No. 80: Andrew WK, “McLaughlin Groove”

Mike Barthel / December 8, 2008

Who would have thought, back in March, that it would seem plausible to take down the right wing through mockery rather than righteous indignation? Andrew WK, of course. He took an exchange from The McLaughlin Group in which loudmouthed conservative talk-show-host John McLaughlin speculated on the possibility of John McCain’s accidental death (while misquoting Carl Sandburg and predicting that “the next man on the moon will be Chinese”) and turned it into an anthemic demonstration of how anything sounds true when it’s yelled loudly enough.

Still, it seemed like a novelty song. But then John McCain was actually nominated, and then John McCain nominated Sarah Palin, and all of a sudden the idea of simply amplifying the excesses of the conservative movement and letting people draw their own conclusions seemed like a valid political strategy rather than a joke. “McLaughlin Groove” takes concrete evidence of the Republican Party eating itself and turns it into a preemptive celebration of the victory that this dysfunction would engender eight months down the line. As the man who made it all happen prepares to leave office and we’re tempted to cut him some slack, blast this song, pump your fists, and remember where it all came from—and where it will all no doubt eventually return. Death comes in the night on little cats’ feet, indeed, John.

80 ’08 (And Heartbreak)