I’m Joe Biden and I Approve This Music
Ever wonder what’s on Joe Biden’s playlist?
In what promises to be a brutal battle with Team McCain, newly announced Democratic V,P. nominee Joe Biden will need musical inspiration of sorts to keep him grounded on the campaign trail. Here are 10 songs on Biden’s playlist and why.
- “Simple Twist of Fate,” Bob Dylan
- “I Get Rough,” Mikey D & The LA Posse
- “You Talk Too Much,” Run-DMC
- “I Changed My Mind,” Keyshia Cole
- “All Around the World,” Lisa Stanfield
- “Don’t Say Nuthin’,” The Roots
- “Obama’s Here (Politics As Usual),” Ludacris
- “Black or White,” Michael Jackson
- “Warrior Song,” Nas
Biden was only contacted about being a possible V.P. nominee last month, so he wasn’t exactly a top pick at the beginning of the vetting process. He enjoyed a big bump after the Russia-Georgia conflict broke out. Due to that simple twist of fate and other world events, Biden’s stock rose through the roof. Need proof? Obama cited the situation in Georgia while breaking the news to other Veep prospects.
“If you ever wanna battle, I won’t refuse” – Mikey D
It’s an unwritten rule in presidential campaigns that Vice-Presidential nominees get to do all the dirty work. Biden is already known in DC and Delaware for speaking his mind, so this should be a piece of cake to him. What song to better characterize his role as Obama’s attack dog than Mikey D’s “I Get Rough,” which was originally aimed at LL Cool J in 1987?
“So Fresh, So Clean,” OutKast
Show of hands if you remember when and how Joe Biden announced his presidential bid. OK, thought so. But I’m sure many remember when Biden caught some flack for describing Obama as the “first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean.” Who knew that the 65-year old Biden had been bumping OutKast’s “So Fresh, So Clean” at the time?
Well, you knew this one was coming. It’s not news to any political observer that Biden is a barrel of gaffes who has a propensity for making politically incorrect remarks. Last summer Biden attempted to impress an Indian-American supporter by telling him that in Delaware, “you can’t go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.” Well, this Run-DMC classic will remind him to stick to the script next time.
Like many career politicians, Biden changes his mind more times than he changes his tie. He changed his mind on the Iraq war, which he voted for. He changed his mind on Obama’s readiness. And now that he’s riding with Barack, he’s no longer down with “my good friend” John McCain.
Being a foreign policy rock star that travels around the world orchestrating deals with political leaders, Lisa Stanfield’s “All Around the World” is the perfect soundtrack to Biden’s world renown foreign relations experience.
See “You Talk Too Much”
Why “Politics As Usual”? Well, pick your weapon. Picking a 6-term senator who’s been in Washington for 36 years hardly spells “Politics as Never Been Done Before.” Plus, Biden will need to draw inspiration from Luda’s scathing indictment of McCain and Bush while brainstorming his own attack.
During one of the Democratic debates, Biden won a vote of confidence from Obama on the issue of race. “I have absolutely no doubt about what is in his heart and the commitment that he has made with respect to racial equality in this country,” Obama said. “Joe is on the right side of the issues and is fighting every day for a better America.” You probably won’t hear him say it out loud, but within his heart Biden has to be excited about the prospect of helping Obama make history in November.
Sure, it’s easy to make Biden the butt of jokes on SNL, but you can’t talk about the man without mentioning the gruesome personal battles he’s faced and conquered. From 2 bouts with cranial aneurysms that nearly killed him to the 1972 car crash that claimed the lives of his wife and his daughter, he’s seen it all. Like Nas who overcame his mom’s death to record one of his finest albums, Biden bounced back from those tragedies to become a Vice-Presidential candidate.
