Can a Presidential Candidate's iPod Playlist Reveal Their Personality?

It's too bad that we didn't have iPods at any time prior to the 2000's so we could get a look at the playlists of our Presidents. Every President is expected to have an iPod now (good news for Apple, as if they need it) and what we wouldn't have given to see the playlist of George Washington, Franklin Delano Roosevelt or even Ronald Reagan. Well, at least the media would occasionally share what a President's favorite Christmas song was or even an individual pop song for a few 20^th century leaders of the free world. Now, we all must know what every single song is on a President's playlist or even the playlist of a Presidential candidate. And the more songs that are revealed, the more of a psychoanalytic portrait people are painting to help us perhaps figure out what's making a current President tick or who would make the best future Commander (or Cheerleader) in Chief.

The first ever President to reveal his iPod playlist was George W. Bush, which subsequently created more parodies of his "real" playlist on the internet than you'll probably ever see with McCain or Obama. As we found out about four years ago when the iPod was just starting to become hot was that Bush liked one particular musical genre: Country, Country and, yesiree, Country...with a little 70's rock and folk thrown in to represent a classic Texan song list. At the time the list came out, people psychoanalyzed every single song title to get a representation of Bush's thoughts. This was not long after the Iraq war started and, of course, right during the time when the threats from terrorism were constantly in that red color (or was it pink salmon?) phase.

While people tried to extract meaning from his chosen songs done by Alan Jackson, George Jones and even Stevie Ray Vaughan ("The House is Rockin'" was Bush's choice there)--they were probably just songs that helped him escape from the pressures of war and a slowly eroding support from the public. Others might argue it was a good indication of how he felt about his job (John Hiatt's "Circle Back", The Thrills' "Say it Ain't So" and Van Morrison's "New Biography").

Then you had one curious selection that some media picked up on: The famous early 80's rock love song "My Sharona" by The Knack. Some cited that as strange considering the song is about a wild love affair. But he likely picked it because it reminded him of the days when he was living more of wild lifestyle and having a wild love affair...presumably with Laura. Yes, even Presidents probably have a guilty pleasure song from their pasts that they won't bypass on their iPods just because they've become more buttoned-down.

When that President Bush iPod list was released, people were probably expecting an annual update so we could further psychoanalyze our President. When "My Sharona" reportedly embarrassed aides to Bush, you didn't see another iPod playlist for our President again. Just imagine what might be on his playlist now what with his unpopularity beleaguering his psyche of late. On the other hand, we probably wouldn't be surprised if we'd find out he had similar songs on his iPod as he did the last time it was revealed. When it comes to being President (especially if you're unpopular), finding as much escape as possible in music is almost necessary without losing all grips with sanity.

Now that Barack Obama's iPod playlist has been recently revealed at the time of this article--what can we draw from his? And does John McCain even own an iPod?

Obama may have the most diverse musical taste of any recent Presidential candidate...

When Obama's iPod playlist revealed that he loved everything from Hip-Hop to Jazz, it hinted at a more sophisticated person who has wide-ranging tastes. That obviously gives throwbacks to the Kennedys (yes, I guess we must always connect that name with Obama now) who had a diverse interest in all kinds of music and sophisticated artistic tastes. While it's arguable, it's refreshing to see a Presidential candidate with such a wide palette of musical interests. The only thing missing there is Classical--and we probably haven't seen that since...well, probably the Kennedys or maybe, to a small degree, Ronald Reagan.

It's also refreshing to see a Presidential candidate playing some of the best African-American musical artists of all time on their iPod. Yet, you'll also find Bob Dylan on Obama's iPod that has an eerie synchronicity when Dylan said he was a big fan of Obama's and thought he could create a revolution of change. When was the last time you heard Bob Dylan talking that way about a Presidential candidate?

No word whether all the artists on Obama's iPod are supporting Obama's run for President, though having Dylan (plus Bruce Springsteen, who's also on Obama's iPod) ready to vote for you in a second is overwhelming enough. Considering Obama is also the first Presidential candidate to like Hip-Hop, he might receive some flak if he allows some of the hardcore artists from that arena to help him out at rallies later. At least Obama was honest in his concern about what's being said in Hip-Hop and Rap while giving the art form itself some validation.

What does Obama's playlist tell us about his basic philosophies and psyche then? Some might say that a diverse musical taste reveals a higher intellect, which may or may not be true. Some of his songs reveal anti-war sentiments, which tells us point blank that there won't be any saber-rattling from Obama should he inherit the White House.

What about McCain's iPod playlist?

As of this writing, McCain hasn't revealed his own list, even though rumors keep running rampant that he doesn't even own one. That seems hard to believe just because he's in his 70's. Some of his aides have said he listens to music from his younger era--and that means a lot of 60's and 70's Pop/Rock. You'll probably find some people out there, however, who will say that when a Presidential candidate is listening to songs from his or her past a lot, it means they won't be able to connect with the current generation should they become President. Conversely (and something I promote), the younger generation should learn to respect the past and older people in states of power.

But this isn't the reality of running for President. A younger, hipper iPod playlist is going to look more attractive to many--including the new Generation Y just turning 18 and voting for the first time. They're going to find a hero in Obama being brave enough to put Hip-Hop on his iPod--hence a surefire sign he understands the younger generation who need a President to connect with them.

Then again, maybe people will get a kick (or maybe give a jeer) out of McCain having a parody song on his iPod called "Bomb Iran" based on the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann"...

Sources:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/06/music-for-the-w.html