A former president’s duty is never truly done, especially since those duties are usually limited to “don’t do anything” and “show up when they open your library,” but Barack Obama has courageously continued working on his annual summer playlist—one of the keys to the relative unity we all shared when he was in office. (And this is not to be confused with his annual list of his favorite music of the year, which is totally separate list that he also personally complies all by himself every year.)
Anyway, Obama put out his summer playlist, and like all of his playlists, it’s a weird mix of stuff that definitely seems like something he’d like and stuff that seems suspiciously hip for a former president (not to mention dad) in his 60s. But whatever, if any of this is less than true, it has to rank pretty damn low on the list of things that politicians have lied about. So what’s on the playlist? It includes Obama’s podcast partner Bruce Springsteen (and a pretty famous track of his at that), Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy,” Nina Simon’s “Do I Move You?,” Joe Cocker’s “Feelin’ Alright,” Al Green’s “I Can’t Get Next To You,” and—in one of the most surprising picks we’ve ever seen on one of these Obama lists—“Praise You” by Fatboy Slim. Yes, not only is someone listening to “Praise You” in 20-goddamn-22, but that someone is Barack Obama.
“Praise You” aside, the list also has a lot of newer songs (newer than “Praise You” by Fatboy Slim?!), like “Break My Soul” by Beyoncé (is Obama hinting that he’s going to quit his job, whatever that is?), Harry Styles’ “Music For A Sushi Restaurant,” and “Angelica” by Wet Leg. Also, we’ve had “Praise You” playing in another tab, and we’ve gotta say: It still hits. Obama was right! Song of the summer!