Get to know Tim Walz through his favorite musicians

Hope and Tim Walz, courtesy of Twitter.

When Kamala Harris was choosing a vice presidential candidate, a running joke was that it had to be a white man to appeal to the country's white men. I, a progressive from the East Bay who has supported women in various offices for over 20 years, scoffed at that. I don't have to pander! Harris was one of my favorite candidates for president four years ago!

Then they introduced Tim Walz. I read about him and heard him speak, and I have never felt so drawn to him in my entire life.

Walz is the picture of healthy masculinity in the 21st century. He has traditionally male interests and hobbies, but they haven't been his entire life. He's been a football coach and a teacher, jobs that are far more normal than anything you'd find in politics. He's made mistakes in the past (a drunk driving incident in 1995), but he's learned from them and used them as opportunities to grow and improve (he hasn't drunk since). And, more importantly, he works to improve the lives of people who are different from him – not out of tolerance, but out of respect.

So after my column outlining Harris' story, I would naturally like to write about Walz.

The Harris campaign declined to make Tim Walz available for me to interview about music—I actually asked him, you never know unless you try—but in more than 15 years in politics as a congressman and governor, he and people he knows have talked about his tastes. So, based on my research, here are some of Walz's favorite musicians.

Prince – “Little Red Corvette”

Without knowing who Tim Walz is, I would assume he likes Prince because everyone likes Prince. If someone says they don't like Prince, you should back off slowly and notify the authorities because they are hiding something and that is not good. Prince is an American institution, a fundamental part of our pop culture and incredibly cool.

On top of that, Walz is the governor of Minnesota, Prince's home state. I don't think you can't be a Prince fan in Minnesota. That's pretty much all that's going on there!

It's safe, though, because in May 2023, Walz went to Paisley Park and signed a bill to rename a nearby stretch of highway the Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway. The signs bearing the name are all purple.

Bob Seger – “Against the Wind”

Before Elon Musk completely destroyed it in a drug-fueled frenzy of bigotry and bad decisions, the best way to find out a middle-aged white man's taste in music was to follow him on Twitter. We loved tweeting about music. Those of us who could escape the Twitter desert still love posting about it on Bluesky. It's a goldmine of research.

In December 2020, for example, Walz tweeted: “Teaching [his daughter] Hoping for old school stereos. We share the joy of classic vinyl and Bob Seger. Quality speaker cables are important, folks!!!”

First, anyone who mentions the speaker wire is one of us. I'm pretty sure he would have talked to me for hours if I could ask him personally rather than a simple member of the campaign communications department. Maybe he still does. If you know him, give me a call.

Second, going straight to Seger is exactly what you'd expect from a Midwestern father of two. The look on his face, and the look on his daughter's face, can almost certainly be found in homes across the country. Check them out! [Gokhman note: As a girl dad, can confirm the look].

Warren Zevon – “A Certain Girl”

Let's get back to Twitter: Walz makes no secret of his love for Warren Zevon.

In May 2023, the same month he honored Prince, Walz tweeted, “As Governor of Minnesota, I can't believe Warren Zevon wasn't inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.” Then in December, he tweeted his vinyl haul from a Minneapolis record store, including Zevon's Bad luck at the dance school.

That haul also included Genesis, Steve Winwood, and the Moody Blues, which is pretty much what you'd expect from a Midwestern father of two. Not as good as Zevon, but I respect it.

The Replacements – “I’ll be you”

We can also get information from people who know Walz. Like former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke.

When Walz was introduced as vice president, O'Rourke posted a novel-length tweet about their friendship. I don't expect you to read the whole thing, since the whole point of Twitter is to avoid having to read 10,000 words we don't care about, but here's the key paragraph:

“We became friends in Congress, went for early morning runs (in the dead of DC winter, I'm bundled up in layers and he's in t-shirt and shorts), talked about Minnesota music, the Replacements (Tim!), Prince, Dylan, Husker Du, and told stories about our families and hometowns.”

The Replacements are a band from Minneapolis, so it makes sense that Walz would know them. In fact, Prince, Dylan and Husker Dü also came from the frozen north, so it's possible he was just pandering. But I don't care. I choose to believe it.

Bruce Springsteen – “Born to Run”

You see Walz once and you know immediately that he is a Springsteen fan. It's basically the blank space on a bingo board. I hesitated to include it because it was so obvious, but it kept coming up in my detailed stalking Research.

Like that incredibly long tweet from O'Rourke? The attached photo shows the two of them at a Springsteen show. Then there's the 2023 Minnesota State Fair. He posted a video of himself and Hope, who was once again visibly embarrassed, on the Slingshot ride. He's wearing a Springsteen t-shirt. He declared March 5, 2023, as Bruce Springsteen Day in Minnesota because The Boss was playing a concert in the state. It's possible he made the proclamation to secure himself a free ticket, because before a 2022 show, Walz used his influence as governor to put out a call on Twitter to see if anyone had a spare ticket.

And that's why he's so approachable. I think every one of us, if given the opportunity, would try to get concert tickets from a political office. Not in a corrupt way or as a bribe, but because we love music and are willing to take the chance.

Seriously, that was something excellent ingratiation.

Follow editor Daniel J. Willis and send him column ideas to @bayaredata.press on BlueSky.