Friday, May 30, 2008

John McCain: One Hundred Years

"I just made an anti-McCain video using "One Hundred Years" as the background music."
(Thanks Eric)
Posted by Craig at 3:18 PM

27 comments:

  1. Dumb AnguishMay 30, 2008 at 4:02 PM

    Something like this would make an excellent 527 ad for the fall election.

    Anything that prevents John McCain from being elected is fine by me!

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  2. AnonymousMay 30, 2008 at 5:15 PM

    guys, can we just keep politics off this site? i'm not saying i am for McCain of against McCain but some people are on bost sides of the fence. Can we just keep it about The Cure and about their music? That's what this site is about, right?

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  3. iceblink luckMay 30, 2008 at 5:33 PM

    I have to say I love this video. It's really well done. Thanks for posting it, Craig.

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  4. CraigMay 30, 2008 at 5:36 PM

    Just to be clear, I didn't post this because I'm anti-McCain. I actually have a lot of respect for the man.
    I would also post anti Obama, Clinton, Nader, Barr, etc. videos.

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  5. AnonymousMay 30, 2008 at 6:06 PM

    i understand completely. i just hate it when politics (of any sort) get meshed together with music/entertainment. but that's just me. and it's not that big of a deal. : ) everyone has the right to their own opinion, and i respect that.

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  6. PhoenixAeternumMay 30, 2008 at 8:07 PM

    For what it's worth (read: not much), I think that if it's Cure-related (which this obviously is), it's permissible.

    I am biased in that I don't support John McCain for President, but I would maintain my position even if this was an anti-Obama/Clinton/Barr/Nader/Gravel/Kucinich/Bush/You bit set to One Hundred Years.

    Take The Cure out of the equation, and I don't think it's got any place here; but that's sort of the general rule, isn't it?

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  7. AnonymousMay 30, 2008 at 8:43 PM

    Great stuff. I remember when I first heard the lyrics to One Hundred Years in high school, I dismissed it as nihilistic or cynical. I thought American was on a completely different track in standing up for human rights. It's only when I was taught differently in university that I came to realize how terrible the world is. Now those words speak to me with a kind of realization that frightens me.

    I also like how you emphasize Iraqi deaths because the Democrats seem uncaring of the US responsibility to the Iraqis; it's all their fault according to them.

    Well said, Craig; I think Obama is lucky to face off against McCain because he's not so willingly devious as Bush, but -- as in 2000 when he praised the Confederate flag and then privately admitted he disliked it -- he will get desperate. What frightens me about McCain -- and this happens with most leaders -- is that he deludes himself into heavily nationalistic reasons. Israel is our ally because it is, yet he's expressed sadness at the treatment of native Americans, which is very much how the Palestinians have been treated. Terrorism on well-off Israeli settlers is the new "native raids on white settlers who displaced them". Obama's a bit better, but he's willing to pander to right wing Jews in America and stop short of talking of America's disgraceful treatment of Cuba and all of Latin America. And no one talks about the anti-democratic coup arranged by the CIA in 1953 that installed a brutal dictatorship against the Iranian people, resulting in an irrational fundamentalist revolution in 1979. The hostage crisis was responded with the Reagan administration supplying Saddam Hussein with biological weapons to use against Iranians and funding an 8-year war against Iran. Or how about the fact that, despite the fact that Iranians youth was quite pro-American and that many in Tehran stood in mourning with the US after 9/11, the American public allowed the Bush administration to engage in massive and needless threats, including the Axis of Evil speech, that culminated in the election of Ahmadeinjad and has prompted the regime clamp down on civil liberties in Iran. Yet you'll find all the candidates unwilling to discuss any of this and educate the public in the US role in motivating Iran's defensiveness and the regime's mistreatment of its people and the Kurds. And to top it all off, Hilary Clinton threatens to "completely obliterate Iran" if the regime attacks Israel. Based on that logic, she is telling the public the US should kill the populace of any regime that attacks an ally. Well, if Iran acted on that logic, it should have the right to destroy Israel for 5 decades of a brutal occupation that has killed thousands, if not millions, of Palestinians, and for pushing for the war in Iraq and now a war against Iran -- and Iranians can't even democratically control their government, while Israel is touted as a great democracy. You won't find any of these candidates admitting to their hypocrisy, either.

