The Town Hall Heard 'Round the World
image credit: Bradley C. Bower | bradleybowerphotography.com
On August 11, 2009, U.S. Senator Arlen Specter walked into a town hall event in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. What took place in the next few hours would affect the music of Pharrell Williams for years to come.
Let’s rewind and examine how we got here.
In April of 2009, Arlen Specter (in)famously changed political affiliations.
“As the Republican Party has moved farther and farther to the right, I have found myself increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy and more in line with the philosophy of the Democratic Party.”
This sudden shift in affiliation came as a shock to everyone—opponents, allies, a freshly sworn-in Barack Obama, and, crucially, his own constituents. Specter, considering his own liberal-tending voting record and support (or lack thereof) back in Pennsylvania, chose to swap parties in a bid to gain support from whoever he could.
You can probably guess how that went.
So here we are: August 11, 2009. Town hall meeting in Lebanon. Arlen walks in, and spends the next 90 minutes being berated by betrayed voters. This is the part where we need to introduce another character: Craig Miller.
Craig is angry. Angry that the man he (presumably) voted for has betrayed the party, angry that the betrayal pushed Democrats above 60 votes, the magic number that makes things happen for you in Congress, angry that healthcare is about to become more convoluted under the ACA, and angry that very few people at the town hall have been given a chance to speak.
At this point, I’ll let the video pick up and tell the story:
Hear anything familar? You’ll have to listen past the seething resentment, but somewhere in that tirade, Mr. Miller says:
“and instead…you wouldn’t let anybody speak!…”
After his speech, Craig attempts to walk out of the town hall. There’s only one problem—the Capitol Police officers standing in the way. Sen. Specter chimes in again to let Craig leave:
Now, wait a minute! Wait a minute! Wait a minute!…
It’s time for our final player to enter—Pharrell Williams. Yes, hip hop–R&B producer, Neptunes guy, “Happy” Pharrell Williams. Apparently he’s been watching these clips too, and he’s on the lookout for a good sample.
In 2018, he did some work with Ariana Grande on her album Sweetener. Among others, he produced and co-wrote “the light is coming". It’s got a solid beat, Nicki Minaj feature, the works—but there's something else embedded. Have a listen.
You wouldn't let anybody speak, and instead…
You wouldn’t let anybody speak…
There it is! Sounds like one angry Craig Miller. His exact words have been twisted around a bit, but there’s no denying his presence.
Let’s shift our focus again, toward another song. You may know that Pharrell also heads a hip-hop band, N.E.R.D. Their 2017 album NO_ONE EVER REALLY DIES features some big talent—Future, Ed Sheeran, and Kendrick Lamar, to name a few. Let’s listen to the album’s first single, “Lemon". You’ll hear an intro from Pharrell, Rihanna on the first verse, then Pharrell comes back in to handle the second.
Wait a minute!
Wait, wait a minute!
What seemed like a coincidence has turned into a pattern. Again, here’s audio sampled from the very same town hall. Now, we’ve got Arlen Specter yelling at us about waiting a minute?
So…why? Of all the people who have ever said words, why this argument between a Senator and constituent about healthcare? Political messaging, maybe?
Ultimately, you’ll have to decide for yourself what the samples mean to you. Pharrell’s never publicly commented on it, so it seems like speculation is all we’ll have to work with for now.
Who would have guessed frustration makes such a good sample?
