I stand in defense of Men without Hats

Posted on October 18, 2008

It’s the weekend, so good humor is in order. The following is no way serious. Really. There is nothing in this post that ought to mean anything to anyone.

This aggression against musical choice shall not stand. When I posted earlier (link here) in defense of Joe the Plumber, I noted that “I am angry. I know I ought not blog angry. I’m going to count to a hundred, listen to some Men without Hats, and finish writing this in a few…” Little did I know the controversy my choice of Men without Hats (MWH) reference would cause at the Democratic Underground.

What I was thinking was that I should mention how angry I was, but tone the whole thing down a bit with a goofy reference. I had no idea DU would take it so seriously:

5. Men Without Hats? Really? Is he going to do the safety dance? That’s just weird. Is Men Without Hats the only band that will still let the pugs use their music or something?Not only does their taste in politicians sucks, but so does their taste in music. It’s only missing the obligatory Lee Greenwood reference.

7. “Some” Men Without Hats>Yes, with such a wide catalog to choose from, I understand how they can’t possibly mention which one of the two albums they will be listening to.

11. lol, very good point.

14. It just seems like such a strange choice to me. I would be thinking Toby Keith, or Hank Jr, hell, even some Cash, but MWH just struck me as funny.

15. Kinda like republican frat boys listening to Chumbawumba (they’re collectivists/anarchists).Basically, the problem comes from people who hear music, but not the message. Hence, the long line of gaffes made by republicans in their song choices for public events, and, apparently, in their private collections.I even have a staunchly “conservative” friend who loves Rage Against The Machine and System Of A Down… it gives me giggles whenever he plays it, not really figuring out that he’s slowly feeding his brain with a different set of messages than he *thinks* he believes in.

So there’s the response from the left to my mentioning of a band from Canada who gave me a good reason to invite my homecoming date to a “fast dance” in high school. It seems that I do not have the correct political worldview to appreciate Men without Hats (I really didn’t see the red-blue divide going that deep), or in the alternative, I am lame because I mentioned Men without Hats.

I stand today in defense of Men without Hats, as well as all the other random references I considered when I cited them (Kula Shaker’s cover of Deep Purple’s Hush, the literal “pipe wrench fight” version of A-Ha’s Take on Me, the Dandy Warhol’s Green, and Orbit’s Touch Me were all candidates for the song that would soothe my anger and make me a better blogger). It just so happens that Men without Hats seemed the most likely to make posters at DU respond with outrage over a right-wingers unauthorized enjoyment of music. And so it was. Men without Hats has given me joy, and I have given them money. I think we’re cool in that respect, but didn’t expect the musical taste police at the Democratic Underground to weigh in about what I’m allowed to listen to.

For the record, I have used Rage against the Machine music in a little online movie before, and even once used a Marylin Manson cover of a Gary Numan song to make a point in favor of religious freedom. Irony is fun, DU; embrace it.