Trinidad and Tobago's National General Elections are days away now, and we at UTT's Academy of Arts, Letters, Culture and Public Affairs thought it a fitting time to highlight and reflect on the work of some of our most prominent Political Scientists.

Most social scientists go to great lengths to remove the appearance of bias from their professional postulations. In the political arena however, our purveyors of political thought have often either very openly made their pre-existing positions known or been found to have their proverbial petticoats showing. The calypsonian, the most preeminent of these political pundits, is no different. Over the years, the slew of calypsos in support of, or in direct attack on political parties, politicians, and political policies has been prolific.

With a General Election on the horizon however, we at the national University think it best to steer clear of this brand of political commentary for two reasons:

• to maintain the facade of objectivity and
• the space is already abounding with these campaign song messages.

Instead, we've curated this short playlist of calypsos which in some ways ignores the particular political players but rather focuses on the experience of the political process from the point of view of the proletariat. What does the citizenry, the rank and file, the ordinary voter encounter and endure in this democratic process? What are the considerations for we the people, as we await a looming election?

This playlist, far from directing or even suggesting to anyone the way in which they should exercise their franchise, if at all, will hopefully get you thinking about your place in the democratic machinery. We hope it gets you considering how to maximise your political capital, and exploring the calypso idiom proposed and popularised by Brother Valentino, which suggests that in Trinidad and Tobago's political arena, the calypsonian is the only true opposition. Above and beyond all that though, we really hope you simply enjoy these calypso gems.

We present twelve calypsoes in two sections. The first group includes:

• Party Time Again - Bally
• Mad Man's Rant - David Rudder
• Same Khaki Pants - Shadow
• Doggie Look A Bone - Penguin
• Vampire Year - Black Stalin
• Last Election - Cypher

The calypsonians here have presented a fairly pessimistic outlook on politicians and the democratic process with which they come into power. They point to the politicians as part of a ruling class which has not done enough for the electorate. That said, they also seem to in some way or the other, suggest that the electorate should understand the status quo and use it to ensure they are as best served as they can be.

The next grouping includes:

• True Opposition - Brother Valentino
• Too Much Party - Chalkdust
• Mock Democracy - Lord Christo
• Mr Trinidad - Maestro
• Sing for the Land - Black Stalin
• Let Us Build A Nation Together - Merchant

Here our calypsonians are challenging the electorate. The focus here is the non-politician, calypsonians included. Valentino reminds the calypso fraternity of their responsibility as political commentators. Chalkdust urges the diehard supporters of political parties to consider the price of and reward for their loyalty. Christo urges Trinbagonians to appreciate our democracy in the face of more mature democracies struggling to uphold the ideals they espouse - this seems oddly familiar in 2025. Maestro discusses the indecisive nature of the electorate in Mr Trinidad while Stalin in Sing for the Land urges the electorate to avoid sycophancy and instead embrace patriotism. In similar measure, we are reminded by Merchant that, God spare life, the day after the election will come, and the consequence of our choices whatever they may be will require that we build a nation together.

So, enjoy this silly season, sift through the promises, the manifestos, the hustings speeches and the campaign songs. Be entertained by the theatre of it all, but don't forget the calypsoes on this playlist. Enjoy these as well, and may they help you to see the politicians clearly, see yourself clearly and make decisions with the greater good in focus. Long Live Calypso!