Death Cab for Cutie Takes Trump Head-On in New Song
Earlier this week, Politically Polished began a discussion on the intersection between popular music and politics. While some mainstream artists are able to include vibrant political messages in their music, they often face tremendous criticism and risk isolating part of their fanbase. However, not all musicians are millionaires and not all bands are constantly performing in sold-out world tours. With mediocrity often comes authenticity in the music industry, and perhaps, no band demonstrates this sentiment better than Death Cab for Cutie.
Calling the band “mediocre” is not to diminish its success. Death Cab for Cutie’s musical career spans nearly two decades and consists of several albums and occasional mainstream attention. The group has been nominated for multiple awards, contributed to a few movie soundtracks, and even sold out to The Twilight Saga. Death Cab for Cutie has never shied away from politics. The group participated in the 2004 Vote for Change tour that supported the campaign of current president, Barack Obama. In several interviews since, including this one from 2011, the band continued to endorse Obama as he sought reelection.
As part of Dave Eggers’ 30 Days, 30 Songs campaign, Death Cab for Cutie released a song entitled “Million Dollar Loan” and an accompanying music video. In the band’s boldest political statement to date, sarcastic lyrics accompany a soothing melody, making the listener unsure of whether the piece is anecdotal or fictitious. The song indeed tells a true story. It is a direct reference to the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, and his famous line about how he paved his own road to success, with nothing more than “a small loan of a million dollars” from his wealthy father. This narrative is explored in the song’s chorus:
“A million dollar loan / Nobody makes it on their own / Without a million dollar loan / You’ll reap what you’ve sown / From a million dollar loan / Call your father on the phone / And get that million dollar loan”
Absolute in its agenda, the 30 Days, 30 Songs slogan is “written and recorded by artists for a Trump-free America.” The music video for “Million Dollar Loan” is equally as explicit in its distaste for the Republican nominee. For the duration of the song, a man with disheveled blond hair directs construction workers to build a wall with cinder blocks and cement. Although the figure in the video is not Trump himself, the body double has a similar silhouette and unclear, but wrinkled facial features. The man wears an expensive-looking suit as he flashes two thumbs up towards the camera, as “The Donald” often does in photographs. Towards the beginning of the song, the Trump-like figure sports a red hat that resembles the “Make America Great Again” baseball cap that has become emblematic of the candidate’s campaign.
The music video for “Million Dollar Loan” stresses the idea that megalomania, such as Trump’s, can be an isolating experience. Throughout the song, the figure makes grandiose gestures as he instructs workers as to where to place each cinder block, never contributing to any of the manual labor himself. While workers continue to move on the opposing side of the wall, Trump looks longingly out of a remaining hole. The video concludes with that final hole being filled and Trump being left in isolation.
One might assume that the 30 Days, 30 Songs campaign would have went viral, especially among very vocal anti-Trump internet users. As of Thursday night, however, the music video has yet to reach even 500,000 views on YouTube. These findings further contribute to the idea that music cannot be both overtly political and commercially successful. While Beyoncé and Kanye West are able to release songs with some political lyrics, they have yet to put forth political anthems in the same way that Death Cab for Cutie has with “Million Dollar Loan.” So far, the 30 Days, 30 Songs project hasn’t featured any artists that are especially well-known. It will be interesting to see in the next 17 days whether any prominent artists will be featured on the playlist, or if any of the tracks will see mainstream success. In the meantime, tune into 30 Days, 30 Songs here and keep an ear out for a new song tomorrow and each day after.
