Mix tape for Kevin Rudd

(They don’t make videos like that any more. Even the most basic garage band would have a bigger budget than it took to do this.)

Explanations and video clips for the rest of the songs are below, but here’s the track listing at a glance:

1. Hip to be Square - Huey Lewis and The News
2. Take a Chance on Me - Abba
3. Big Spender - various
4. New York, New York - Frank Sinatra
5. You Spin me Round - Dead or Alive
6. I Want It All - Queen
7. Stuck in the Middle with You - Stealers Wheel
8. Swanee - Al Jolson
9. Part of the Union - Strawbs
10. Sorry - Easybeats
11. Another Brick in the Wall - Pink Floyd
12. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - Jimi Hendrix

2. Take a Chance on Me - Abba

A song to evoke some nostalgia for Rudd’s election campaign in 2007, back when he was a fresh leader of the ALP.

By the way, does anyone else think Kevin Rudd looks a little like Bjorn Ulvaeus?

3. Big Spender - various

An obvious one, as there isn’t a bigger spender of money in the country. This is a particularly excellent version from the musical Sweet Charity in which the set looks like, oh, I don’t know, a New York strip joint.

4. New York, New York - Frank Sinatra

Speaking of New York strip clubs, this is an obvious inclusion as a reminder of Rudd’s wild night in Manhattan when he visited Scores nightclub. For many people this would only get a run at karaoke, but it’s something you can imagine being played with the volume turned all the way up to 3 on Rudd’s stereo of a Wednesday evening. Here’s the master doing it live:

5. You Spin Me Round - Dead or Alive

Gets a run the reference to Rudd’s tireless focus on public relations in its anthemic chorus.

6. I Want It All - Queen

The inspirational song for any up-and-coming politician.

7. Stuck in the Middle With You - Stealers Wheel

A homage to the political centre ground.

8. Swanee - Al Jolson

A reminder that every PM needs a loyal Treasurer and again, something that you could easily picture getting an occasional run on Rudd’s stereo. He might even sing the lyrics to himself from time to time around the corridors: “Swanee - how I love ya, how I love ya / My dear old swanee”.

9. Part of the Union - Strawbs

This might be a bit heavy for the PM’s tastes - old-school industrial rock, you might call it - but it’s a classic theme for any ALP leader just, you know, as a reminder of their union roots. The lyrics are classic. Excerpt:

So though I’m a working man
I can ruin the government’s plan
And though I’m not hard, the sight of my card
Makes me some kind of superman

10. Sorry - Easybeats

One of his first acts as Prime Minister was the apology to Australia’s Aborigines.

11. Another Brick in the Wall - Pink Floyd

A bit obtuse perhaps, but makes the Prime Ministerial mix tape for two reasons. First it’s a bit of a cautionary polemic on overweaning government education programs. Second, it’s an utterly awesome rock song that needs to be on any compilation, right?

12. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - Jimi Hendrix

This, Prime Minister, is Jimi Hendrix.