative for citizens who do not research politicians, saying that "I don't write books and give speeches but with a four-minute song you can use allegory and other means to suggest a different point of view. It's like looking around the corner, and that's what songs are good at sometimes. They hit you with a new thought – assuming that people will listen." Cooder recorded most of ''Election Special'' at Drive-By Studios, the living room of engineer Martin Pradler's house in North Hollywood. Sessions also took place at Wireland Studios in Chatsworth, California. Pradler later mixed and
mastered Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...
the album at both recording locations. The album was produced entirely by Cooder. He performed most of the album himself, playing bass, guitar, and mandolin. His son Joachim contributed on drums, and session musician
Arnold McCuller Arnold McCuller (born August 26, 1950) is an American vocalist, songwriter, and record producer, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He was active as a solo artist and session musician, but is perhaps best known for his work as a touring back-u ...
sung harmony vocals on the song "Take Your Hands off It". At Drive-By Studios, Cooder recorded songs in a series of unrehearsed, single-take performances, which he felt helped him channel the songs' respective characters more efficiently. He later said of his approach to developing the songs, "The way I think these songs can work is if you don't ponder over it too hard, because the tunes wanna have a spontaneous-combustion effect. What I want to do is get a certain attitude in the voice, and I can only do that once. By take two, I'm startin' to think about it. By take three, I'm startin' to map it out – it's gone. It's spoiled, y'see? So I need to get through this fast." He first recorded the song "The Wall Street Part of Town" in November 2011. On June 7, 2012, the album's release was announced for a date in August, intended to be a week before the
2012 Republican National Convention The 2012 Republican National Convention was a gathering held by the Republican Party (United States), U.S. Republican Party during which Delegate (American politics), delegates officially nominated former List of governors of Massachusetts, Ma ...
.


Music and themes

''Election Special'' is an American roots and
blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...
album of
protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...
s. It is characterized by
upbeat Up beat may refer to: *Upbeat, in music, the last beat in the previous bar which immediately precedes the downbeat *Anacrusis, a note (or sequence of notes) which precedes the first downbeat in a bar in a musical phrase * ''Upbeat'' (album), by t ...
melodies, simple instrumentation, and
swinging Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...
, sparse arrangements. Music journalist
Robin Denselow Robin Denselow is a British writer, journalist, and broadcaster. Education Denselow was educated at Leighton Park School, a boys' Quaker boarding independent school (now co-educational) in Reading, Berkshire, followed by New College, Oxford, wher ...
describes ''Election Special'' as "musically ... very much a
DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...
album," while Matt Snow of ''
Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...
'' compares Cooder to
Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...
as a "gloves-off DIY soundscapist in wood, steel, and string." The album's music also incorporates
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...
,
roots rock Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in folk, blues and country music. It is particularly associated with the creation of hybrid subgenres from the later 1960s, including blues rock, country rock, Southern rock, ...
, and, most prominently,
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
styles. Music writers compare the album's mix of folk and blues styles to Cooder's earlier, distinguishing albums. Zeth Lundy of the ''
Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the ''Portland Phoenix'' and ...
'' characterizes Cooder as a "
Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
/
Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...
hybrid" on ''Election Special''. The deeply political album expands on the
socio-political Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how ...
musings of ''Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down''. Cooder's forthright lyrics exhibit satire, dark humor, and bitter, apprehensive feelings about current events, including Guantanamo Bay, the Occupy movement, the
killing of Trayvon Martin On the night of February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida, United States, George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African-American boy. Zimmerman, a 28-year-old man of mixed race, was the neighborhood watch coordinator for his ...
,
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
's plight as US President, and the election of 2012. He addresses these topics through song-form
vignettes Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...
, which express his anti-Republican party perspective. Cooder's songwriting also reappropriates lyrics from older musical sources, including protest songs,
broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...
ballads, and
country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...
. Nick Coleman of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' describes it as "heartfelt and unencumbered with
musicological Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...
pedantry", while the newspaper's Andy Gill comments that Cooder "employs demotic" language and "variations of the blues ... to carry his broadsides." Jeff Schwager of
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
cites
Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...
and Woody Guthrie as influences on Cooder's songcraft for the album. Music writers characterize Cooder's sentiments and political stance on the album as
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
and
populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
. Joseph Jon Lanthier of
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
observes "liberal convictions" and a " bleeding heart" in his lyrics, which he says express "reductive sympathy for President Obama and suspicions that fat cats are perverting the Bill of Rights". Music essayist
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
writes that Cooder "reappl esthe
Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...
mindset to the messy compromises of electoral politics, and all the must-hears illuminate the 2012 presidential election rather than merely referencing it". Bud Scoppa of ''
Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'' calls the album "an impassioned screed against the
dumbing down Dumbing down is the deliberate oversimplification of intellectual content in education, literature, and cinema, news, video games, and culture. Originated in 1933, the term "dumbing down" was movie-business slang, used by screenplay writers, meani ...
of America" and comments that Cooder eschews conventional "preaching" for "three-dimensional characters whose beliefs and opinions span the
political spectrum A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more geometric axes that represent independent political dimensions. The expressions politi ...
of America in 2012."
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's Thom Jurek cites it as "the most overtly political album of Cooder's career" to due its "
soapbox A soapbox is a raised platform on which one stands to make an wiktionary:impromptu, impromptu speech, often about a Politics, political subject. The term originates from the days when speakers would elevate themselves by standing on a wooden c ...
style" and feels that the songs "express what he considers to be, as both an artist and a pissed-off citizen, the high-stakes historical gamble of the 2012 presidential and congressional contest."


