back to article Barack Obama: Bland, predictable and cheesy ... on Spotify

It turns out Barack Obama likes his music streamed from a certain Sweden-based music service. Not The Pirate Bay - Spotify. As a cunning pre-election ploy, the Obama campaign has tweeted his Spotify playlist. Don't say you're not interested in the mundane mixture of mainstream rock, country and some recent pop. This is the …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Playlist

    Wot, no NWA, Dre, 2Pac or even a bit of Rammstein? (Pussy comes to mind for Obama) I'm disappointed.

    1. LarsG

      WHY IS

      Obama being bland predictable and cheesy such a surprise to anyone?

  2. Godwhacker
    Meh

    Hip-hop flip-flop?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFSVG7jRp_g

    No Jay-Z. No Kanye. No Stevie, and no Marvin Gaye, no Isley Brothers and no Temptations. There IS an Earth, Wind and Fire track there, so that's something. Er, except that it's Earth Wind and Fire.

    1. BoldMan

      And your point is?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I can suggest a better set of songs

    I can suggest a better set of songs for just about any politico:

    Liar - 3 Dog night

    Lyin' Eyes - The Eagles

    Scandal - Queen

    37 - Devo ('I'm envious of your IQ of... 37 37')

    Idiot Bastard Son - Frank Zappa

    Tax Man - The Beatles

    And some that I wish somebody would add to their playlist:

    You've Got Another Thing Coming - Judas Priest

    Sparks of the Tempest - Kansas

    1. dogged
      Thumb Down

      A playlist suggested by most of those spreading stuff about Obama could be limited to "Straight Up Nigga" by Ice T on a loop.

      Because that is, after all, their REAL problem with the guy.

      1. JohnMoser

        Dogg, if you want Ice T, it would have to be Evil Dick. BTW, your post is the first racist one I've read. Not surprising for the guy defending the racist with poor musical tastes.

        1. dogged
          FAIL

          Evil Dick is Clinton's thing. And how exactly was I racist?

  4. The Cube

    "They'd better not be listening to it on a Zune" ??

    I think you'll find your bought and paid for politicians have their campaign manager assemble a playlist of legally purchased media on the device of the largest sponsor of their election campaign. If that is Microsoft then I am sure they will apparently use a Zune if it is Google then I am sure it will be a streaming service....

  5. kain preacher

    That's not his real play list

    Were is bush killer : Paris

    Who shot ya : B.I.G. (thats some thing he said to Osma )

    Remix of why

  6. ChrisInAStrangeLand
    FAIL

    This is not Barack Obama's playlist. This is what his handlers had a highly inclusive multiracial focus group determine that his expected voting demographic would be comfortable with him listening to.

  7. Dick Emery
    Stop

    Propoganda

    Every one of those songs reeks of propoganda. Different People? Rise Up? Keep Me In Mind? You're the Best Thing? Keep Marchin'? Mr Blue Sky? Sure looks like campaigning music to me.

  8. Tom Maddox Silver badge
    Meh

    It was reported some time ago in a newspaper editorial that virtually every member of Congress listed "The Sound of Music" as his/her favorite movie. The commenter went on to note that is was a sad state of affairs that either this was an accurate survey or that the members of Congress thought that's what the electorate wanted to hear.

    That said, it would have been awesome if there had been some tracks from $MyFavoriteIndieBandBeforeTheyTotallySoldOutAndWentMainstream.

    1. disgruntled yank

      The Hill is Alive with What?

      Hold on, here. Counting only voting members, and not the delegates from Guam, the District of Columbia, etc., that's 535 persons. I would quit regarding virtually every as a gross exaggeration somewhere around 500. Even allowing that they aren't going to be listing "Dogville" or "Last Year in Marienbad", there ought to be a fair number of votes for "Patton", "Stagecoach", "Miracle on 34th Street", "Wonderful Life", etc.

      Did this newspaper editorial appear in The Onion, perhaps? A lot of the hard-core "Sound of Music" fans one encounters these days seem to have nun fetishes.

  9. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

    This reminds me

    Didn't Gordon Brown have the Arctic Monkeys on his iPod? Ahem!

    I don't remember what Tony Blair was said to be listening to. But I'd guess we're talking 70s rock. It was funny to hear the squeals of anguish from Paul Weller, when Cameron said he liked Eton Rifles though.

    On the other hand, to be fair to the politicians, they get the piss taken out of them for not being cool. When they're asked a question about the music they like, they know full well that it's unfriendly - and aimed at taking the piss even more. And as Gordon Brown discovered, not saying anything isn't an option either. Remember all that shit about what kind of biscuit he liked, when doing an online chat with Mumsnet? So what we're basically saying is that we're going to rip the piss out of them whatever they say, and then accuse them of dodging the question if they try to maintain some dignity by saying nothing. Then if they come out with answers we can't insult them for, we accuse them of lying.

