With the Wisconsin gubernatorial election pending and the recent release of Soused, musician Scott Walker’s superb collaboration with Sunn O))), there’s bound to be some Scott Walker confusion in the air. It’s a good time to reblog this handy voter guide from the last election, four years, one recall election, and two(!!!) albums ago. Switch out Tom Barrett’s name with Mary Burke’s, throw the governor’s success rate into the equation, listen to Bish Bosch and Soused, and you’re good to go. More to come in the days ahead.

scottwalkervsscottwalker:

If you’ve been following this blog, you know that it’s all been leading up to today, the 2010 midterm elections, in which the voters of Wisconsin will vote for one of the Scott Walkers or some other guy.  I think it’s been made abundantly clear that a vote cast for Scott Walker (born Noel Scott Engel, a point I have chosen to de-emphasize for the sake of symmetry, plus he hasn’t gone by his given name since the 60s) is a vote for awesome-ness.  To recap:

An important announcement:

First off, everyone needs to watch this video, arguably the single strongest, most coherent SWvSW statement ever made on this blog. 

Point-by-Point:

Scott Walker, politician - has annoying interrupty commercials.
Scott Walker, musician - has elaborate instruments constructed simply to be hit.

Scott Walker, politician - has pedestrian taste in music, was not born in that small a town, despite his claims.
Scott Walker, musician - writes songs about Pasolini, was born in a slightly smaller town.

Scott Walker, politician - has not gone through any distinct phases or evolved in any notable, narratively satisfying ways.
Scott Walker, musician - has gone through at least four or five phases and has led a life of wild innovation and unpredictable creativity.

Scott Walker, politician - has never been covered by ex-members of Led Zeppelin or embraced by their rough political equivalents.
Scott Walker, musician - was covered by Robert Plant.

Scott Walker, politician - didn’t finish college and still didn’t enter politics until he was 26.
Scott Walker, musician - started his career as a teenager and was already on his third UK hit song by 23.

Scott Walker, politician - will gladly pander to you if you’re an insecure, straight, white, middle-class/upper-class dude.
Scott Walker, musician - if pressed, will pander to whomever… and have the decency to feel bad about it later.

Scott Walker, politician - has made a single foray into the avant-garde in this election cycle, via his bizarrely formatted jobs plan.
Scott Walker, musician - makes his living on far stranger experiments.

Scott Walker, politician - has made policy decisions that hurt the mentally ill.
Scott Walker, musician - may be mentally ill.

Scott Walker, politician - not a fan of gay people.
Scott Walker, musician - probably a-okay with gay people.  In any case, gay people like him.

Scott Walker, politician - gets endorsements from the governor of New Jersey.
Scott Walker, musician - has a longstanding mutual admiration going with David Bowie.

Scott Walker, politician - is notoriously anti-abortion and, according to some, even anti-birth control.
Scott Walker, musician - has a… complex understanding of fetuses and, given the preponderance of prostitutes in his Brel-influenced work, is probably pro-condom, at the very least. 

Scott Walker, politician - aligned himself with a crazy-eyed, Palinesque running mate with whom he constructs some dubious patriarchal imagery.  Said running mate makes stupid assumptions about transportation needs.
Scott Walker, musician - is content to take the backseat to a strong woman and has hung with Billy Ocean, who has a more reasonable approach to transportation.

Random musings: 

Here’s a re-made anti-Scott Walker politician ad using the music of Scott Walker, musician. 

So…

Where does this leave us?  Unfortunately, Scott Walker, musician, has not decided to enter the race and we’re quite obviously the poorer for it, but that’s only one side of this blog.  Now, I realize I’ve made it more difficult to get excited about his Democratic contender by pitting Walker against Walker - Tom Barrett has also never been covered by Robert Plant, traded influences with Bowie, scored a ballet for the handicapped, or had multiple UK hits.  But he’s still a fairly reasonable choice, given the alternative.  Go vote.