Rolling Stones

Barack Obama Shares Summer Vacation Playlists


In a rather unusual move on Friday, the White House decided to kick off its official Spotify channel with the release of Barack Obama’s two personal playlists, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Obama split up “The President’s Playlist” into two categories: “Volume 1: Summer Day” and “20 picks for a summer night.”

Check out the track listing to Obama’s summer playlists below:

The President’s Playlist: Vol. 1 Summer Day
The Temptations – “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”
Isley Brothers – “Live It Up”
Talib Kweli and Hi Tek – “Memories Live”
Bob Dylan – “Tombstone Blues”
Bob Marley – “So Much Trouble in the World”
Coldplay – “Paradise”
Mala Rodriguez – “Tengo Un Trato (Remix)”
Howlin Wolf – “Wang Dang Doodle”
Stevie Wonder – “Another Star”
Sly & the Family Stone – “Hot Fun in the Summertime”
Low Cut Connie – “Boozophilia”
Brandi Carlile – “Wherever Is Your Heart”
Nappy Roots – “Good Day”
John Legend – “Green Light”
Rolling Stones – “Gimme Shelter”
Aretha Franklin – “Rock Steady”
Okkervil River – “Down Down the Deep River”
Justin Timberlake – “Pusher Love Girl”
Florence and The Machine – “Shake It Out”
Sonora Carruseles – “La Salsa La Traigo Yo”

The President’s Playlist: Vol. 2 Summer Night
John Coltrane – “My Favorite Things”
Beyoncé and Frank Ocean – “Superpower”
Van Morrison – “Moondance”
Lianne La Havas – “Is Your Love Big Enough?”
Al Green – “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”
Aoife O’Donovan – “Red & White & Blue & Gold”
Lauryn Hill and D’Angelo – “Nothing Even Matters”
Frank Sinatra – “The Best Is Yet To Come”
Ray Charles – “You Don’t Know Me”
Mary J. Blige – “I Found My Everything”
Joni Mitchell – “Help Me”
Otis Redding – “I’ve Got Dreams To Remember”
Leonard Cohen – “Suzanne”
Nina Simone – “Feeling Good”
The Lumineers – “Stubborn Love”
Cassandra Wilson – “Until”
Mos Def – “UMI”
Billie Holiday – “The Very Thought Of You”
Miles Davis – “Flamenco Sketches”
Erykah Badu – “Woo”

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.

“If there’s anything about Obama’s current political or psychological state to be drawn from the playlists, it’s the sense of the president as an utterly relaxed lame duck with nothing to prove or sell. When he suddenly seemed to be down with Jay Z midway through his first term, Obama was accused of trying to court the youth vote, but there’s nothing here to suggest he’s playing to any constituency but the demo of 54-year-old boomers who still have their fingers on some pulses. Even if you didn’t know the purported curator, the personality profile you might put together from the song choices would be that of a cool, calm, and collected cucumber whose strong undercurrents of passion aren’t likely to lead to any untoward outbursts.”

This Day in Music History — November 28

1964 : Willie Nelson makes his Grand Ole Opry debut.

1968 : John Lennon and Yoko Ono appear at the Marylebone Magistrates’ Court, London, to answer charges of cannabis resin posession. Lennon pleads guilty and is fined 150 pounds and 20 guineas.

1974 : John Lennon joins Elton John on stage at Madison Square Garden, reciprocating for Elton’s appearance on Whatever Gets You Thru The Night. They sing that one as well as The Beatles’ I Saw Her Standing There. It would be Lennon’s last concert appearance.

2001 : Aretha Franklin sues the tabloid Star magazine for $50 million over a December, 2000 article titled “Aretha Franklin Drinking Herself into Grave.”

This Day in Music History — November 18

download1975 : Bruce Springsteen begins his first UK tour at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, where he learns that his record company has gone overboard with the hype, distributing posters that say: “At last London is ready for Bruce Springsteen.”

1985 : Seven of Jimi Hendrix’s gold records are stolen from his father’s home during a burglary. A few months later, Warner Bros. Records replaces them in a ceremony with Mo Ostin, who signed Hendrix to the label in 1967.

1994 : The Rolling Stones become the first rock act to stream a live concert on the Internet, webcasting a portion of a show from Dallas, Texas.

2003 : Acting on the sexual abuse allegations of a 12-year-old boy who had visited the home, approximately 70 members of California’s Santa Barbara County sheriff’s and district attorney’s offices raid Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. The singer is in Vegas filming a video at the time.

2006 : With the aid of a private jet, Jay-Z plays seven 30-minute sets across the US in one day to promote his comeback album, Kingdom Come.

This Day in Music History — November 1

1965 : The Rolling Stones’ concert in Rochester, NY, ends abruptly when 3,000 rabid fans storm the stage after just seven minutes. After three more attempts to resume the show, it’s canceled by police, with only six songs having been played.

1975 : Due to lead singer Karen Carpenter’s struggle with anorexia, The Carpenters are forced to cancel their upcoming European tour.

1985 : The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) agrees to some demands made by another initialed organization, the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). As a result, any album deemed to contain offensive lyrics must be issued with a warning label, or the lyrics must be printed on the sleeve. Most record companies go with the labels, which don’t seem to hurt sales.

1999 : Celine Dion is inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame during the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Gold Ribbon Awards gala in Montreal. Dion joins Bryan Adams and Anne Murray for the accolade.

2000 : Ben Folds Five announces they’re breakup. Folds continues as a solo artist.

2002 : T.I. is arrested and convicted in Georgia for carrying a 10mm pistol. This is is second arrrest for gun possession charges in one year.

This Day in Music History — October 30

1967 : Brian Jones (The Rolling Stones) pleads guilty to drug possession and gets a nine month prison sentence.

1972 : Elton John becomes the second rock star to play a Command Performance for Britain’s royalty, nine years after The Beatles became the first.

1999 : It’s an early attempt at video over the web, as Neil Young’s annual Bridge School Benefit concert is “cybercast” to a few brave souls trying to get their modems to work. The Who, Pearl Jam, and Brian Wilson perform at the show.

2007 : Singer/actor Robert Goulet dies while awaiting a lung transplant in Los Angeles, California, at age 73. He had been diagnosed with the rare, progressive disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

 

This Day in Music History — October 9

1940 : John Winston Lennon is born in Liverpool, England. The “Winston” comes from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill – John would later add “Ono” to his middle name in honor of Yoko.

1962 : The BBC refuses to play the Bobby “Boris” Pickett Halloween hit Monster Mash on grounds that it is too morbid and tasteless.

1964 : The Rolling Stones cancel an upcoming South African tour when the British Musicians Union declares an embargo of the country due to their apartheid polices.

2001 : U2 frontman Bono, R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, and electronica maven Moby make unannounced appearances in New York, at the second of two anti-violence benefit concerts organized by the Beastie Boys.

This Day in Music History — September 10

1963 : While traveling in London, John Lennon and Paul McCartney encounter Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, who worked as a promoter for The Beatles earlier in the year. Oldham invites them to The Stones rehearsal, where they complete a song they were working on, “I Wanna Be Your Man,” and give it to The Stones, which they use as their second UK single.

1988 : “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses hits #1 for the first of two weeks. The band is opening shows for Aerosmith at the time.

1990 : Starring a young rapper named Will Smith, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air debuts on NBC. Smith hones his acting skills during his six seasons on the show, which features guest appearances by his musical partner, DJ Jazzy Jeff.

1991 : Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is released as a single, forever changing the musical meaning of the word “Alternative.”