I listened to Barack Obama's summer playlist. Here are my 13 favorite songs

Each year, Barack Obama drops the statesman's version of a surprise album. The pop culture-savvy 44th president releases seasonal and annual lists of the books and songs shaping his days and weeks.

I respect the instinct. As someone who practically lives in lists, when Obama is in "High Fidelity" mode, it's the most I ever relate to a politician.

Monday, he released his summer reading list and playlist. The booklist includes a few of my own favorites (Kaveh Akbar's "Martyr!" and Hanif Abdurraqib's "There's Always This Year"), but the playlist, stocked with old and new cuts, prompted a deeper dive.

Wary observers suggest the former president has an intern or staffer compile these lists to keep him relevant, and I can't discern what's true or false there; but listening through this summer's songs, there's — at the very least — an internal logic at play. You can easily imagine the same person liking all this music.

Plunging into these (appropriately numbered) 44 songs, I came up for air with superlatives. Here are my 13 favorite songs from this summer's playlist, in no particular order:

Charles Mingus, "Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting"

Easily a member of jazz's Mount Rushmore, this track from the bassist/bandleader bends toward ecstasy, each instrument trading moments of exclamation and jubilation, quite literally cheered on by backing voices.

The Miracles, “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me”

Smokey Robinson owns one of the all-time voices in pop music, and on this Miracles standard, he shows off the emotional range that instrument holds.

Norah Jones, “Come Away With Me”

Of course, I would choose this one — it played behind my first dance with my wife at our wedding reception. Beyond sentiment, Jones' ballad sounds like it wasn't written so much as it arrived, fully formed; like it's always been part of our atmosphere.

Etta James, “Don’t Cry Baby”

Over a groove that's other-side-of-the-pillow-cool, the legendary vocalist implores her beloved to dry up those eyes and make their love work once again.

Digable Planets, “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)”

The bounding bass, the Art Blakey sample, the ease and the flow ("We be to rap / What key be to lock") — this 1992 rap song remains a perfect fulfillment of its title.

Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”

When so many artists try to blend hip-hop and country, it ends up sapping the best of both genres. This Shaboozey chart-topper is what the union is supposed to sound like. Buoyant, detail-rich, endlessly singable.

Lucinda Williams, “Unsuffer Me”

Williams is at her most alluring here, the country-rock legend unleashing a whiskey-soaked siren song over a dangerous, slow-burning arrangement of guitar, bass, drums, organ and strings.

Bonny Light Horseman, “Old Dutch”

The fifth track from my favorite album of 2024's first half embodies the Bonny Light Horseman ethos: soulful, gentle, growing as it goes and passing the microphone between its members, engendering a rare familiarity.

2Pac, featuring K-Ci and JoJo, “How Do U Want It”

It can be easy to forget just how charismatic Tupac Shakur was at the mic; put a track like this on, and it all comes flooding back. (Bonus points for Bill Clinton and Bob Dole references, which makes this selection surprisingly presidential.)

The Supremes, “Where Did Our Love Go”

Just one of the gold standards of pop and R&B; a song that sounds as fresh now as it must have in 1964.

Blackstreet, featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen, "No Diggity"

I mean, it's "No Diggity." This song continues to put bodies in motion 28 years after its summer 1996 release.

Nick Drake, "One of These Things First"

The late, great Drake's guitar doesn't gently weep so much as it does a sweet little folk dance on this wonderfully unspooled track from 1971.

Willow, "Symptom of Life"

This Willow Smith tune swirls around the listener in wonderful units of measurement: collapsing piano runs, assured drums, vocal miasmas. It's a pop gem that's always going to feel present tense.

Tracks that just missed the cut

These tracks certainly rank among the top tier of Obama's playlist: new jazz great Samara Joy finds a simpatico feeling with Italian guitarist Pasquale Grasso on their rendering of "Someone to Watch Over Me"; Beyonce's "Texas Hold 'Em" is among her most dynamic tracks in recent memory; it wouldn't be a "Brat" summer without Charli XCX, represented here by "365"; Common's "The People" is an early-aughts slice of hip-hop that mirrors the vibes and values of Obama's administration; "Love Me JeJe," from Nigerian singer Tems, is somehow both lush and light-hearted in its fusion of Afropop and R&B.

You can listen to all 44 tracks on Obama's summer playlist via Spotify.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at [email protected] or by calling 573-815-1731. He's on Twitter/X @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Barack Obama's summer playlist: Check out these 13 highlights