    "Over and over we die one after the other" indeed.

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  8. Clockwise CatMay 30, 2008 at 9:29 PM

    Whoever made this is a fucking genuis. The way some of the the images are juxtaposed with the lyrics, the harrowing sadness of the images, the McCain quotes - damn astute! The only artistic suggestion I would make is that the red lettering for the quotes is a bit hard to read. Perhaps it's the font itself, but maybe you could also use a darker red.

    This video reinforces my appreciation for the song (and I have already cherished it for a while), but more importantly, renews my vehement stance against the war.

    Oh, and I think it is VERY VALID to post this video on this site. Human rights are NOT innately political, but they become so when politicians trample on them.

    Besides, it's a Cure song - ergo, relevant artistically as well.

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  9. AnonymousMay 30, 2008 at 9:46 PM

    hey muldfeld ... for once im glad youve posted a comment , nicely put there mr

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  10. AnonymousMay 30, 2008 at 10:20 PM

    see, this is why i don't like mixing politics with music/entertainment. it creates controversy and puts people at odds.

    but it's whatever. personally, i just don't feel it neccesary. But i guess i'm the only one. oh well. it's still great to have a place like this to discuss The Cure. Thanks for being so dedicated, Craig. : )

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  11. AnonymousMay 30, 2008 at 10:30 PM

    Hey believer-ko (and y'all)

    I understand your position. It's true that politics only divide. We pretend it unifies us but unity is the necessary facade to a political victory. But this is another debate, one that I too wish wasn't taking place here. So no you're not alone not to enjoy this thread.

    However, I don't think it means such a thread and/or discussion doesn't belong here. I think it does. The only thing you CAN do is not take part in it. That's the real choice I feel we have.

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  12. Clockwise CatMay 30, 2008 at 10:43 PM

    I don't think it's always necessary to discuss social situations, but I do think it's always necessary to be AWARE socially. Ignorance and apathy are poison and should be combatted at every turn. I am thankful that Robert is active in the human rights arena (Amnesty International) and that he wrote such a bitter tirade against ambition and bellicosity.

    I agree that politics can divide - but politics are just the GAME created to distract us from the human rights we are all endowed with. The Iraq War, and Guantanamo Bay, and the botched response to Katrina, and on and on and on - these are human rights travesties that merit our persistent vigilance. They are only made political by those in power in order to dissuade us from thinking too deeply on them.

    NEVER stop caring about the world around you, and about your fellow humans and animals. We are all interconnected and we thrive when we recognize this fundamental entanglement.

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  13. Clockwise CatMay 30, 2008 at 10:48 PM

    And believer-ko, I respect where you are coming from, and I agree that such discussions can be uncomfortable, but this is no way should dissuade us from HAVING them. Aren't you disturbed by that imagery on the video? It just reinforces why such a war is so wrong.

    I humbly thank the maker of this amazing video. It's very heartfelt.

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  14. AnonymousMay 30, 2008 at 10:54 PM

    first off, i'm glad everyone is coming together so maturely about this. glad there's no arrogance or bitchiness among us. : )

    i hope everyone knows that i, in no way, was intending to show an apathetic, careless view on politics - believe me, those are two things i sure am not! - all i wanted to express was a desire to keep music music and politics politics. Though it is a politically driven song, it was not intended for this era and therefore i feel almost as if it is taken out of context. That just, for me, feels like almost a disservice to robert.

    perhaps he wouldn't want his song portrayed in this way.
    perhaps he would!

    who are we to say?

    to each his own and i wish everyone only the best. i hope no strange grudges come of this. you all seem like great people! and kudos for keeping it real and taking a stand. at least we are all socially aware and not a bunch of ignorant teenagers interested in hanna montana or Avril lavine.

    go us!

    through diffrent beliefs, and countries we can unite through The Cure. and that is something i'm SURE robert would want!

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  15. Clockwise CatMay 30, 2008 at 11:12 PM

    believer-ko: i think mature discussion about such seminal topics as war is exactly what we should aim for, so i agree with your sentiments there. :-)

    i do believe that a song like 100 Years is always relevant. human rights abuses are never acceptable and i believe robert was merely responding in anguish to what he rightly perceived as nihilistic greed and power.

    i am not one to believe it is an issue of "your opinion" vs. "my opinion." i think there is solid truth that lies beyond such shallow subjectivities.

    i agree, too, that the cure can unite us. they have a special power to do so!

