President Obama made headlines earlier this week when he released his personal summer playlists to the world, dropping a sort of national mixtape via Spotify. Mixing tracks from Chance The Rapper, Nina Simone, Miles Davis, and even, eclectically enough, Fiona Apple, it was a reminder of how nice the era of the “Cool President” has been, and how much we’re going to miss it (regardless of who ends up winning the election in November).
Never one to lag behind, Obama’s vice president and friendship bracelet partner Joe Biden has now also issued his own personal sounds of the summer. And, not to speak ill of the President Of The Senate, but, well… Take a look:
Look, we know the Vice President of the United States isn’t really “Diamond” Joe Biden, the beer-swilling, Trans-Am-loving maverick invented by our colleagues at The Onion. But come on, Joe: throw us a bone here. “You Are So Beautiful”? “Hallelujah?” Fuckin’ Coldplay? (We’re not going to lie, though: there’s something a little bit metal about including a cast recording from Les Mis in your nationally available summer jams playlist.) But seriously: Where’s Warrant? Where’s Zep? Mr. Vice President, where‘s The Nuge or the Dan?
Not to diminish the honesty of Biden’s musical selections—or the kickass sax solo in Tina Turner’s “The Best”—but we felt moved to put together our own Biden Summer Jam playlist, one that matches up a little more closely with the vice president living in our hearts. Observant readers might note that it’s just the entirety of Scorpion’s Love At First Sting, a brief break for a little “Wango Tango,” and then right back into Steely Dan’s Can’t Buy A Thrill. This is not a bug.