While it might seem silly to try and predict pop music tastes based on who is president, trends over the last thirty years show a pattern of what kinds of music become popular based on which party controls the white house. Based on these trends, let’s first see how a McCain presidency might influence pop music.

Heavy rock music with a dark, emotional subtext usually does better during Republican presidencies. Going back to the Nixon years, trends have shown that heavy, theatrical rock music does well when a Republican is in the White House. Heavy metal pioneers, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Alice Cooper first became popular during GOP administrations in the early 70’s. Critics attribute this first rise of heavy metal as a reaction to the hippy music of the 60’s, as well as a commentary on the conservative political climate.

The Reagan years saw a re-emergence of heavy metal. Bands like Motley Crue, Poison, Ratt, and Twisted Sister became hugely popular during Reagan’s time in the oval office. Big hair, makeup, flashy costumes, loud guitar solos, and wild stage shows became the mainstream at the same time Nancy Reagan was telling the youth of America to “just say no to drugs.” So oddly, metal fans and Republicans alike look back fondly to the eighties as a kind of golden age- but for entirely different reasons.

Similarly, the presidency of George W. Bush has coincided with a new-found popularity of an emerging type of theatrical heavy music. Emo bands like Aiden, Fallout Boy, Taking Back Sunday, and Hawthorne Heights combined heavy rock sounds, emotionally deep lyrics, and a new sense of fashion to create a musical trend that achieved huge popularity in the new century.

Given these trends, a McCain presidency would likely bring about a re-emergence of heavy rock rooted in both the emo and heavy metal. This new style would likely feature a dark, androgynous fashion sense, a combo of the emo-goth style and the glam rock style of the 80’s hair metal bands. The music would re-focus on the guitar mastery of earlier heavy bands like Van Halen. Lyric content would likely steer away from the emotional introspection of Emo and back to fantasy-inspired topics like the band Iron Maiden uses. So if McCain is the victor on November 5th, pull the hairspray and leather jacket out of the closet and get ready to ROCK!