Bernie Sanders Recorded a Folk Album. No Punchline Required

[cali]

Ack. truly awful.

<snip>


In 1987, while serving as Burlington’s mayor, Sanders recorded an album of folk classics for the defunct BurlingTown Recordings label. We found it in the archive search for "Bernie Beat," the new digital guide to Sanders' colorful political career that launched today on the Seven Days website. Find it at Berniebeat.com.

Behold, our man in Washington’s take on "This Land is Your Land."

<snip>

Sanders gave Lockwood a list of songs, mostly from Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, he would be willing to record.

The plan was for Sanders to sing relatively straightforward renditions of a handful of them. And that apparently seemed like a good idea to everyone. Until Sanders stepped into the recording booth for the first time.

“As talented of a guy as he is, he has absolutely not one musical bone in his body, and that became painfully obvious from the get-go,” Lockwood said. “This is a guy who couldn’t even tap his foot to music coming over the radio. No sense of melody. No sense of rhythm — the rhythm part surprised me, because he has good rhythm when he’s delivering a speech in public.”

<snip>

http://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2014/09/17/bernie-sanders-recorded-a-folk-album-no-punchline-required

[Le Taz Hot]

1. If that's the worst thing he's done,

then he's doing pretty good -- unlike his likely opponent who never met a war she wouldn't vote/push for. Ah, we can't all be Glen Yarborough. (Geezer reference)

[whistler162]

2. The tour with William Shatner fell through

so yes this is likely the worse thing he has done.

[Le Taz Hot]

3. And I was so looking forward to their

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" duet.

[PADemD]

7. His likely opponent is not much better.

I remember hearing this in 2008.

[AzDar]

4. Guthrie and Seeger tunes? This only makes me love him more...

It's not like he recorded his own rendition of The Horst Wessel Lied or a spoken-word version of Macarthur Park...


Bernie!!!!

[cali]

5. all things bernie:

http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/bernie-beat/Category?oid=2428243

[Recursion]

6. It was 1987. Folk was going through a dark age. Even Cohen had some stinkers that year.

I'd kind of like to hear him try a less over-produced, more DIY sound.

[2banon]

8. Scratching my head wrt to the point of this story and the point of this OP

I don't hear Bernie singing in the first two clips I've listened to so far.. he's doing the "spoken word" style and his phrasing is fine. He's not singing the melody. As I write this, I'm running the sound on the second recording "we shall overcome".

I think the box "instrumental" and over all recording sound sucks technically speaking.

But jeeze, I've heard a whole lot worse from people who's sole vocation is as performing artist.

I don't get the point of attempting to paint Bernie as some sort of self delusional aspiring artist.

that's just a bit mean spirited, imo.

[Recursion]

9. It's just an interesting story. People posted Obama's awful bowling score here, too.

It's a way to humanize politicians. Like I said, I'd like to hear him try it in a less synthesized context.

[2banon]

10. Ok. That said, it should be made clear that he isn't actually singing...

at least in not any of the clips I listened to.