Albuquerque’s metalhead mayor likes more than just Anthrax

Posted by on April 19, 2018

Yesterday, America met Albuquerque mayor Tim Keller via a New York Times article about the 40 year-old. The politician is introduced in the article by exclaiming that he believes in the power of metal while introducing Anthrax onstage. That’s pretty cool in and of itself, but what’s even better about the accompanying article isn’t just that it humanizes a politician, but the article in and of itself. The Times isn’t where most people go to read about metal, but anyone that does will find that it’s a nice summation of metal that doesn’t talk down to the genre or fans of it. Naming Chthonic’s Freddy Lim, who’s a member of the Taiwanese Parliament, Indonesia president Joko Widodo, and Danica Roem, the transgender Cab Ride Home vocalist who won a seat in Virginia’s house of delegates, the article is very complimentary to the genre. The only semi-negative stereotype in the article is an albuquerque and member that seems proud of not voting.

Compare that to a Washington Post article that also ran yesterday. It’s an opinion piece, but with the headline “Sorry Rock Fans. Hip Hop is the Only Genre That Matters Right Now,” it’s definitely a trolly hack job. While it brings up some valid points (hip-hop artist embraced the web years ago, more millennials embrace the genre than rock), it’s more concerned with bashing rock music than it is elevating hip-hop. Fake news? At the very least, biased news.

The Times even included a playlist from Keller, and it’s actually a good one. It’s one thing for a guy to state that he likes Anthrax, a band that’s been around since he was five and is one of the biggest bands in metal. It’s another to include never bands like Parkway Drive, power metal bands like Brainstorm and Primal Fear and a five year old song from Clutch. Check it below.

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