TODAY’S THE DAY: Today (Nov. 2) is Election Day already in the United States, which could lead to a decrease in the proliferation of political music that has hit the Web during the presidential campaign season, some of it documented in this space.
But throwing his proverbial two cents in at the last moment is one of music’s biggest stars. Eminem, whose new album “Encore” (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope) is due this month, has posted a video for the set’s politically charged track “Mosh,” a combination diatribe against President Bush and urgent message to America’s youth to vote in the election.
The video has been available for a week as Real and WindowsMedia files at Em’s Web site. Directed by Ian Inaba of Guerrilla News Network, the clip posits live-action shots of Eminem in a dark, animated landscape with a growing army of fan/listeners. The rapper exhorts his 16 million followers to “mosh now or die,” using the mosh pit — a communal expression of tension release for disenfranchised youth — as a metaphor for taking part in the vote.
The combination of Inaba’s imagery and Eminem’s song appears powerful, and is clearly a focused plea to the rapper’s legions of fans. But whether his message will have any effect remains questionable, given the video’s short window of visibility prior to today’s election.
One thing is for sure: the hotly contested election has resulted in some impressive displays of politically inflected music, probably as much as this country has heard in decades. 
SNAPSHOT OF BURMA: Rejuvenated post-punk paragon Mission Of Burma has released an exclusive digital EP via the iTunes Music Store.
“Snapshot” is an eight-track live recording taped earlier this year at Boston’s Q Division Studios for broadcast on WFXN. The EP features live versions of “Tremelo,” “Mica,” “Red,” “Absent Mind,” ” Dirt,” “That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate” and “Max Ernst” as well as a cover of the Wipers’ “Youth of America.”