    On the gripping hand, I listened to a really interesting series on his favourite jazz musicians from Ken Clarke before Christmas. Now there's a politician who's never pretended to be cool. Or properly dressed...

    1. Colin Wright

      Jazz

      I remember an interview with Two Jabs (also a jazz fan) talking about jazz, saying how it was classless. At least he was honest about his musical preference, even if he was trying desperately not to seem like he was middle class. Niiiiiiiccccce.

    2. kissingthecarpet
      Devil

      Cameron

      only liked Eton Rifles because of the namecheck. Bet he didn't think about the lyrics, especially of the Jam in general. If anything its a critique of the traditional extreme left not being committed enough & failing to follow up on their call to arms.

      Next thing Cameron'll be saying he's a big fan of Billy Bragg.

      "I love listening to Gong's 1st album after a nice refreshing cup of mushroom tea" quoth Osborne.

      Breaking news - Steve Hillage to be new MoD special adviser.

      1. BoldMan

        Steve Hillage would be a better fit at the Ministry of Fisheries!

      2. Santa from Exeter
        Holmes

        Bands and potions

        Actually, Camembert Electrique is better, especially after a nice big bong.

        Mushroom tea goes better with the Live Floating Anarchy album, especially Opium for the People, or Hawkwind's Doremi Fasol Latido.

        Shirley, the advisor to the MOD should be Lemmy, real name Ian Kilmister!

        Icon for the Opium Pipe

  10. g e

    Oh God

    Doubtless Bono will be quick to stick his kindergarten politician's snout in that trough.

  11. DF118
    Meh

    Poor man

    Florence bloody Welch's godawful sub-Evanescence squawking in your brains on a daily basis is enough to drive anyone insane.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. dogged

      Ouch. I mean seriously, ouch. "sub-Evanescence" may be the worst insult I've seen since "a bit like Coldplay".

      1. DF118
        Pint

        @dogged

        Thank you. Have to admit it's not mine though - IIRC I nicked it off a very entertaining hatchet job the Quietus did on her a while back.

        She is so bloody nippy though. Annoying, drunken, squawking, room-emptying idiot who somehow managed to pick up a cult following which was swiftly followed through by a massive marketing machine.

  12. Richard Cartledge
    Thumb Down

    The sad thing is, Americans believe in this fantasy pantomime world created for their consumption.

  13. Helloworld
    FAIL

    What did you expect?

    Of course they're bland and predictable. You can bet the list was analyzed and focus-grouped for weeks to find a list that would not have anything controversial or offensive to anyone on it.

    Presidential candidates always release their "summer reading" list to make them look like deep thinkers. This is just a new angle to portray the pres as a cool guy by the fact that he's releasing his song list. Fits right in with the Obama campaign's new collection of fashion accessories by famous designers. You don't expect our politicians to run on substance do you?

    1. kissingthecarpet
      Devil

      Things

      can only get better( did they Tone?)

  14. sCode
    Mushroom

    What is this fascination with Spotify's recommendation system and history, seriously! I realise audioscrobbler/last.fm is not a uber popular fasetube shared peddler of poor quality music files (as part of its main business) but that stuff has existed for EONS before spotify's feature. What's more there are plugins to use for most players so you can scrobble your existing library not what you have in the bleeding "cloud".

  15. FozzyBear

    Well

    I can't see him winning too many votes admitting to the following

    Death metal Selection (I listen to this after after having to listen to the morons that make up the voting public)

    Acid!Dance. What else would you listen to when tripping out on the latest weed the government can offer.

    Oh can you just imagine the lynch mobs that would form if he admitted to listening to iron maiden's Number of the beast in the bible belt.

  16. LateNightLarry
    Pint

    The song for ANY politician... Cast Your Fate To The Wind...by Vince Garaldi... because isn't that what any politician is doing?

    It's Wine O'Clock somewhere, but I have to settle for a glass of something that could pass for horsepiss...

  17. wibble001

    Thank $deity he didn't have.....

    "Push the Button" by the Sugarbabes on there!

  18. Andy 70
    Meh

    yeah right. who honestly thinks this play list hasn't been created, edited, and vetted by his public relations team.

    this is not a snapshot into the mind of a man landed with trying to right the western world, so let's not kid ourselves.

    even so, i'd rather you lot get Obama again than the other choices. it might give him the time needed to nail the planks over the leaks in the good ship U S of A. Instead of the next administration going "it was all his fault, i'll save you!"

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