Songs

"Mutt Romney Blues" is a three-chord, acoustic
Delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...
song. Drawing parallels between the
Mitt Romney dog incident During a 1983 family vacation, American politician Mitt Romney drove 12 hours with his dog on top of the car in a windshield-equipped carrier. This incident became the subject of negative media attention and political attacks on Romney in both ...
and his political "plans and schemes", the song criticizes Republican presidential nominee
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
and is sung from the perspective of the Romney family's dog. Cooder was inspired by
Al Sharpton Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. (born October 3, 1954) is an American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, talk show host and politician. Sharpton is the founder of the National Action Network. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic ...
's quote "how he treated his dog tells you a lot about him", and found the dog to be "a useful character ... when you view it in the light of the blues. Like a servant, a yardman, someone very low in the social order. He's just begging to be let down rom the car roof" Bud Scoppa of ''Uncut'' characterizes the song as "the musical equivalent of a
political cartoon A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine a ...
". "Brother Is Gone" is poignantly styled as a sad folktale and features a haunting mandolin riff, a rueful tone, and wounded vocals. Its lyrics attribute the conservative Koch Brothers to the
Deal with the Devil A deal with the Devil (also called a Faustian bargain or Mephistophelian bargain) is a cultural motif exemplified by the legend of Faust and the figure of Mephistopheles, as well as being elemental to many Christian traditions. According to t ...
myth, which Cooder adapted from Robert Johnson's "
Cross Road Blues "Cross Road Blues" (also known as "Crossroads") is a blues song written and recorded by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936. Johnson performed it as a solo piece with his vocal and acoustic slide guitar in the Delta blues-style. The song ...
". The lyrics cite their "crossroads" as "the prairie town of Wichita", where
Koch Industries Koch Industries, Inc. ( ) is an American privately held multinational conglomerate corporation based in Wichita, Kansas and is the second-largest privately held company in the United States, after Cargill. Its subsidiaries are involved in th ...
is headquartered. He said in an interview that "the only logical explanation for the Brothers I could come up with is, they made their deal at the crossroads with Satan."
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's Thom Jurek cites it as "among the finest songs ooders written." "The Wall Street Part of Town" incorporates mandolin,
Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...
guitar riffs, and offers encouragement to protesters. Literary journalist
Alec Wilkinson Alec Wilkinson (born 1952) is a writer who has been on the staff of ''The New Yorker'' since 1980. According to ''The Philadelphia Inquirer '' he is among the "first rank of" contemporary American (20th and early 21st century) "literary journali ...
writes that the song's narrator is "looking for refuge in the part of town where the wind always blows at your back and the ground tilts in your favor." "Guantanamo" features cascading guitar by Cooder and handclaps. The song is about the nadir of human depravity. A slow,
12-bar blues The 12-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on ...
lament, "Cold Cold Feeling" features
juke joint Juke joint (also jukejoint, jook house, jook, or juke) is the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African Americans in the southeastern United States. A juke joint ...
,
bottleneck guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...
, and lyrics placing Barack Obama as the narrator singing his blues in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
. Cooder meant to draw sympathy from listeners for Barack Obama. Geoff Cowart of
musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...
draws similarities of the song to "the voodoo blues of
Screaming Jay Hawkins Jalacy J. "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins (July 18, 1929 – February 12, 2000) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, film producer, and boxer. Famed chiefly for his powerful, operatic vocal delivery and wildly theatrical performances of s ...
". "Going to Tampa" is a
string band A string band is an old-time music or jazz ensemble made up mainly or solely of string instruments. String bands were popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and are among the forerunners of modern country music and bluegrass. While being active countr ...
