So, Kamala Harris, do you know music?

So, Kamala Harris, do you know music?

News

norman lebrecht

July 22, 2024

It appears the Veep has taste.

Watch.

Comments

  • IP says:

    Her melodious giggle, or is it cackle, is sweeter than any music.

  • NYCgirl says:

    <3

  • Herbie G says:

    So that will make her a good president?

  • Save the MET says:

    She missed the mark on the 1959/1960 Porgy and Bess choices. The Gil Evans arranged Miles Davis Porgy and Bess album was a revelation at the time, still is. The they went on to do Sketches of Spain the next year which was a further revelation, still is. If Harris does not have either, then her musical taste is suspect.

  • Tiredofitall says:

    Funnily enough, I just happened on an article from four years ago about Kamala Harris’ choice in music, by Melvin L. Butler (Associate professor of Musicology at the University of Miami and a Public Voices fellow of The OpEd Project).

    …As we approach the 2020 presidential election, does Kamala Harris’s music matter? Maybe so. But in the end, I am less interested in the music she listens to than whether she takes our collective concerns seriously. Music can be a vehicle for expressing those concerns, but let’s not subject our politicians — or ourselves for that matter — to facile litmus tests that arbitrarily define racial authenticity or confuse musical preferences with fitness for public office.

    Our fascination with politicians’ playlists may say something about the value we place on music as a cultural symbol. But the fact that we care also points to our collective need to have leaders who can hear us and willing to listen closely to the proverbial songs we sing. Let’s hope our next presidential cabinet contains men and women who listen well and strive to create national harmony from our multilayered voices.”

    Let’s not forget, Rudy Giuliani loves opera…

  • Gerry Feinsteen says:

    “The significance of the passage of time, right? The significance of the passage of time. So when you think about it, there is great significance to the passage of time…there is such great significance to the passage of time.”

    As with past VP Dan Quayle, she probably wished she had studied Latin more carefully to better communicate with Latin Americans.

    The Left sought a minority female VP for “inclusion” and “appeal to certain demographics,” and this sad situation is what happens when one is chosen by race rather than rhetoric; the Left shot itself in the foot in choosing her for VP alongside a presidential candidate who has obvious vulnerabilities. Russia and China will walk over America “with the passage of time,” and so it’s highly unlikely there will be enough support for her+against Trump to win in November.

    I have my fingers crossed Michelle Obama might get nominated instead; she’s smart enough to know politics is more than just buying the right used LPs.

    • noah says:

      “As with past VP Dan Quayle, she probably wished she had studied Latin more carefully to better communicate with Latin Americans.”

      Absolute blather…..

      • Gerry Feinsteen says:

        You’re probably right: Latin and the idea of learning it never crossed her mind in the first place.
        Consider her approach at dealing with the border crisis: absence.
        She will bring San Fran policies to the national level: looting for all.
        Symphony concerts under a Harris presidency: laughing in the minor key, ‘unburdened by what has been.’

        I hope she has a chance, but she lacks an edge, which is needed to face Trump. It’s not like she’s popular as VP.

        She bought some LPs. Cheers to the shop.

    • V.Lind says:

      Wrong time for Michelle Obama. And she can hardly start a launch by putting down the first black female VP in US history.

      Pity, as she is just about the only person I can think of who could knock off Trump.

      2028 was probably always her game. but if Harris is slaughtered — not a gimme, but a possibility — the Dems may think twice about another black woman.

      • Couperin says:

        This election is simply about getting the vote out. Fox News and conservative media have had 4 years to play the “incompetent DEI hire” baloney against Harris, and yet, is there a more DEI pick than JD Vance? He is on the record stating he was most likely accepted to Yale because he was poor. Vance rode his impoverished childhood story to great riches and he is now the darling of Peter Thiel, having received untold millions in political financial support. As for Harris work on the border “problem”, it would be cool (but not realistic) for her to select for VP one of the Republicans who helped write the bipartisan immigration bill which Trump told the party to vote against (because, let’s be honest, a broken border is what the GOP actually wants). The GOP is scared of Harris, as evidenced by their disorganized and overblown response to their new challenge.

