President Obama’s Summer Song Picks

If a sitting president makes a playlist without Bob Dylan on it, that’s grounds for impeachment. So of course, as soon as the White House joined Spotify on August 14, the president already had two playlists ready to share with his country (and the rest of the world!).

Things such as documentation regarding the Benghazi attack, the IRS outrage, “Operation Fast and Furious”, secret dealings with Iran and a whole host of other scandals besieging the White House.

Who knew that POTUS was a Joni Mitchell fan? Obama impressed a crowd at New York’s Apollo Theater in 2012 when he sang Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” with accurate pitch.

There are three fiction and three non-fiction books on the list, but it’s the non-fiction books that are perhaps most revealing about his presidency. How else do you explain his selection of Okkervil River, an Austin, Texas based indie rock band that takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya?

Beyonce also made the cut for her song “Superpower”, with Frank Ocean.

What’s missing from the list? As Billboard wrote in its report on Barack Obama’s musical choices, there is nothing deep to be garnered here, except perhaps to celebrate Obama’s inclusive (and unapologetic) taste in music.

Social media went immediately into overdrive after President Obama released the lists. Now we’re not sure how many of these songs were actually picked out by President Obama, or if he approved them.

Some of the songs on this year’s Obama playlist are rather conventional picks. Mix tapes are a staple of summer love.