country song in
Alla breve ''Alla breve'' also known as cut time or cut common timeis a musical meter notated by the time signature symbol (a C with a vertical line through it), which is the equivalent of . The term is Italian for "on the breve", originally meaning tha ...
meter. Using scathing humor and
burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
lyrical elements, the song's farcical lyrics depict a fictional hijacking of the
2012 Republican National Convention The 2012 Republican National Convention was a gathering held by the Republican Party (United States), U.S. Republican Party during which Delegate (American politics), delegates officially nominated former List of governors of Massachusetts, Ma ...
by the
Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...
, as Cooder accuses both parties of racism and
social engineering Social engineering may refer to: * Social engineering (political science), a means of influencing particular attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale * Social engineering (security), obtaining confidential information by manipulating and/or ...
. Titled after the "
drinking the Kool-Aid "Drinking the Kool-Aid" is an expression used to refer to a person who believes in a possibly doomed or dangerous idea because of perceived potential high rewards. The phrase typically carries a negative connotation. It can also be used ironicall ...
" metaphor, "Kool-Aid" has a dark
electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplifier, amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the ...
style, noir musical vibes, and lyrics about the politically misguided
lower middle class In developed nations around the world, the lower middle class is a subdivision of the greater middle class. Universally, the term refers to the group of middle class households or individuals who have not attained the status of the upper middle ...
who support Republican tax cuts for the rich. The song's narrative follows a young American who accepts the Bush administration's pro-war stance, heads off to a foreign land willing to fight any
person of color The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...
, and returns to his home jobless. According to writer
James C. McKinley, Jr. James Courtright McKinley Jr. (born 1962) is an American journalist for ''The New York Times''. He is currently an editor on the Metro desk at ''The New York Times'' specializing in criminal justice and law enforcement. Early life and education ...
, the song continues a theme Cooder established on ''Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down'': "the idea of poor whites who have been let down by the politicians they have supported." It also paraphrases the lyrics to the
Western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the Western United States, West and Southern United States, South among the region's Western music (North America), Western string bands. It is dan ...
standard "
Cocaine Blues "Cocaine Blues" is a Western swing song written by Troy Junius Arnall, a reworking of the traditional song "Little Sadie". Roy Hogsed recorded a well known version of the song in 1944. Background The song is the tale of a man, Willy Lee, who ...
", and touches on the controversial
stand-your-ground law A stand-your-ground law (sometimes called "line in the sand" or "no duty to retreat" law) provides that people may use deadly force when they reasonably believe it to be necessary to defend against certain violent crimes (right of self-defense) ...
, which Cooder viewed as "new
Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
– the stand-your-ground law is already responsible for about 80 shooting deaths of African Americans." "The 90 and the 9" repurposes the gospel hymn of the same name and the worker songs of Joe Hill with apocalyptic themes, an anti-war narrative, and a depiction of modern union workers as part of the lower 99% of income distribution in the US. Cooder was inspired to write the song by
military recruitment Military recruitment refers to the activity of attracting people to, and selecting them for, military training and employment. Demographics Gender Across the world, a large majority of recruits to state armed forces and non-state armed ...
of high schoolers in his native Los Angeles. "Take Your Hands off It" has a defiant tone, prominent guitar, and lyrics that rousingly defend
constitutional right A constitutional right can be a prerogative or a duty, a power or a restraint of power, recognized and established by a sovereign state or union of states. Constitutional rights may be expressly stipulated in a national constitution, or they may ...
s.


