The Four Loko Protest And/Or Vigil, Starring Anamanaguchi
Union Square Park
Wednesday, November 17

Better Than: Going down without a fight.

Even before New York banned Four Loko, the energy drink that supplements the caffeine equivalent of three cups of coffee with taurine, guarana, wormwood, and 12-percent ABV, the threat of such a ban had been looming for months. Momentum really started to build by late September, after a new batch of 17- and 18-year-old incoming freshmen found the drink waiting for them at their respective college campuses. Still, few were prepared for the official announcement, and no one could have anticipated the public outcry that has followed. That outcry culminated last night with the Four Loko candlelight vigil, held at Union Square.

Rap music has had a long history of product endorsement, and although these tributes to the controversial malt energy drink Four Loko ("Loke" for short) may recall the St. Ides commercials of the early '90s, these songs follow more in the tradition of the Pack's "Vans." The next generation's Lil B and Young L don't appear to be lurking on any of these tracks, but they're still a great way to celebrate the delicious (arguably), mind-numbing (definitely), and legal (at least for now) alcoholic beverage that is Four Loko.