iPods invade Capitol Hill

October 27, 2005 at 08:54 AM

iPods invade Capitol Hill
Lawmakers tune in to Apple's portable music player

WASHINGTON -- When Congressman Mark Foley wants to tune out the monotone garble of Washington and tune into something else, he pulls out his silver miniature iPod and -- depending on his mood -- cranks the volume on Miles Davis, The Doobie Brothers or Celine Dion.

Suddenly he finds himself humming along to Dion's hit, " Power of Love" and Washington is drowned out by the Canadian pop star-- who is actually one of his constituents.

"Her music is so uplifting," said Foley, R-Fla. "It makes me go 'yeah!' "

iPods, the portable, digital music players that started as toys for the anti-establishment crowd have quickly found their way into the halls of Congress and the White House. (President Bush has had an iPod for a little more than a year, a birthday gift from his twin daughters.)

Lawmakers point out that the Capitol Hill iPod phenomenon started when young, techno-savvy legislative aids began bringing them to work and it soon spread up the ranks.

"I remember someone here in my office had one," said Rep. Connie Mack IV, R-Fla., said in reference to the iPod, "and I said, 'I gotta get one of those.' "

Ever since, Mack, a self-described "technology freak," has been inseparable from his silver iPod mini. He uses it when he is on his boat, at the gym, lounging at the pool and on plane rides.

One can learn a lot about a politician's likes and dislikes by what tunes are blasting into their ears, and there are always some surprises. Bush, for example, listens to John Fogerty, who has been vocal about his disdain for the president through the "Vote for Change" concert tour last year.

So what do some congressmen listen to? Mack's iPod includes songs from Guns N' Roses and AC/DC, two hard-rock bands typically controversial with the conservative crowd because of their lyrics.

He also has every Buffet album ever made.

"I grew up listening to Jimmy Buffett," Mack said. "I can really relate to his music which kills me because he's such a Democrat. He's not one that would support the same philosophies I would support."

Does Buffett know about Mack's interest in his music? "I don't know. He won't return my calls."

But, Mack added, he likes Buffett because, like Buffet's Parrothead fans, "When I am not in this suit, I'm wearing flip-flops, shorts and a Tommy Bahamas shirt and it takes me right back to Florida when I'm drinking a cold beer on the beach." There is no jazz on Mack's iPod and only one rap song, The Sugar Hill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight.'

"I know just about every word of that song," he said.

But Mack's iPod is loaded with country artists and honky-tonk: Willie Nelson, Alan Jackson, you name it.

"I connect with it," he said. "It' the heart and soul of America."

But what song really gets Mack's juices going? "There are two songs but I can't say what they are," he said. "It could ruin my political career."

Foley, who has downloaded 487 songs onto his iPod, has what he calls "eclectic" taste in music.

"Every constituent would find a song they like on my iPod," he said. "Earth Wind and Fire, Miles Davis, Ray Charles, Allman Brothers, Enya, every music genre from classic to jazz and rock n' roll."

Still, he admits, "there's no rap on my iPod because I don't like all the profanity and innuendo."

http://www.detnews.com/pix/2005/10/27/tech/ipod500.jpg
Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., tunes into Michael McDonald's, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" before he finishes his workout at the U.S. Supreme Court.