Speaking of Politics, Pearl Jam's Released a New Song

Well, not exactly. Eddie Vedder wasn't involved. And it's a "new rendition of an old-school tune"—a cover of the 1955 ditty "Rock Around the Clock." The "new rendition" doesn't amount to much more than a single-word swap; "Clock," in both title and refrain, has been replaced by "Barack."

Seriously. Listen.

Stone Gossard, Pearl Jam's guitarist and "Barack" vocalist, says this about the tribute:

This is a track I've been thinking about for a while. "Rock Around The Clock" was the first mainstream rock and roll hit in 1955 and it had a transforming effect on American music. At that time, rock and rhythm and blues music was traditionally only played on black radio. I am, by no means, an expert on the history of rock & roll, but this was a big deal. The rhythm of rock music and its energy were so overwhelming that traditional barriers of race and culture broke down with an enormous crash. So here's to new energy, rock and the breaking down of cultural barriers!

Reading between the lines, Stone's saying, "Four out of five of us Pearl Jam guys are all googly over Barack Obama and want to officially endorse him, but Ed isn't quite sure yet, so this is the best we could think of without stepping on his toes."

We're all for pop-cultural support of democracy, but a song this unabashedly and singularly gaga for Obama is just....weird. (Same goes for recent others.) And, weirdly enough, as of this morning, "Barack" no longer appears on pearljam.com, where it was touted just days ago.

We're betting Pearl Jam won't play "Rock Around Barack" at Bonnaroo this summer, either—and not just because Clinton took the Tennessee primary.