Perfected: The Ann Coulter Song (And The Barely Political Business Model)
Another one from Team Barely Political — not Team Obama Girl, as we've called them in the past, because this time there's nary a glistening bikini-clad body to be found. The latest politically-themed-spoof- song-and-comic-video released by the upstart outfit — which burst onto the scene last June with "I've Got A Crush On Obama" featuring the nubile and lovely Obama Girl, and followed up with outings like the pillowfighting-in-hotpants saga of Giuliani Girl and the supporting- the-troops-in-hotpants "I Like A Boy" — moves away from the hotpants model by showcasing the one constant in all the songs: Singer/songwriter Leah Kaufmann, who steps out from behind the mike to get in front of the camera, for the first time. Watch the video here:
As you can see, other than a brief cameo (presumably for branding purposes) Obama Girl Amber Lee Ettinger, does not feature at all in this video — here, they're going for the Kaufman-as-roaming-troubador look, focusing on her musicianship and the content of the song — and the skewering of its target — rather than her booty (though, full disclosure, we've met Kaufman and the booty is very nice). The song itself definitely follows the Barely Political template of sardonic punchlines ("She's got the hottest Adam's apple at the Republican conventions") and pop-culture observations ("Wanna come over later and watch "Seinfeld" together?" with a picture of Michael Richards), but it's got a specific target this time, and good-natured spoofery with zingers is ratcheted up with some sharper twists of the knife — the most effective of which is letting Coulter be Coulter in the form of voice-overs and spliced-in footage mixed into the song. It's incredibly effective to build up through Coulter's various verbal affronts to decency right up to what remains her piece de resistance, her sliming of 9/11 widows, leading into Kaufman's final breathy "Just like Ann Coulter.." as the guitar strums and fades out. Also, like the other songs, it's good — catchy and listenable and capable of standing alone without the video. (As we have admitted in the past, we genuinely like the music and have all the songs in our iTunes, including the original non-political "Box In A Box" which started this whole thing off.)
With this song, a few notes on Barely Political: We noted earlier that it was no longer the "Crush On Obama" one-hit wonder — now they have five solid songs to their credit (Box, Crush, Giuliani, Boy, and Coulter) plus a few fun spoof videos, including their mock-campaign ad featuring the Romney Girls (we've met 'em too — smiley blonde triplets in matching sequined dresses. A trip). While they definitely have a template for their stuff — the booty, the quick-cut videos, the catchy hooks — this video shows that they are confident enough in the quality of their content, and their brand, to let the work stand on its own without dressing it up in Amber's nubile hotness. (This, it should be noted, is not meant to go all "The Truth About Cats and Dogs"* on the Amber-Leah dichotomy; Leah has more than enough stand-alone hotness for anyone to confidently feature her in a video, and Amber has proven herself to be far more than a pretty face and body via her likeability on the media circuit (particularly affecting on CNN to promote "I Like A Boy," where she spoke of her own father's military experience). It's not about "the pretty one" and "the talented one" — luckily for Barely Political, they built a team where all the players bring it to the table in order to create the final product. So that's gotta go on the record.) Ironically, as the campaign heats up and hunger for anything presidential-candidate-related shifts into overdrive, Barely Political is branching out (extending the brand, if you will) into a broader level of commentary that will set it up for longevity beyond November 2008.
Fave line, incidentally: "Finally my nose grew into my face." Leah, we think your nose looks perfected just the way it is.
*Janine Garolfalo in that movie: NOT HOMELY.
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Huffington Post | Rachel Sklar | November 1, 2007 11:33 AM