Though Tyra Banks first asked the question on her talk show several months ago, it is from the glowing (what else) interview of Barack Obama in the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone that we finally see what’s on his iPod.
Dylan. The Stones. Stevie Wonder. Sheryl Crow. Yo-Yo Ma (quick: name another famous cellist. Can’t do it, can you?). Basically everything you’d expect from a tail-end Baby Boomer born in 1961. Somehow, Obama’s impossible-to-judge selections seem too safe and just believable–not as hip as his supporters might want, but totally acceptable to just about everyone.
Obama reveals himself to be a regular, faintly obsessive fan of the music of his time with decent, if safe and mainstream, taste. He said to Rolling Stone, “If I had one musical hero, it would have to be Stevie Wonder. When I was at that point where you start getting involved in music, Stevie had that run with Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Fulfillingness’ First Finale and Innervisions, and then Songs in the Key of Life. Those are as brilliant a set of five albums as we’ve ever seen.”
Note he says “albums.” One wonders what else was in his record collection that he won’t tell Jann Wenner. While we bet Obama is way into MC5 and the Stooges, maybe even a secret Albini fan (hello, he’s from Chicago), we do know he’s into Jay-Z, seeing as he made the “brush ya shoulders off” gesture publicly.
The news that Obama deleted his Netflix queue either proves that it is music that unites us or that Obama’s taste in film was becoming the topic of smears by conservative pundits. As reported in WiseNews, Obama’s move from Netflix came after conservative commentator Michelle Malkin wrote a column referencing accusations by conservative bloggers that Obama has had access to middle eastern DVDs depicting scenes of kaffiyehs, the checkered arab scarf. “There is no proof he hasn’t rented movies showing kaffiyehs. Lawrence of Arabia is right there on his Facebook page under Favorite Movies,” wrote Malkin. We’re not sure how she felt about Stevie Wonder.