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Monday, August 3, 2009

Politics / City Israel Channels INXS, Dylan

Posted by Bryan T. Bissell on Mon, Aug 3, 2009 at 4:18 PM

Over the weekend, city council candidate Jessie Israel posted a campaign video on youtube called "1987 Redux (4 Seattle)" where, like INXS before her (and Bob Dylan before them), Israel flips through a series of cue cards while music plays in the background.

Her lyrics? The list of her endorsements from prominent local advocacy groups. Her music? An original song by a friend of Israel's named Nolan Love which has sort of an electro-INXS-with-a-dash-of-Rick-Springfield feel to it.

Plenty of candidates have endorsements and youtube videos, but this one is worth noting for its originality. Go ahead, try and watch some of the other city council candidate videos (only Forch, Rosencrantz, Kaplan, and Ginsburg have even made them) and try to pay attention for more than thirty seconds. Good luck. They are all little more than two-minute clips of candidates staring into the camera and talking about themselves, mixed in with the standard menu of political cliches.

Sitting on a porch? Check. Newspaper clippings? Check. Shots of the Seattle skyline? Check. Childhood photos? Check.

Israel's video, on the other hand, is one of the first examples of a something that actually tries to break the mold.

Comments (29) RSS

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Right on, Jessie. Great video. And thank GOD someone finally brought a little creativity to the already tired genre of low-cost campaign vids. Beautifully shot, and a kickin' soundtrack to boot. All you Bob Dylan fans out there, get off your butts and give Nick Licata the heave-ho. It's time for Jessie's World!

Posted by David B. on August 3, 2009 at 4:27 PM

If she'd put Allen Ginsburg in the background, I'd have given her all my votes.

Posted by Uh huh on August 3, 2009 at 4:27 PM

God knows what we really need on the council is better videomaking.

Posted by Fnarf

on August 3, 2009 at 4:29 PM

Does the Council really need someone plagerizing other peoples ideas? I think, generation-wise, Nick has a lock on the Dylan crowd. Endorsements by themselves have never carried a candidate. They are a tie-breaker when all other things are equal.

Posted by Zander on August 3, 2009 at 4:40 PM

Bob Roberts (Tim Robbins) did it, too, and his was funnier.

Posted by Toe Tag on August 3, 2009 at 5:11 PM

Clearly, this video promotes littering. For shame! For shame!

Posted by Zebes

on August 3, 2009 at 5:17 PM

Never wear white pants dear,
you might as well plaster a "Wide Load" sign across your fat ass...

Posted by Oh, and the video is lame on August 3, 2009 at 6:52 PM

Bryan, you are way too easily impressed...

Posted by One More Credulous Hack on Slog- Great! on August 3, 2009 at 6:54 PM

she's littering!!!

Posted by Lurleen on August 3, 2009 at 6:57 PM

What breath of fresh air! It certainly sets her apart from the gazillion candidates running. I like the nod to '80s rock and dylan. She gets points for cleverness.

@7 Really? Nick Licata's supporters are going after her for white pants and her fat ass? Wow. Classy.

Posted by high road on August 3, 2009 at 8:14 PM

10 assy is more like it

Posted by Just How FAT is Her ASS? on August 3, 2009 at 9:01 PM

tell the truth, there are two people in those pants, aren't there...

Posted by three's a crowd on August 3, 2009 at 9:02 PM

Oh my god that was awful. She seriously just lost my vote.

Posted by I'd rather vote for Venus what's-her-name on August 3, 2009 at 10:30 PM

wow, commenters... seriously? weight jokes? That's gotta be the 405 reprezenting or a couple of Belltown choches... Their mid-90's 3 Series must have broken down on the way to get their tips frosted. Don't worry angry ones, I'm sure there is a $10 drink special at Amber so you can show off your new shiny stripey shirt. Just because you dumped the pooka shell necklace in order to not go full retard, doesn't mean the Axe still does not clearly alert us to your arrival. Lucky for us, Axe has been proven to cause infertility. Did I nail it? Freaky eh?

Posted by seriously? on August 3, 2009 at 10:42 PM

seriously? You nailed it! or them (did you mean 425?) But don't worry they wouldn't know the difference between a ballot and a menu from the latest hip restaurant's tapas menu. They don't vote.

Posted by Kuan Yin on August 3, 2009 at 11:07 PM

I'm on the pavement thinkin' about the government

Posted by Skit on August 4, 2009 at 12:44 AM

Ah shitballs! that's lame of me to miss the call sign. "405", "425" it's all mixed up in my mind due to vivid dreams of living on the Eastside, and by vivid, I mean beige.

Posted by Seriously? on August 4, 2009 at 12:55 AM

@6, @9
Israel works for KC Parks dept - it's not littering because she'll make one of her employees pick it up after her.
That's so hip - too cool to care.

Posted by kingstPR on August 4, 2009 at 9:38 AM

Um, David Bloom has a campaign video on youtube that is pretty out of the mold. Not saying it's the absolute funniest, but it's charming and doesn't include a single kissed baby or front porch. Seems slightly unfair to overlook it:

http://www.youtube.com/user/winpowerstra…

Posted by Juris on August 4, 2009 at 10:12 AM

wow
her ass IS fat

Posted by you need bigger cards, lady on August 4, 2009 at 11:58 AM

Is it just me or does she look really smug.

Posted by It's not just me, is it... on August 4, 2009 at 12:00 PM

It's distracting how she has to keep pausing and looking to the cue cards on the side to know what to do next:

'throw down a card'

'throw down another card'

'throw down another card'....

Posted by 'turn and walk off'- Watch Out for the Ass!!! on August 4, 2009 at 12:03 PM

I wasn't sure so I watched it again,
definitly a huge ass.

Posted by suey! on August 4, 2009 at 12:05 PM

@kingstPR - are you really dumb enough to be posting to the slog regarding a political campaign on your work computer using an alias that references a government job?

Posted by wfs on August 4, 2009 at 1:12 PM

You can feel the earth tremble when she lumbers off the screen.

Posted by Jessisaraus on August 5, 2009 at 8:03 AM

Maybe they could photoshop a head on top of her ass when she walks off at the end and it would look like her midget assistant was following her...

Posted by ...did you see what I did there? on August 6, 2009 at 9:15 AM

I say look at Nick Licata's insert in the Seattle Times last Sunday. blahblahblahblah..excessive descriptives (and I would assume cost) to make us understand how many people..dead or alive..have valued and now endorse Licata; however Israel..while being funny and original.. got the same point across. Look at her other ad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msric5X_P…

Posted by howabout on August 11, 2009 at 10:13 AM

27
poor kid.
her mom and granny have huge asses also.
she never had a chance...

Posted by Seymour Butts on August 11, 2009 at 10:55 AM

If she wore big fluffy mittens and held her hands down over her hips and never turned sideways you might not notice her huge ass as much.
but yeah, the white pants gotta go...

Posted by A billboard that said MyAssIsFat would be more subtle on August 11, 2009 at 10:57 AM