Musicians of Parliament

It may just be me. It may just be the indefinite derision that the position attracts. It may be totally true. But, as far as I can see, whenever a British MP decides to mention or become involved in music, it becomes one of the most embarassing and cringe-worthy PR moments imaginable. I don't mean all politicians, no. Barack Obama's musical tastes briefly became law a couple of years ago, and he exudes cool and savvy in this clip where he honours Bruce Springsteen (go to 1:40 for the hihglight):



But it just seems to me that not a single British politician can pull anything like that off. Why? Are they all just so out of touch, un-personable and unbelievable? Gordon Brown offered one of my personal favourites with his Arctic Monkeys gaffe back in 2006. Having mentioned them in a previous interview about his listening habits, Gordon was pressed for more information and responded: "You've got to laugh, because actually I was asked did I prefer Arctic Monkeys to James Blunt (of 'You're Beautiful' fame), and I think I said I'd prefer Coldplay. But I made a joke that Arctic Monkeys would certainly wake you up in the morning. So, I mean, I've heard Arctic Monkeys and they're very loud." Oh Gordon. That, to me, seemed like Gordon performing a little on the spot PR "magic" only finding that he didn't know how to pull the rabbit out of the hat.

This incident just enforces the image of nearly all British politicians: overweight, out of touch, middle aged, white and male. David Cameron has had his fair share as well. Consider his Lily Allen goof whilst on the campaign trail: "I got one of those [iPod] connections for the car and my daughter is obsessed by Lily Allen, who I think is slightly unsuitable. So a bit of a fight takes place. 'I want to listen to Lily Allen.' 'No, it's The Jungle Book.' And in the tussle it broke [the connector]". I'm guessing Lily Allen was relieved that Cameron wasn't endorsing her (and, to be fair, I wouldn't let my kids listen to Lily Allen, even if she does have her finger on the pulse a bit more than Cameron might) but, once again, this incident rocks up the cringe factor. Allegedly, he's a fan of Florence + the Machine, and lent Barack Obama some CDs by The Smiths, Gorillaz, Lily Allen(?) and Radiohead when they first met. Even though I fully believe that Cameron is the best person to be Prime Minister right now, I still can't shake the feeling that I want to avoid listening to the above bands for a few days. I wonder if, after mentioning at a party that the band playing are one of Cameron's favourite, the dancing might ease off a tad.

A different yet infinitely more painful and deplorable example is parliament's resident dad-rock band "MP4". Yes, literally, four MPs slung on guitars and threw together a load of sub-Status Quo/Oasis rock slop. It really is embarassing to listen to. It still would be even if they weren't MPs. But the fact that they are just exacerbates it. Why exactly?

I think it really does come down to the general view of British politicians. Serious and grave as politics is, especially in the current world climate, politicians will never cease to attract derision and to conform to stereotypes. There will always be that filter created by Mock the Week, 8 out of 10 Cats et al which simply prevents us from taking them seriously. And I think it will remain that way as long as the vast amount of British politicians remain white, middle class and male. I'm of course not claiming that there is inhererent discrimination within British politics. It may often be that those best qualified happen to fall into that demographic. I do believe however that I would be more inclinced to hear Diane Abott (the black, buxom, female candidate for Labour's leadership election) potentially rave about Aretha Franklin than watch Tony Blair awkwardly sip champagne with Noel Gallagher, or listen to Gordon Brown try to describe the merits of Klaxons inventing nu-rave.