The Election Night party at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe had much in the way of politics and dissonance – the two often seem indivisible – referencing everything from the Constitution (Andrea LaRose's "reminder"), to Hunter Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 (Kamala Sankaram's "The Bitter Suite"), to a radio host's vitriol (Brad Kemp/Regina Rocke's "Texas Holiday"):
"I don't understand why art is relevant in our community, our country. Why are you here?"
But, when things got serious, David Little's Newspeak was there to rock out, playing everything from music by their cohorts (Judd Greenstein's "What They Don't Like (for Chuck D)"; Caleb's "Reqiuem for a General Motors…") to Black Sabbath and The Who, peaking at just the right moment. The final night of the most unusual election in my lifetime deserved exactly this sort of soundtrack.