        Oh, and she has great taste in jazz!! Go Kamala!

      • Sue Sonata Form says:

        Dems think? That’s the oxymoron of the century.

    • Chiminee says:

      Harris was a U.S. Senator, State Attorney General, and District Attorney, but since she’s Black you automatically doubt her qualifications.

      Got it.

      • Gerry Feinsteen says:

        I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Michelle Obama, who is black, and dare I say more African American than Kamala Harris, who partially raised white kids of her Jewish husband. Ms Harris’ mother is Indian and father a British-Jamaican who arrived in the US in 1961 at around age 23.

      • DomCheatle says:

        I would never vote for anyone that has no problem stating that they have never been to Europe. She lacks qualifications and acts like it. https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2021/06/08/kamala-harris-border-visit-i-havent-visited-europe-sot-vpx-ath.cnn

      • Barry says:

        Her race has nothing to do with it. She’s disgustingly woke and it’s virtually impossible to imagine her deterring our adversaries from taking aggressive action whenever they see fit.
        I am not a Trump fan and will probably write someone in on election day, but one thing he is good at is deterring aggression, even if it’s because of how unpredictable he is. It’s not a coincidence that his administration was the only one of the past four (Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden) during which Putin didn’t invade a neighboring country.
        We’ve all got our own priorities when it comes to judging candidates. And being anti-woke/DEI and having the ability to deter aggression are at the top of my priorities list.
        As much as I dislike Trump, the thought of four more years of him is less disturbing to me than a President Harris.

        • mk says:

          You do realize that the buildup for the 2021 full invasion of Ukraine occurred in 2020. It’s not like he would not have taken what he considers rightfully his had Trump been in office in 2021.

          Also not like he just stopped fighting in Luhansk and Donetsk while Trump was in office.

          You also seem to have blinders on when it comes to Africa, where Russia intervened in the Central African Republic and Mali while Trump was still in office.

          But, yeah, wokeness must be the reason for everything bad in the world. Just using the word “woke” absolves you from having to prove any casuality.

          • Barry says:

            Her wokeness and the difficulty I have imagining her being able to deter adversaries are two separate issues. On the one hand, she has a track-record of total support for a DEI approach to business and education along with supporting the transitioning of minors (not to mention using pronouns). On the other, she behaves in a manner that is very unlikely to inspire fear in the likes of Putin, Xi or Khamenei.
            And the buildup of Russian troops and military hardware near the Ukraine border wasn’t reported until late 2021. Trump left office in January of ’21. He also provided weaponry to Ukraine that Obama refused to provide.

        • Rob Keeley says:

          I’m afraid you and I are in a minority on here, the liberal lefties with their hands in the sand simple refuse to see Kackala for what she is. Except I like Trump!

      • Tiredofitall says:

        Don’t forget woman. A more unforgivable sin in the US.

      • Helen Wynn says:

        No we thank Willie Brown for all he did to help her. Without him she’d still be in California. Yup. She’s now been to Europe and barely to the border. I’m really hoping there’s more to her than we’ve seen. Our country deserves it. BTW wonder if she’s ever been to the opera and knows any old white men composers. That would be a welcome surprise. Time our leaders brought some classical music into the White House.

  • Max Raimi says:

    Josef Stalin truly loved and knew music, according to Kotkin’s magisterial three volume biography. He was the star tenor of the choir at the seminary where he studied briefly. Churchill, not so much. He favored tub thumping jingoistic military marches.

  • Kreisleriana says:

    “We must distinguish between ‘sentimental’ and ‘sensitive’. A sentimentalist may be a perfect brute in his free time. A sensitive person is never a cruel person. Sentimental Rousseau, who could weep over a progressive idea, distributed his many natural children through various poorhouses and workhouses and never gave a hoot for them.

    A sentimental old maid may pamper her parrot and poison her niece. The sentimental politician may remember Mother’s Day and ruthlessly destroy a rival. Stalin loved babies. Lenin sobbed at the opera, especially at the Traviata.”

