Like movies, political campaigns take special care in selecting songs for their soundtracks.

The seven Democratic candidates running for president each play music before appearing at campaign stops. The selections may sound like innocent background noise, but experts say the tunes are carefully chosen to convey a certain image.

“There’s probably as much thought going into the music used in campaigns as there is discussion for a TV ad,” said Christopher Malone, assistant professor of political science at Pace University in New York City. “It’s about presenting a complete package to the voters and associating the candidate with ideas and sounds that make people want to vote for them.”

With rare exception, most of the music played is rock and pop, which makes for an interesting evolution in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. The music of youth and rebellion once blared in protest outside the party’s conventions. Now it’s being adopted by mainstream candidates.

“There’s been a complete domestication of rock music,” said Andrew Seligsohn, an assistant professor of political science at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y. “The biggest chunk of voters these days are aging baby boomers and they all grew up with rock music. It’s a comfortable part of their world.”

For that same reason, Seligsohn said, rap and hip hop, which are the dominate popular music genres in the United States, aren’t being used in campaigns.

“Rap and hip hop still sounds like a threat,” Seligsohn said. “Even if the lyrics are tame or silly, the sounds still are threatening to the majority of the electorate. Being scary is something a candidate definitely does not want.”

Music and political campaigns have a long history. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four successful presidential bids all leaned heavily on the Tin Pan Alley tune “Happy Days Are Here Again” to inspire hope in the dark days of the Great Depression and World War II.

John F. Kennedy Jr. relied on the upbeat “High Hopes” during his 1960 run for the White House.

In 1984, Ronald Reagan’s campaign played Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA,” much to Springsteen’s chagrin. The song is about a downtrodden Vietnam veteran’s struggle to get a job, but the Reagan camp was more interested in its hard-rocking energy and pseudo-patriotic title. “It was co-opting the message,” said Pace’s Malone.

The theme of Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign was “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow,” a Fleetwood Mac tune, as Clinton became the first American president who grew up during the rock “n’ roll era.

Today’s campaigns follow a similar pattern, favoring pop anthems from contemporary artists that resonate with baby boomers. And while the candidates’ choices of songs probably won’t get them elected or eliminated from the race, experts say music is an important choice nonetheless.

“Besides, if you listen to their stump speeches, they all use the same buzzwords in every single appearance,” said Jeff Smith, director of the film and media studies program at Washington University. “If Springsteen had recorded a song titled “Fighting For America’s Working Families’ everybody would be playing it.”

Music played at the democratic presidential candidates’ at their events:

Wesley Clark

Music: Journey “Don’t Stop Believin”‘ and Outkast “Hey Ya”

What it means: “”Hey Ya’ is just the song of the moment right now,” said Jeff Smith, a Washington University professor who has studied film and television soundtracks. “That makes sense for Clark, who wants to show voters he’s the man of the moment. Journey is a bit of an anachronism, but it’s definitely boomer-centric, which appeals to the core of the voters.”

Howard Dean

Music: U2 “Beautiful Day” and The Verve “Bittersweet Symphony”

What it means: “Frankly, I find it hard to believe that Dean listens to music at all,” said Andrew Seligsohn, assistant professor of political science at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y. “His candidacy seems not to have a very subtle grasp of symbols and that shows in his choice of music. The beginning of the song is beautiful, but the lyrics essentially say ‘life isn’t very good.’ They’re separating the sound from the message. It has an unintended irony given how Dean finished in Iowa and New Hampshire.”

John Edwards

Music: John Mellencamp “Small Town” and “Your Time Is Now”; also fellow South Carolinians Hootie and the Blowfish are doing benefit concerts for Edwards

What it means: “Edwards is running the most scripted campaign of the bunch,” Seligsohn said. “These songs point straight to Edwards’ humble upbringings in the south and how he paints himself as an average man of the people.”

John Kerry

Music: Bruce Springsteen “The Rising” and “No Surrender”

What it means: “These are good matches for Kerry,” Malone said. “‘No Surrender,’ shoots straight at his war record and ‘The Rising’ is inspired by 9-11, the most significant event of the last four years.”

Dennis Kucinich

Music: John Lennon “Imagine” and music by Willie Nelson and other independent musicians who’ve endorsed his campaign

What it means: “Kucinich represents the anti-war wing of the Democrats and he’s definitely embracing that hippie culture,” Seligsohn said. “His music definitely shows that he believes that world peace starts from a sort of inner-peace.”

Al Sharpton

Music: His New York campaign office did not return multiple e-mails, however, he told the Associated Press one of his favorite artists was gospel singer Yolanda Adams.

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