Music, Soothing the Savage Political Breast

Leaders of the media-political-industrial complex love their classic rock. When they're not singing along to Bruce Springsteen 's "Thunder Road," they're cuing up Eric Clapton or Johnny Cash or early U2 . Oh, they might flirt with Madonna or Eminem , but they're roots-rockers at heart.

So we discovered when we intercepted correspondence of the Music Caucus, a bipartisan e-mail cabal organized by Bush media strategist Mark McKinnon . A couple of months ago, the Texan asked a loose-knit group of music-loving politicos -- consultants, campaigners, legislative aides, journalists -- to share their top 10 "desert island" picks.

"It exploded," McKinnon said. "It was like a moveon.org tsunami."

RNC Chair Ken Mehlman disclosed his abiding love for the Grateful Dead ("Bertha") and Led Zepplin ("Traveling Riverside Blues"). Gore strategist Carter Eskew countered with Jackson Browne 's "Late for the Sky" and John Lennon 's "How Do You Sleep?" Consultant Hilary Rosen provided the most concentrated dose of estrogen-rock ( Sarah McLachlan , Joan Armatrading etc.).

Republican adman Alex Castellanos endorsed Danny O'Keefe 's "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues" as the "kind of song you want to sit in the dark room with after you lost the presidential election." And some made no attempt to cleave to the 10-song limit. Howard Wolfson listed more than 30 songs from the '80s alone. In true rock-geek fashion, the Hillary Clinton strategist declared an X song, "4th of July," to be "a Raymond Carver short story set to two-part harmony and guitar."

"It wasn't about who was coolest. People outed themselves as liking Abba or Barry Manilow ," said McKinnon, who compiled an 850-plus list on http://www.musiccaucus.com/ . Or, as he noted in one e-mail: "Instead of throwing knives, they're tossing ballads . . . just our own meek and humble efforts to build bridges and improve the tone in DC."

The Boat No One Should Have Missed

An ad for Elvis's one and only D.C. performance, 50 years ago today.(Washington Post, March 22, 1956)

A swivel of the hips, please, to honor today's 50th anniversary of Elvis Presley in Washington. Elvis was an up-and-coming county singer when promoter Connie Gay booked him for a Country Music Moonlight Cruise on the SS Mount Vernon. The 21-year-old singer had signed with RCA the previous fall, and "Heartbreak Hotel" was slowly climbing the pop charts, but he was hardly a household name.

March 23, 1956, was a cold, rainy Friday night, according to Peter Golkin , a Smithsonian spokesman by day and an Elvis historian by night. Elvis had a short interview on WMAL-Channel 7's "Town and Country Time," then headed downtown. Some of the folks who showed up at Pier 4 on Maine Avenue SW demanded refunds for their $2 tickets when they discovered the ship's engine was broken and the boat wasn't leaving the dock. Those who stayed saw the only performance in D.C. from the boy who would become King. In the 1970s, Elvis played in suburban arenas but never again in the District.

Will the 'Capitol Law' Pilot Fly Onto the Air?

Forget all those nasty things you've been hearing about Washington lawyers. "Capitol Law," a pilot shot for CBS in the District this week, gives our legal eagles a sensitive, idealistic makeover a la "The West Wing."

The show is based on "In the Shadow of the Law," published last year by Kermit Roosevelt , an assistant law professor at Penn and the great-great-grandson of Teddy Roosevelt . The younger Roosevelt (Harvard, Yale, clerk for Supreme Court Justice David Souter ) wrote a novel about junior lawyers at the fictional D.C. firm of Morgan Siler. Carol Mendelsohn, executive producer of the monster hit "CSI," optioned it for Paramount and wrote the pilot script, which deals with a lawsuit against a chemical company and the pro bono fight of a death row inmate.

"I would say it's 'West Wing' in a law firm," says Roosevelt. "It's character- and issue- driven." The pilot stars "Dawson's Creek" alum Joshua Jackson as the rookie and veteran heavy Frank Langella as the firm's managing partner. Scenes were shot on the Mall, along Pennsylvania Avenue and at the Willard Hotel with restaurant staff as extras.

Impressive on paper, but "Capitol Law" will have to beat the curse of other Washington-based dramas limping in the ratings: "E-Ring," with Benjamin Bratt; "Bones," starring Emily Deschanel; and "Commander in Chief," with Geena Davis.

A decision about the pilot is likely in mid-May if the show gets a fall debut.