Like he did last summer, President Obama has put together two eclectic music playlists–one for a hot summer day, and another for a summer evening. And they’re both pretty chill, the stuff vacations are made of. If you have Spotify (download it here), you can start streaming all of the songs below. And if you want to know more about Clinton and Trump’s favorite songs, check out this piece on Rolling Stone.
The President’s Summer Playlist: Daytime
- LoveHate Thing – Wale
- Smooth Sailin’ – Leon Bridges
- Elevator Operator – Courtney Barnett
- Home – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
- Many the Miles – Sara Bareilles
- Tightrope – Janelle Monae
- Classic Man – Jidenna
- So Ambitious – Jay-Z, feat. Pharrell
- Me Gustas Tu – Manu Chao
- Forever Begins – Common
- The Man – Aloe Blacc
- As We Enter – Nas & Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley
- Sinnerman – Nina Simone
- U Got the Look – Prince
- Rock Steady – Aretha Franklin
- Good Vibrations – Beach Boys
- Don’t Owe You A Thang – Gary Clark Jr.
- Man Like That – Gin Wigmore
- II B.S. (edit) — Charles Mingus
The President’s Summer Playlist: Nighttime
- If I Have My Way – Chrisette Michelle
- Espera – Esperanza Spalding
- Tell It Like It Is – Aaron Neville
- Alright – Ledisi
- Trapped By A Thing Called Love – Denise Lasalle
- Lady – D’Angelo
- So Very Hard to Go – Tower of Power
- Midnight Sun – Carmen McCrae
- Cucurrucucu Paloma – Caetano Veloso
- Green Aphrodisiac – Corinne Bailey Rae
- I’ll Be There for You / You’re All I Need – Mary J Blige / Method Man
- Lover Man – Billie Holiday
- Criminal – Fiona Apple
- Acid Rain – Chance the Rapper
- My Funny Valentine – Miles Davis
- Do You Feel Me – Anthony Hamilton
- I Get Lonely – Janet Jackson
- Lean In – Lizz Wright
- All Day Music – War
- Say Yes — Floetry
If you would like to sign up for Open Culture’s free email newsletter, please find it here.
If you would like to support the mission of Open Culture, consider making a donation to our site. It’s hard to rely 100% on ads, and your contributions will help us continue providing the best free cultural and educational materials to learners everywhere. You can contribute through PayPal, Patreon, and Venmo (@openculture). Thanks!
‘Good Vibrations’ is the only decent song on his playlist.
Sure he did! Like POTUS has nothing better to do than sift through hundreds of releases to pick out his favs and then publicly shill for them. Suuuuure he did. If you or any of your readers swallow this insipid spoon-fed propaganda then you are dumber than stupid. Contact Donald Trump immediately for I’m certain he as some under water ocean front property in Arizona he’d love to sell you.
Pretty lousy taste in music btw. Too bad. I at least hoped the White House public relations spin team had a little bit of class when it came to music. It’s also too bad Open Culture has morphed into a vapid shill for Spotify. Just goes to prove Jean Toomer was spot-on when he wrote that Walt Whitman’s average man has turned out to be Babbitt.
I have really enjoyed listening to this varied list and sent it to both my sons. We will never again have a president who would put out a list like this in his name, let alone know so much about this music. Thanks to Open Culture for making it available.
Any list with Miles Davis in it is ok by me.
I am visiting here again and again for amazing stuff.
I really appreciate the effort in publishing this article. It has provided me with a lot of relevant information, which will surely help me in the long run. Will look forward for more such updates