Political Remix Videos

A very disturbing remix from the video artist trio Wreck and Salvage. While not all of the collective’s work is political, this one definitely is. Titled “Club Iraq” because it combines rapper 50 Cent’s famous song “In Da Club” with audio of Bush’s invasion speech coupled with home videos taken by US soldiers in Iraq and posted on YouTube. The juxtaposition of the audio tracks and the armature footage US solders goofing off in a war zone, acting like immature boys and saying horrifically insensitive things to and about the Iraq population makes for a sickening, depressing yet poignant Political Remix Video. These troubling unflattering home videos and the thousands like them posted online are likely part of the reason the Military banned myspace and YouTube from its servers in 2007

I offer this warning before viewing, the clips of military personal use explicit language, imitate sexual acts with each other and will most likely make you feel at least slightly ill.

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The recent outtake footage posted on YouTube called Bill O’Reilly Flips Out has spawned a torrent of remixes including this one by Torrey Meeks using music by RevoLucian. The remix takes the disturbing raw footage of O’Reilly’s angry rant on Inside Edition and re-cuts it to creates a dance mix. Interestingly the remixes have become so pervasive that it makes finding the original footage harder on YouTube. So in this case do the remixes, while really funny, distract and take away from the original clip, which is very poignant on its own? An interesting question. I do have to say this one is hilarious and any remix that can make us laugh out loud at the mess our country and media is in at the moment is a positive thing.

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A remix from 1992 called Read My Lips attacking George H. W. Bush on a range of issues. It was shown on MTV during the American presidential election campaign of that year. Following the video is a discussion about the mash-up on the Bill Moyers PBS program also in 1992. 

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An older remix from EBN from the early 90s which combines footage from the mass media and government leaders to create an “Electronic Behavior Control System“.

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Another remix from RX, this time he has UK Ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair sing a cover of the song Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash.

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Unlike most of the other remixes posted here, which are made entirely of appropriated material, this video uses a combination of appropriated footage from corporate news segments cut with original footage shot for the purpose. I don’t often post political remixes videos about the 08 elections and especially never any that advertise a particular candidate. Though I will post remixes that are critical or parody the election process and institution of the presidency. However this remix of the recent “yes we can” Obama music video is worth a look. While highly critical of McCain the video does not overtly endorse any candidate and so fits on this blog.

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Another remix from Negativland’s 1997 release “Dis Pepsi” with help from Harold Boihem.

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Another of the multitude of Bush mash-ups, this one a remix cut-up of the US president singing the song “Sunday Bloody Sunday” by U2.

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A video remix to go along with the Negativland audio remix song “You Must Respect Copyright” using footage from Kubrick’s 2001. By someone calling themselves biginalbania.

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Another remix of tv ads created by Aaron Valdez. This time taking humorous aim at the patriarchal portrayal of women in the mostly male dominated, male centered and male identified television media and advertising system. See more of his work at valdezatron.com

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A Coconat Productions culture jam remix of corporate media created standards of beauty set to “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred.

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A remix of TV footage set to Michael Franti’s Anti-Television song Drug of a Nation.

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WCUTV’s Shane Daniels puts together this remix of political footage and Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks”.

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Two simalar video remixes of news footage from the Katrina disaster, both set to a political music remix of a Kanye West song by The Legendary K.O.

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A remix of Sesame Street to make it appear as though the muppets are preforming NWA’s famous rap song “Fuck the Police”. The technical quality might be low, but the content and political juxtaposition is pure genius or depending on the who the anonymous creator is it could be a bigoted joke I suppose.