On September 12 elections were held in The Netherlands. What kind of music did the political parties choose while they were waiting for the final results and just before the party leaders went on stage to give their speech? The choice for a particular tune says a lot about the party’s mood, whether they’ve lost or won. Sometimes the choice is rather awkward: the liberal (right-winged) party playing Coldplay’s ‘Viva la Vida’ for example. Did they really understand the lyrics? Moreover, the clip of ‘Viva la Vida’ starts with a bursting red rose – the symbol of their biggest adversary, the social democrats.
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Thinking Sounds 
Interesting. What would a good political-esthetical taste? Can we (de)construct a top 5 of liberal songs that are also a wark of art?
Hi Ruud,
Difficult questions! ‘Good’ according to what? When is a song a ‘work of art’? When not (yet/anymore)? It’s clear that the Dutch political parties were searching for tunes that were a more or less appropriate representation of their mood. However, it turned out to be equally clear that some of them hardly paid any attention to the lyrics.
IOW, ‘good political-aesthetical taste’ in this particular context would be a tune (music + lyrics) that fits the state of the political party. What about Tammy Wynette’s ‘Stand By Your Man’ for SGP (ultra-orthodox Christian party)?