Barack Obama Shares A Promised Land Playlist Inspired By His Presidency
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Remember when we used to get fun presidential playlists? Recently, Barack Obama has been resurfacing to remind us what a real president looks like, and to urge us to reject the perversions of the office that have become all too common in the last four years. Sometimes that’s been in the form of rare public commentary on the Trump administration, sometimes that’s been in the form of helping the Biden campaign. But this week, Obama has popped up in the wake of the election to both condemn Trump’s refusal to concede and to promote his new book, A Promised Land.
Obama’s book chronicles part of his rise from his early days to the presidency, and in turn he has shared a new playlist inspired by his years in office. In an Instagram post, he added some comments:
Music has always played an important role throughout my life — and that was especially true during my presidency. While reviewing my notes ahead of debates, I’d listen to Jay-Z’s “My 1st Song” or Frank Sinatra’s “Luck Be A Lady.” Throughout our time in the White House, Michelle and I invited artists like Stevie Wonder and Gloria Estefan to conduct afternoon workshops with young people before performing an evening show in the East Room. And there were all sorts of performances I’ll always remember — like Beyoncé performing “At Last” for our first dance at our inauguration, Paul McCartney serenading Michelle in the East Room with “Michelle,” and Bob Dylan flashing me a grin before vanishing after his performance of “Times They Are A-Changin.” So in honor of my book coming out tomorrow, I thought I’d put together a playlist with some of those songs. Hope you enjoy it.
In addition to the aforementioned songs, Obama’s latest playlist also includes the recent Democrat comeback anthem “The Rising” by Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon,” Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” a couple Stevie Wonder tracks, and U2’s “Beautiful Day,” which was one of the songs blasted around Brooklyn the day the election was called for Biden. Check out his post below.
