UPDATE (9:45 PM): The vinyl is now sold out, but don’t worry, Bernie still can’t be bought.
Bernie Sanders is gaining on Hillary Clinton in California. Though, to be fair, even Thurston Moore is gaining on Hillary Clinton, and he’s not even campaigning. Which is exciting, because together, they will win big in CA and go to the convention with just enough votes to sway all of the superdelegates, at which point the corruption of the democrats will be revealed in full and a socialist alternative will present itself, transforming the very nature of the party forever!
And it’ll all be due to Thurston Moore’s new song, “Feel It in Your Guts.” The song was made by Moore in collaboration not with Bernie himself (darn), but with the Bernie campaign, performed on acoustic guitar with clips of Bernie’s speeches interspersed throughout. It’s being released through Joyful Noise on square, white flexi-disc vinyl, limited to 1000 hand-numbered copies.
Joyful Noise originally wanted to sell the record and donate the money to Bernie, but their campaign wouldn’t accept a check from them. So, instead of selling the record, Joyful Noise is offering the vinyl free to anyone who shows proof that they donated to Bernie’s campaign after May 31.
Hm. Something’s not right about this. I say release the email exchanges between Joyful Noise and the Bernie campaign, and let the American people judge for themselves!
Read this statement from Joyful Noise’s Karl Hofstetter:
Bernie Sanders inspires us. In a political and business climate which is increasingly self-interested and money-driven, Bernie Sanders alone remains uncompromisingly focused on the issues that affect 99% of us. Which is to say, he’s talking about the things that will improve the lives of ourselves, our families, and basically everyone we have ever met. As the only presidential candidate who refuses bribes from big business, his agenda is unswervingly focused on the people over special interests. As Bernie himself has said, “The reason why we are doing well in this campaign is because we are telling the truth.”
We at the label were inspired to support the campaign, and we thought it would be best to use our curatorial talents to this end. Being a weird-o indie rock record label, we are fortunate to work with a variety of incredible musicians; including, on occasion, the great Thurston Moore. So we decided to ask him. And we were delighted that in a matter of minutes after posing the idea, Thurston excitedly agreed.
Next: the task of getting a major presidential candidate involved. Fortunately, one of our employees was already friends with the good folks of the Bernie campaign, so we reached out. Amazingly, the Bernie campaign responded, and within a week or so, we heard that Bernie himself was into the idea. The amazing folks at the Bernie campaign have worked closely with us to make this crazy collaboration a reality.