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  16. AnonymousMay 30, 2008 at 11:17 PM

    again, glad we can be so mature! we can both hold our own and be fine with that. (and of course human injustice is never acceptable. just so we're on the same page with that!)

    but i'm off to bed now. High school graduation in the a.m! sure as hell can't miss that,! it's taken long enough!

    night guys.
    see you around!

    keep on keepin on.

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  17. Clockwise CatMay 30, 2008 at 11:39 PM

    congrats on graduating from high school. i did so myself in 1985. and now i'm a teacher of teens like you. :-)

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  18. PhoenixAeternumMay 30, 2008 at 11:50 PM

    I might be wrong [insert that awesome bass], but I think there were images of the Iraq war [bodies, soldiers, explosions, refugees, etc], amongst other wars, on the screens when they played One Hundred Years last night.

    I think that sort of negates your argument about it being a disservice to Robert, about it being out of context; Robert would seem to have put it into the context of the Iraq war himself; as the writer of the song, I think it's for him to decide what the context of the song can and cannot be.

    I don't know. Ranting now.

    Congratulations on escaping high school, believer!

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  19. AnonymousMay 31, 2008 at 6:25 AM

    lol tyler!

    I too "escape" high school EVERY year! I "survive" teaching seniors year after year! June is my salvation and I have a couple months to rejuvenate myself in preparation for a new batch of kids that feel they need to "escape"!!!

    Congratulations believer-ko!!!

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  20. Clockwise CatMay 31, 2008 at 9:31 AM

    fantac: what do you teach? i teach English. :-)

    tyler: i like what you said. i have no doubt that robert is anti-Iraq war and no doubt that he would appreciate this video. and even if he didn't, the maker of the vid had a right to make it regardless - artistic license and all that.

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  21. JPXMay 31, 2008 at 6:38 PM

    Christ, I graduated high school in 1987, college in 1991, masters in 1994, phd in 2001. Damnit, it never ends! Terrific video, by the way =)

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  22. revoltJune 2, 2008 at 5:05 AM

    I haven´t watched the video but I think it´s of bad taste to associate The Cure's music to any pro- or anti- political campaign.

    '100 Years" is and will be a song for the ages whereas this American campaign for president is only a thing for the here and now. Even if who actually gets elected can affect the world in a more lasting way.

    Anyway, it doesn´t really matter who wins. The whole world is organized in a stupid and self-destructive way and it won´t be a candidate that is wholly immersed in the status quo (even if he pretends not to be) that will make a diference.

    I say: F**K politics, let´s ART.

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  23. Clockwise CatJune 2, 2008 at 9:34 AM

    You can't separate art from the political. Like it or not, the world is heavily politicized and art is created within this context. What's important is that we recognize that politics is the destructive game which aims to decimate cosmic progress, and art can be and often is the constructive force to counter the nihilism of politics.

    Viva this video! :-)

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  24. revoltJune 2, 2008 at 10:03 AM

    "You can't separate art from the political."

    Yes you can.

    "Like it or not, the world is heavily politicized and art is created within this context."

    I´m not sure if "the world is heavily politicized", really. Maybe you can say that from a certain perspective. On the other hand, considering that usually more than 50% of the potential voters in the USA don´t actually vote (and similar percentages have been recurring almost over all European countries), than I suppose you can also say that the world is not politicized enough. From a democratic perspective, that is.

    "What's important is that we recognize that politics is the destructive game which aims to decimate cosmic progress, and art can be and often is the constructive force to counter the nihilism of politics."

    It´ not politics that is nihilistic. Nihilism is simply the logical consequence of the failure of all belief systems - be it religious or political - to offer satisfying answers to our fundamental questions.

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  25. AlbertJune 2, 2008 at 4:06 PM

    Whether you like McCain or not, this site represents anything good or bad which mentions the Cure.

    Thanks for posting Craig.

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  26. AnonymousJune 2, 2008 at 10:23 PM

    glad to see someone else with the same view as me.

    thanks, revolt.

    i agree. Let's screw politics and ART!

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  27. AnonymousJuly 24, 2008 at 1:34 AM

    Thanks, deadboycraved. I was terrified of looking back after I posted this. I finally checked back now.

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