Todd Snider Pokes Fun at Trump in Animated ‘Talking Reality Television Blues’ Video

Todd Snider recounts the history of television in just under three minutes in his new video for “Talking Reality Television Blues.” A colorful, animated clip featuring a cartoon Snider and a harmonica-playing squirrel, the video traces the birth of the medium from the first TV set to MTV and, ultimately, to the advent of the first reality-television president.

“One after the other we pretended not to act as we hurtled ever forward to alternative facts,” sing-speaks Snider in the imagery-rich song, which repeatedly nods to the Buggles’ one-hit wonder “Video Killed the Radio Star” throughout the lyrics, before lampooning President Trump. As Snider sings, “Then a show called The Apprentice came on and pretty soon an old man with a combover had sold us the moon,” a caricature of Trump flashes on the screen. “And now here we are: reality killed by a reality star.”

“Talking Reality Television Blues” appears on the Americana songwriter’s new album Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3, a fresh collection of folksongs recorded at Johnny Cash’s Hendersonville, Tennessee, studio-cabin. Snider hosted a preview of the record earlier this week at the cabin, performing songs off the LP, including “Talking Reality Television Blues” and “The Ghost of Johnny Cash,” inspired by a dream Snider had about a visit from the Man in Black.

Snider’s Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3 arrives March 15th. The Nashville resident will launch a lengthy tour on March 13th in New York City.