We are now four days away from what will happen – except, and we’re not crazy to type this in, but there you go, other armed insurrection in the capital of the United States – the inauguration of Joe Biden as 46th president of the United States. (POTUS, if you’re unpleasant.) And you know what that means, folks: Time for the playlist!
That’s right: in an attempt to restore some degree of normalcy – as defined by the mandate of Biden’s old friend, Barack Obama, the first US aware of Spotify president – for the US political process, Biden’s Inaugural Committee released a playlist of 46 songs filled with songs ranging from “Too easy to imagine Joe Biden listening” – the inevitable Springsteen, jazz rockers called Dildo Steely Dan, Marlena Shaw – for “It would probably make Joe Biden very angry if he had to sit on a long car trip listening to them”, like Kendrick Lamar, Major Lazer and the recently deceased MF DOOM. (Smoothly represented by an instrumental track, instead of any of his dense and intricate raps.) Which is not necessarily to criticize the playlist – it’s actually very good, as defined by the metric of trying to create a list of 46 songs that incorporate an Apple Music definition of “unity” – as much as it is to notice the absurdity of “presidential podcasts ” first of all.
If nothing else, though, it’s good to see 46 different artists who won’t be immediately irritated by having their images and art co-opted in the service of the leader of the free world, a phenomenon that has been surprisingly common during the term of the current occupant. Assembled by Raedio and D-Nice, the playlist ranged from Mac Miller and Dua Lipa, to A Tribe Called Quest and SIA, which we can only assume was Biden’s absolute, “Don’t play with me, I’m the president now, probably ”demand, the inclusion of “What A Fool Believes” by the Doobie Brothers.
In the meantime, preparation for musical acts for the inaugural celebration itself is also going on in a similar “Certainly no one will be mad at Tom Hanks!” fashion, with the dear actor prepared to present a TV special full of stars celebrating the inauguration, which will also include guest appearances by Justin Timberlake, Demi Lovato, Jon Bon Jovi and more
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