President Obama is working on securing his legacy on many fronts, but perhaps none sheds more insight into the man and his moods than his distinction as the first “spinner in chief.”
And with just about everything that involves being president, the time and resources Obama has spent on the issue has opened him up to criticism.
This summer, Obama became the first president to play deejay when he “dropped” his summer playlist on Spotify Aug. 14. First Lady Michelle Obama quickly followed, and the couple continue to promote soul, R and B and hip hop at the White House through regular performances by artists most other presidents likely would have overlooked.
One such artist is the Colombian salsa band Sonora Carruseles. Their song “La Salsa La Traigo Yo” closed out Obama’s summer playlist. Other non-household name artists include country act Okkervil River, “Down Down the Deep River,” and Latin popster Mala Rodriguez, “Tengo Un Trato (Remix).”
“Obama also spotlights a few contemporary artists you wouldn’t expect him to listen to: Folk acts the Lumineers and Brandi Carlile, singer/songwriter Aoife O’Donovan and indie rockers Low Cut Connie and Okkervil River,” Rolling Stone wrote about Obama’s selections.
But even Obama couldn’t completely ignore today’s biggest pop acts. Beyonce (“Superpower”), Justin Timberlake (“Pusher Love Girl”) and Coldplay (“Paradise”) made the cut.
A better place to get a sense of their musical tastes as a couple is with the regular “In Performance at the White House” they host. But it’s also where they’ve received some criticism.
The latest iteration, “In Performance: A Celebration of American Creativity,” was recorded Oct. 14 and will air in full on PBS in January. It will be the first in the series’ 37-year history to feature hip hop.
It features Buddy Guy, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Audra McDonald, Keb’ Mo’, Smokey Robinson, Trombone Shorty, Esperanza Spalding, Brian Stokes Mitchell, James Taylor and Usher.
In June, they took lumps for hosting a “private” Prince concert, and inviting 500 friends to the event, which was left off of the president’s public schedule.
They even allowed the first couple “to host some of their friends at the White House at a party they paid for on their own dime,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in defending the show June 15.
Questions arose specifically over the White House’s visitor log policy and decisions to keep some of those records private. “There are some exceptions to the visitor log policy and some of those exceptions include visiting the White House to participate in private events,” Earnest said on Sept. 3.
The “in performance” series itself far predates the Obama administration. “The series was created to showcase the rich fabric of American culture in the setting of the nation’s most famous home,” PBS explains on its website.
According to the White House, Obama enjoys playing deejay.
“I can tell you that that was a project the president took very warmly to, and with great enthusiasm,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz confirmed Oct. 23 when asked about the president’s participation in choosing his own tunes. He “was excited to share his musical preferences with all of you.”
Lewis said alternate outreach methods, such as Spotify, are a strategy of Obama’s dating back to the 2008 campaign.
“Obama is a master of nontraditional outreach,” said Miles Marshall Lewis, arts and culture editor for ebony.com. “Older, stodgier politicians haven’t even heard of Spotify. The message sent loud and clear is: The Obamas know what time it is.”
The public has spoken on Obama’s lists and, according to Spotify followers, prefer the playful daytime hits to the more introspective evening selections. The daytime list has 69,338 followers as of Oct. 29 versus 55,268 for the nighttime listening.
