Jesus was a Democrat?

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Sample of Everclear's "Jesus Was a Democrat":

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Above is a short sample of a song Everclear just released on its Web site. A rather matter-of-fact title, don't you think? You can download the whole thing on the Web site.

Those of you who are my faithful readers probably know Everclear is my favorite band, for many personal reasons. I spoke to Everclear frontman Art Alexakis earlier this year, which I will probably forever count among my top professional achievements and cherished personal moments.

I wanted to discuss this track a minute, because while Everclear is dear to my heart and music is my life, politics is among one of my many addictions, and this song manages to wrap all three of those into one.

Let's look briefly at some of the lyrics:

I bet you think of him
As a nice clean long-haired Republican, nah
He would be all locked up in Guantanamo Bay
If he were alive today
He would have been a revolutionary
Wanted by the CIA

What this song boils down to is a tirade against so-called "compassionate conservatives," those kind of pundits who go on FOX News and say basically Jesus Christ is on their side, or at least the ideals they promote are driven by a deep faith in the Christian messiah.

Alexakis — who has spoke against what he believes are hate-mongers such as Jerry Farwell — makes the case in this song that Jesus, born in Palestine, would be more likely an enemy in the War on Terror than any George W. Bush activist, if he were alive today. The song also says that the forgiving nature of Christ counters with what Alexakis sees as intolerance on the part of the Religious Right. "He wouldn't vote for John McCain," the song says.

I'll spare you my personal feelings on this, though I think it's undeniably clear some judge too much and call it in the name of Christ. 

The reason I like this song is that it's a "think piece." It's designed, I believe, to get its listeners to think about their own political-religious views and how often those two should cross. Though the lyrics are a little too obvious for my poetic tastes, it raises what I think are some points worth contemplating.

And, at its core, it's just a good song with a nice mix of old blues and new rock, and Alexakis' raspy Southern-Californian-Northwestern drawl. Good solo, too.

Comments

[Not Sure]

While I can't say I care for the music of this band (actually from the short clip - they pretty much suck), the message is a great one.

The Jesus of the bible wouldn't have anything to do with Bush, McShame or Palin!