    ― Vladimir Nabokov, Lectures on Russian Literature

    • Sue Sonata Form says:

      One particular side of politics is characterized by sentimentality, fantasy and histrionics. But grown-ups never are.

  • Mick the Knife says:

    What a minuscule amount of musical taste it takes to please some people.

  • camcam says:

    Trump and his Project 2025 along with all its draconian elements also plan to slash the national endowment for the arts. Let’s go Kamala

    • Mick the Knife says:

      And the NEA is so important for the arts. I’d rather have lower taxes and decide who I donate too.

    • Jimmie says:

      You are a perfect example of the “stupid know nothing voter” You hear something that sounds good to your agenda and you run with it without checking the information. Trump has zero to do with project 2025 and has publicly denounced any association with the group. However, you will continue to chant the falsehood without checking because it is another arrow in your quiver of attacks on evil orange man bad. Try some research before placing your ignorance before the world.

    • Rob Keeley says:

      Oh yes, forget the idiotic Green New Deal policies, the Inflation Reduction act, and that 34 trillion dollar debt.

  • Don Ciccio says:

    Don’t know about Kamala, but Trump certainly loves classical music. His favorite conductor is Othmar Maga. 🙂

    • Sue Sonata Form says:

      Yes, he loves it so much he’ll grow the economy so that the arts can be properly funded.

      • Moooremike says:

        The downvotes prove the Dems are ignorant about the economy. Luckily no black man will vote for her per my black friends. I heard a black guy say he would rather bring back slavery than vote for Kamala.

  • Karden says:

    Herbie G: “…and Hitler loved Lehar and Wagner.”

    FWIW, he was also into art and painting. One of his other hobbies was architectural design. And although he certainly butchered homosexuals, he apparently was a participant in same-sex activities himself.

    His ideology was a form of socialism that mixes together aspects of both fascism and communism.

    ======================

    https://news.uoguelph.ca/2014/04/historian-uncovers-nazi-animal-laws/

    “The Nazis are remembered for their brutality and cruelty, so it is surprising to many that when the party was in power it also passed laws to protect animals….The first law…was passed in 1933, not long after the Nazis rose to power.

    “Under the Animal Protection Act, it was forbidden to mistreat or handle animals in any way that would harm them. Force-feeding fowl was banned, and the law also provided protection to animals in circuses and zoos. In the initial version of the act, experimentation on animals was prohibited as well. People who neglected their pets could be arrested and fined.

    “These laws were very progressive at the time,” says Piper.

    “A year later, the Nazis passed an act that dealt with hunting wild animals…. This law prohibited hunting on horseback, poisoning wild animals and using traps. In addition, only German citizens and those who met the Aryan racial standards were permitted to hunt.”

    • Moooremike says:

      You know the left killled way more than Hitler right? Ever read up on communism or you like your head in the sand.

      • Karden says:

        Per my post, his ideology was a blend of so-called fascism and so-called communism. A fascistic-type system – which is generally the state/government in solidarity with the corporate (& visa versa) – exists in today’s People’s Republic of China.

  • Sue Sonata Form says:

    She has just referred to the President as “Kid”.

    Pass.

    • Tiredofitall says:

      And President Biden has also publicly referred to Vice President Harris as “Kid”. So, what exactly is your point, kid?

  • Laura Prichard says:

    She attended the 2022 Kennedy Center Honors: that year’s honorees included George Clooney, composer Tania León, U2, Amy Grant and Gladys Knight.
    https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/kamala-harris-kennedy-center-honors-2022-vera-wang-dress-1235438334/

  • Laura Prichard says:

    Composer Candace Forest has set Harris’ words to music for the excellent SF Girls’ Chorus:
    https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/10/18/kamala-harris-speeches-inspire-a-hopeful-new-musical-work/amp/

  • Laura Prichard says:

    She recommends some of her favorite popular, funk, R&B, Motown, and other music here:
    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/447DQxPqltGdQq5WqhzIZ5

  • Officer Krupke says:

    Excellent taste. Doubt any British politicians would be caught dead buying British artist records – if they knew any.

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