Last week, Barack Obama dropped his annual summer reading recommendations and music playlist, a highly anticipated tradition that never fails to generate major buzz. And now it looks like the Tastemaker-in-Chief has just struck again: Obama just released a playlist called “Night Driving (Shirtless)” that consists of 72 hours of wordless carnival music.
Hell yes! This is an amazing glimpse into what Obama listens to when he’s driving around with his shirt off in the dark!
The ex-POTUS posted the playlist at 2:30 a.m. last night on all all his social media accounts along with the message, “If you’re like me, then you used to be president and you like to toss your shirt in the pool, hop in your car, and drive in the dark while Michelle stays at home and practices her electric drum set. This is the perfect music for that.”
Every song on Obama’s playlist, which when played end-to-end is over three days long, consisted of the bright, upbeat calliope music associated with circuses and carnivals. When someone on Instagram asked, “Why is it all carnival music?” Obama replied, “Because I listen to it with my shirt off,” and did not elaborate further. The president also showed off his impressively eclectic tastes by including a mix of old songs like 1979’s “Clown’s Emergency” and new material like “Juggler Finds You Always,” which was released earlier this summer. Fans of carnival music of all kinds are going to find something to love on this amazing playlist!
While none of the songs had lyrics, some of them did include the sounds of people moaning in pain in the background while chipper organ music played. “The people moaning are clowns and acrobats,” Obama explained in a follow-up post. “And for those of you who are wondering: YES I chose the music myself. Someone from my staff tried to recommend a carnival song for my night driving playlist and I slapped him.”
This is seriously so cool! Just when we thought Obama couldn’t get any cooler, he casually reveals to the world that he’s a big-time carnival music nut. Needless to say, this is going to be the main playlist blasting out of car stereos all over the nation for the rest of the summer!
