Predictable, actually.

Washington -- What, exactly, is on the First iPod? In an era of celebrity playlists -- Tom Brady, the New England Patriots quarterback, recently posted his on the iTunes online music store -- what does the presidential selection of downloaded songs tell us about Bush?

First, Bush's iPod is heavy on traditional country singers like George Jones, Alan Jackson and Kenny Chesney. He has selections by Van Morrison, whose "Brown Eyed Girl" is a Bush favorite, and by John Fogerty, most predictably "Centerfield," which was played at Texas Rangers games when Bush was an owner and is still played at ballparks all over America.

The president also has an eclectic mix of songs downloaded into his iPod from Mark McKinnon, a biking buddy and his chief media strategist during the 2004 campaign. Among them are "Circle Back" by John Hiatt, "(You're So Square) Baby, I Don't Care" by Joni Mitchell, and "My Sharona," the 1979 song by the Knack that Joe Levy, a deputy managing editor at Rolling Stone in charge of music coverage, cheerfully branded "suggestive if not outright filthy" in an interview last week.

Bush has had his Apple iPod since July, when he received it from his twin daughters as a birthday gift. He has some 250 songs on it, a paltry number compared with the 10,000 selections it holds. Bush, as leader of the free world, does not take the time to download the music himself; that task falls to his personal aide, Blake Gottesman, who buys individual songs and albums, including Jones' and Jackson's greatest hits, from the iTunes music store. As for an analysis of Bush's playlist, Levy of Rolling Stone started out with this: "One thing that's interesting is that the president likes artists who don't like him."

Levy was referring to Fogerty, who was part of the anti-Bush "Vote for Change" concert tour across the United States last fall. McKinnon, who once wrote songs for Kris Kristofferson's music publishing company, responded in an e-mail that "if any president limited his music selection to pro-establishment musicians, it would be a pretty slim collection."

Nonetheless, McKinnon said that Bush had not gone so far as to include on his playlists "Fortunate Son," the angry anti-Vietnam War song about who has to go to war that Fogerty sang when he was with Creedence Clearwater Revival. ("I ain't no senator's son/ Some folks are born silver spoon in hand.") As the son of a two-term congressman and a U.S. Senate candidate, Bush won a spot with the Texas Air National Guard that kept him out of action in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Levy sized up the rest of the collection of the 58-year-old president.

"What we're talking about is a lot of great artists from the '60s and '70s and more modern artists who sound like great artists from the '60s and '70s," he said. "This is basically Boomer rock 'n' roll and more recent music out of Nashville made for Boomers. It's safe, it's reliable, it's loving. What I mean to say is, it's feel-good music. The Sex Pistols it's not."

Jones, Levy said, was nonetheless an interesting choice.

"George Jones is the greatest living singer in country music and a recovering alcoholic who often sings about heartbreak and drinking," he said. "It tells you that the president knows a thing or two about country music and is serious about his love of country music."

The songs by Jackson indicate that the president "has a little bit of a taste for hard core and honky-tonk," Levy said, adding that both Jackson and Jones "are not about cute and pop, and they're not getting by on their looks." And while Chesney "is about cute and pop and gets by on his looks," Levy said, "he's also all about serious country music."
[Edited 4/11/05 8:01am]

he can use an ipod!

Stax said:

What, no Toby Keith or David Allan Coe?

RipHer2Shreds said:

he must be a HUGE Madonna fan

jayaredee said:

Yeah, but he'd likely choose a bad song like Did You Do It over an appropriate workout song like Into the Groove. "Did I do it? Well, yeah...I went and did it, alright!"

"Rappin' Duke" by Shawn Brown because he thinks he's fucking John Wayne....

party.....uh...over..here
party.....uh...over..there

Aretha Franklin let me rock you, let me rock you, let me rock you....Aretha Franklin....

Ted Nugent?

I know of at least one track on Saddaam Hussien's ipod.

You dropped the bomb on me. - Gap Band

Stax said:

[Edited 4/11/05 13:37pm]
[Edited 4/11/05 13:40pm]

ALL MY EX'S LIVE IN TEXAS!
YAAAHOOOOO....

Do we really need this kind of PR story...NO!

RipHer2Shreds said:

Even this turns into a Madonna thread....

twink69 said:

I don't have an Ipod but I'm sure I could use it without much thought. It doesn't take a genuis. Also, I'm pretty sure he had someone help him with it as well.


Monkey....

[Edited 4/11/05 17:35pm]

dreamfactory313 said:

that's what i was hoping was on it.

prob... Dixie Chics

Songs people have never heard of.

"How to kill innocent people in Iraq" - Techno

"Fuckin Up the Deficit" - Punk

"I still do blow and snort it off of hookers backs" - Slave2daGroove

"Korea? Who the fuck are they" - Metal

"Fistfights, Wars, I haven't been in Either" - some country tune

Stax said:

That's all that needs to be said, really.




[Edited 4/13/05 19:45pm]

JACKAL said:

Now, I grew up on all kinds of music and Country was one of them. I sorry but Legs can't hate on Old School Country. If you were to put together a list of Great Male Old Schol Country Artist, you would have to have George Jones, Waylon Jennings, Kenny Rodgers, Willie Nelson,Alabama, Don Williams, and Glen Campbell for starters.
[Edited 4/13/05 19:55pm]

Hotlegs said:

Add Conway Twitty, to your list, Ms. Legs....

I'll never be able to listen to Joni Mitchell again.

King James version of the Bible

funkpill said:

don't forget Hank and Merle...

"Paint The White House Black" - George Clinton

FunkMistress said:

I feel whatcha sayin FunkMistress. Ain't nuthin wrong w/funkin in CC..
[Edited 4/14/05 12:33pm]

Hotlegs said:

Now, there's an artist who gets overlooked a lot. I know that he used to tour occasionally with Eric Clapton, and I read somewhere that he was one of Clapton's and Mark Knopfler's favorite artists. Clapton covered his song "We're All the Way" on Slowhand (one of the highlights of that album, IMO), and he also covered "Tulsa Time" on a live album. In return, Don Williams has covered "Lay Down Sally" and "Wonderful Tonight."

Don Williams' music is country, but it's very much in the country-folk style. Very laid back and very easy to listen to. I've also read that he's huge in Africa.

JACKAL said:

What's that shit suppose to mean Jackal?

Hotlegs said:

Just that. I read somewhere that he's extremely popular in Africa. I went searching a discography and he's got several live albums recorded there and a DVD from Zimbabwe. It just seemed wierd that of all of the American acts to be huge in Africa, he would be one, considering that he's not really all that popular here anymore.