Robert Seltzer: On campaign trail, mayoral hopefuls call the tunes

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Web Posted: 04/10/2005 12:00 AM CDT

San Antonio Express-News

We all have built-in stereo systems — music that is part of us, piped into our souls from years of listening, years of treasuring.

From Bach to Lennon and McCartney, the great composers heard the notes in their minds long before they played them on their instruments.

And from Bach to Lennon and McCartney, music fans have heard those notes, too — first with audio equipment, then, once the music seeped into their hearts and souls, without it. Who needs a CD player when you have your own personal sound system?

Politicians hear things, too — and not just the crazy ones, although there seem to be plenty of those nowadays.

Most candidates seem to be wonks, as dry and featureless as scrubland, but scratch beneath the brush and you will find the same built-in stereos we all enjoy.

And their taste in music gives us a glimpse into their characters.

That includes the three major mayoral candidates in San Antonio — Phil Hardberger, Julián Castro and Carroll Schubert — each of whom draws strength and inspiration from the music he hears in his mind, in his car, in his home.

"On our honeymoon, I was caught singing in the shower," Hardberger, 70, recalled.

The song was "Please Release Me." He sang it because the melody pleased him, not because the lyrics reflected his yearning to escape. It was an innocent gaffe, albeit a potentially disastrous one, the key word being "potentially."

"That has given me trouble throughout my marriage," Hardberger said, laughing.

Perhaps, but his wife must have overlooked his vocal stylings — and song selection — a long time ago; they have been married for 37 years.

"That reminds me our anniversary is coming up, and I better not forget it," he said.

Hardberger is eclectic, his tastes ranging from classical to rock 'n' roll and country and western.

"My wife, who is more refined than I am, has a great classical library," he said. "Opera can be strong medicine, but the popular operas, like 'Carmen' and 'Madam Butterfly,' are hard to beat."

He said the Beatles are the greatest musical group he has ever heard, Frank Sinatra the greatest singer, but he also likes Jerry Jeff Walker, Garth Brooks and Leonard Cohen.

"Cohen has a voice that sounds like a truck ran over it," he said.

For Castro, music helped relieve the stress he felt at Harvard Law School from 1997 to 2000.

"Music is important for our culture," he said. "It reflects the personal expression of the artist, but it also has meaning to the listener. It can pick them up, make them forget their problems. Or it can make them think about something they may not want to think about."

As he drives from campaign forum to campaign forum, Castro has been listening to a Paul McCartney greatest hits CD on his car stereo.

"My favorite is 'With a Little Luck,'" he said. "It has a catchy tune and an upbeat message."

Although he is too young to have experienced the social upheaval of the 1960s — there is that pesky age issue again — the 30-year-old appreciates the music of the era.

"It conveyed a message, and it inspired people to seek justice and civil rights," he said.

As a youth, Schubert played the piano at his Lutheran church, but he never mastered the instrument the way another musician did, one he saw about seven years ago in Houston.

"It was a little hall, and Little Richard was in the middle, with the crowd all around," Schubert, 57, recalled. "I was close enough to touch him. That fella is a showman. He just really engages the audience."

He said Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson are two of his favorite singers.

"And, remember, all they had was a drum, a couple of guitars and their own voices," he said. "It was amazing."

Schubert called music a "wondrous" thing.

"It's part of our soul, part of who we are," he said. "It's part of our being, and it's been handed down from generation to generation, like folk tales."

If he had to pick a theme song for his campaign, Hardberger said he would choose the theme from the "Rocky" movies, "Eye of the Tiger." Castro would choose "Beautiful Day," the uplifting U2 ballad. And Schubert?

"Hey, I forgot the Aggie band and the Longhorn band," he said. "I went to both schools."

Spoken like a true diplomat.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/...1b5f1faa2.html