Podcast
The State of the Union Songbook (The New Yorker Radio Hour)
Hosted by The New Yorker, WNYC Studios · EN
Michael Friedman is the composer of many successful shows on and off Broadway. Now he’s following the campaign circus, creating songs based on voters’ reflections on our current political moment. The New Yorker's Sarah Larson has been charting his progress.
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Presidential Campaigns Are Like Wildfires
Jul 15, 201600:07:34Tap to summarizeThe composer Michael Friedman is travelling the country, setting voters’ deepest thoughts about the election to music.
Transcribe →A Song for Bernie
Jun 3, 201600:08:18Tap to summarizeThe composer Michael Friedman has been talking to voters across the country and turning his interviews into songs. Recently, he met a college student in Colorado Springs who is supporting Bernie Sanders. When she looks into her future, she sees roommates, no kids, and no retirement; she says she’ll be working forever—“if I’m lucky.” Friedman spoke with The New Yorker’s Sarah Larson, who is following his progress across the country.
Transcribe →The Ballad of a Trump Fan
Apr 8, 201600:10:18Tap to summarizeMichael Friedman, the composer of many successful shows on and off Broadway, is writing music in real time on the campaign trail, and The New Yorker’s Sarah Larson has been charting his progress. Friedman's latest song tells the story of a Trump supporter from Charleston, a self-proclaimed redneck who was nevertheless glad to see the Confederate flag come down from the South Carolina state house. Listen to Friedman’s song here: Listen to some of Friedman’s other 2016 songs: “Undocumented” and “Mock Circus.”
Transcribe →The Crazy 2016 Campaign, in Song
Mar 4, 201600:08:05Tap to summarizeMichael Friedman is the composer of many successful shows on and off Broadway. Now he’s following the campaign circus, creating songs based on voters’ reflections on our current political moment. The lyrics of his song “Undocumented,” for instance, were taken verbatim from a conversation with an undocumented immigrant in Dallas, who told Friedman about his fears of Donald Trump’s “giant wall.” The New Yorker’s Sarah Larson spoke with Friedman about his project. Michael Friedman performing his composition "Undocumented"
Transcribe →Finding Music in the Political Circus
Feb 12, 201600:07:43Tap to summarizeThe campaign playing out in the political world may seem like theatre—part drama, part comedy—but Michael Friedman wants to make it a musical. Friedman, who wrote the music and lyrics to “Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson,” has been following the primaries, interviewing voters, and making songs out of the transcripts. The result is a series of musical snapshots that capture how people are thinking about politics in 2016. He talks to The New Yorker’s Sarah Larson. Michael Friedman performing his composition "Mock Caucus" Produced by David Krasnow.
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