Release and promotion

Cooder's fifteenth album, ''Election Special'' was first released in the Netherlands on August 16, 2012. It was subsequently released as a digital download to
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
on August 17 by Perro Verde Records and
Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Non ...
. The album's physical release in Germany was also on August 17. It followed on August 20 in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and on August 21 in North America and Australia. Its
pre-order A pre-order is an order placed for an item that has not yet been released. The idea for pre-orders came because people found it hard to get popular items in stores because of their popularity. Companies then had the idea to allow customers to r ...
from Nonesuch Records' website was bundled with a
campaign button A campaign button is a pin used during an election as political advertising for (or against) a candidate or political party, or to proclaim the issues that are part of the political platform. In the United States, political buttons date as far ba ...
and
bumper sticker A bumper sticker is an adhesive label or sticker with a message, intended to be attached to the bumper of an automobile and to be read by the occupants of other vehicles—although they are often stuck onto other objects. Most bumper stickers are ...
designed similarly to the album artwork. Cooder released "The Wall Street Part of Town" as a
free download Digital distribution, also referred to as content delivery, online distribution, or electronic software distribution, among others, is the delivery or distribution of digital media content such as audio, video, e-books, video games, and other so ...
on November 21, 2011. The song, which he wrote in support of the Occupy movement, was also aired that month on ''
Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...
'' and
Jon Wiener Jon Wiener (born May 16, 1944) is an American historian and journalist based in Los Angeles, California. His most recent book is '' Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties'', a ''Los Angeles Times'' bestseller co-authored by Mike Davis. H ...
's radio show on
KPFK KPFK (90.7 FM) is a listener-sponsored radio station based in North Hollywood, California, United States, which serves Southern California, and also streams 24 hours a day via the Internet. It was the second of five stations in the non-commerci ...
in Los Angeles. After reading her article on
Larry McCarthy Lawrence C. "Larry" McCarthy (born 1952) is an American political consultant and media advisor to Republican Party (GOP) campaigns. He is best known as a master of the attack ad, having produced the infamous Willie Horton TV spot during the 1988 ...
's affiliation with the pro-Romney
Restore Our Future Restore Our Future is a political action committee (PAC) created to support Mitt Romney in the 2012 U.S. Presidential election. A so-called Super PAC, Restore Our Future is permitted to raise and spend unlimited amounts of corporate, union, and ...
group, Cooder sent "Going to Tampa" to
Jane Mayer Jane Meredith Mayer (born 1955) is an American investigative journalist who has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1995. She has written for the publication about money in politics; government prosecution of whistleblowers; the Uni ...
of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' in February 2012; the song makes reference to McCarthy's
Willie Horton William R. Horton (born August 12, 1951), commonly referred to as "Willie Horton", is an American convicted felon who became notorious for committing violent crimes while on furlough from prison, where he was serving a life sentence without the ...
ad during the 1988 presidential campaign. Mayer subsequently posted the song on
SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...
and the magazine's website on February 10. Cooder also sent "Mutt Romney Blues" to
Brave New Films Brave New Films (BNF) is a nonprofit film company based in Culver City, California. Founded by filmmaker Robert Greenwald, BNF produces feature-length documentaries and investigative videos that seek "to educate, influence and empower viewers to ...
, who subsequently produced a
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for the song. Released virally on February 17, the video features clips of Romney and a cartoonish depiction of the 1983 incident with his dog, who is in a car rooftop carrier singing the song. Prior to the album's release, Cooder played a union hall in San Francisco for a longshoremen's
union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
, which according to him, "got every turn of phrase. They'd never heard of me before or any of my records, but they understood all of these lyric things immediately. Because they've been educated in the union, you know what I mean? Because they lived it." On October 14, Cooder performed at ''This Land Is Your Land'', a concert at the
Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
in Washington, D.C. in tribute to Woody Guthrie. Cooder did not
tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed b ...
in promotion of ''Election Special'', as the Kennedy Center was his last show. In an interview for '' The Strand'' at the time, he expressed disinterest in playing larger concert venues for the album, finding them more suitable for "fame" purposes rather than spreading a political message. Cooder remarked on the album's potential with listeners in general in an interview for ''Uncut'', saying that: ''Election Special'' charted at number 164 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, on which it spent one week. It was Cooder's fourth-highest charting album in the US. It attained higher charting in other countries. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number 41 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
, and at number five on the
Official Record Store Chart The Official Record Store Chart is a weekly music chart based on physical sales of albums in almost 100 independent record stores in the United Kingdom, such as Rough Trade, Rounder Records, Jumbo and Sound It Out. It is compiled by the Off ...
. It also debuted at number 25 on the
Scottish Albums Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...
. ''Election Special'' reached its highest position in Norway, where it peaked at number nine. It has charted for four weeks and reached number 28 in the Netherlands.


