iTunes knows exactly how to celebrate a federal holiday. Who, for instance, will ever forget “Christmas in Fallujah“? So, imagine my endless and unspeakable delight when I came across this yesterday:
48 songs, all about or inspired by Barack Obama! And, of course, you have the obvious choices — will.i.am, Wyclef, Nas — and then you have some lesser known acts. Lesser known, I suspect, for a reason. But on The Most Historic Day in All of Our Collective Lives and the Lives of the Three Generations Immediately Preceding and Succeeding Ours, you’ll need a good mixtape. I offer this and nothing more. Six Songs of Glory that, keep this in mind, iTunes is actually selling for cash money.
1. “Obama” — Pistol Opera
Straight off the political soundtrack of one of those Christian Youth Group Videos, presented to a group of jaded fourteen year-olds staring in grim horror as some tool with spiky hair tries to show how much he gets them and their “text messaging” and their “MySpace” like four years after MySpace is cool and where the Lord fits into MySpace anyway it’s kind of unclear, we have Pistol Opera.
The finest lyrics that will ever grace your ears:
From Chicago, where fog comes on little cat feet
So haters stop running your trap talking smack
Get on the O train; stop acting wack [...]Taco Bell to Tijuana / Britney to Madonna
The hiphop Dalai Lama / Obama, Obama
Cornbread made of manna / A soulfood intifada
I think you’re gonna wanna vote / Obama, Obama
Has such grandeur ever been written before? Will it ever again?
2. “Obama for Change” — Kenge Kenge
I won’t lie, I really think this is a cover of the final song in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
3. Obama Power — Lou Del Bianco
Hey, take a hand, take a stand, the time is now! Because, after all, there’s a feeling in the air, we’ve never felt before. It is most likely the unfamiliar sensation of your ears bleeding. This is the Rent soundtrack version of a kindergarten sharing’n'caring song.
4. This Incredible Moment — DEE and The SOT (…I don’t know)
Within the first verse of this song, DEE (or The SOT) draws an allusion to the illustrious song of our youth “I Believe I Can Fly” and then sort of rips on Kelly Clarkson’s “Waiting for a Moment Like This.” From here, we journey to something that falls between “Miss America’s Farewell” and “Something Whitney Would Have Sung in The Bodyguard.” It’s all very incredible. The moment, that is. It’s an incredible moment. Is this song even about Barack Obama?
5. O! Oh! Obama! — La Campagnie Creole
This is a fun song to make up translatable lyrics for. “Ironically, many early indicators now suggest, faced with the complexities of terrorist aggressions, the administration will defer the end of Gitmo, which will not occur within the formerly expedient timeframe. Ohhhhhhh. Obamaaaa. Obamaaaa.”
6. “Yes We Can” — The Power of O
For when you’re feeling sexy and just ever so slightly sassy, and you want to listen to an Obama speech to which you can dance. Perfect for the intellectual Friday night.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
hey – i wrote “obama” by pistol opera, and it’s intended to be a comic novelty song; judging it by the artistic standards you’re using is lazy and unfair.
and yes, although i support obama, i believe strongly in capitalism (as does he) and am selling my musical creation with the intention of making a profit, something i’m very proud to be able to do as an american (excuse my lack of proper capitalization; i’m holding my child, who i intend to feed with proceeds from this song’s sales, with one hand).
in any case, continue being as snarky about the way mr. obama has inspired this nation as you want. i would put our country’s success/failure ratio for the next 8 years (yes, it will be
up against that of the past 8 years SIGHT UNSEEN, right now, today, for any quantity of good old green american cash.
god bless the USA, and god bless barack obama – I’M OUT BYTCHES!
eli braden, l.a., ca