Critical reception

''Election Special'' was met with generally positive reviews. At
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an
average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
score of 77, based on 17 reviews. In ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'',
David Fricke David Fricke is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 years. I ...
called the record a "vigorously partisan gem of gritty picking and black humor ... protest music delivered with a patriot's gifts – the American-roots beauty and expert fire in Ry Cooder's playing – and long memory." Desmond Traynor from ''
State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
'' hailed Cooder as a "master craftsman" and declared, "social comment once again becomes
high art High culture is a subculture that emphasizes and encompasses the cultural objects of aesthetic value, which a society collectively esteem as exemplary art, and the intellectual works of philosophy, history, art, and literature that a society con ...
, in the finest American tradition." Nick Coleman of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' found the album engaging and stated, "You might even argue that this and its predecessors ... represent the most cogent work of ooder'slong career." Robin Denselow of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' said that Cooder uses humor and melodies to complement his "anger, protest and concern". Jeff Schwager of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' found its stories "timeless" and commented that "it's guaranteed to please anyone inclined to give it a sympathetic listen".
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's Thomas Jurek wrote that the album "serves two purposes: one is that it is the most organic record he's issued in almost two decades; and, more importantly, it restores topical protest music to a bona fide place in American cultural life." James C. McKinley, Jr. of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' cited both ''Election Special'' and its predecessor as the "most topical" albums Cooder has recorded, while Bud Scoppa of ''
Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'' asserted that he "has never before made an album as immediate as ''Election Special''" because of immediate and cleverly written narratives. Less impressed was Christgau, who wrote in ''
MSN Music ''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008. History I ...
'' that protest songs in general are "hard to nail even in the moment" and felt that some of the album's songs "just don't twist the screw tight enough". He nonetheless gave Cooder "extra credit for both preaching to the converted and doing his damnedest to rally the holier-than-thou." '' Q'' was more critical of Cooder's "means of conveying" his message: "The fine lyrics have to fight against some weary-sounding arrangements." ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
''s Joseph Jon Lanthier found the lyrics "limp" and the album "misfiring, wannabe
agitprop Agitprop (; from rus, агитпроп, r=agitpróp, portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', "propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in Soviet Russia where it referred to ...
", writing that, "though Cooder's clearly singing and playing from his bleeding heart on ''Election Special'', the results make one wish that he'd pass both his mic and his guitar back to his brain." Geoff Cowart from ''
musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...
'' found its message and music to be "weak" and Cooder to be "overly preachy," commenting that "despite some first-class guitar playing ... the tunes come off second-best to the partisan grudge match."


Track listing

All songs were written and produced by Ry Cooder, except where noted.


Personnel

Credits for ''Election Special'' adapted from liner notes. * Joachim Cooder – composer, drums, photography *
Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...
– art direction, bass, composer, guitar, mandolin, producer, vocals *
Arnold McCuller Arnold McCuller (born August 26, 1950) is an American vocalist, songwriter, and record producer, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He was active as a solo artist and session musician, but is perhaps best known for his work as a touring back-u ...
– harmony vocals * Martin Pradler – engineer, mastering, mixing * Al Quattrocchi – art direction * Jeff Smith – art direction * Tornado Design – design


Charts


See also

*
Vote for Change The Vote for Change tour was a politically motivated American popular music concert tour that took place in October 2004. The tour was presented by MoveOn.org to benefit America Coming Together. The tour was held in swing states and was designed ...


References


External links

* *
"As Woody Turns 100, We Protest Too Little"
by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' {{Authority control 2012 albums Albums produced by Ry Cooder Nonesuch Records albums Ry Cooder albums