Round Up: Top Ten Obama Songs

Earlier this morning, I was reading the New York Times and decided it would be interesting to count exactly how many times the word ‘Obama’ was printed on the front page… I got dizzy before the fold. True, our new commander-in-chief is receiving massive amounts of exposure from media that’s saturated with Obama-this and Obama-that, but countless musicians across the globe are working even harder to get the word out about the new Prez.

Some of them are genuinely well-written songs; some are just so absurd it’s hilarious. Out of the many tributes, here are my top ten Obama songs:

10. Billy Madden: “A Change Has Finally Come” – Here we have a revised version of Sam Cooke’s 1964 hit “A Change is Gonna Come,” which Madden performed on inauguration day with a few lyrics switched around. Some are calling it President Obama’s “anthem.” Madden’s soulful crooning is worthy, but there are few other candidates that bump it to the bottom of my list. Check out the song here.

9. Of Great and Mortal Men: ”Someone to Wake (Barack Obama)”: We already gave you a heads up about this one earlier this week, and I stand by my words that this stuff is epic indie at its best. Vocals lent from Centro-Matic front man Will Johnson encapsulate something a little bit closer to an “anthem.” Download the song from NPR’s website.

8. will.i.am – “Yes We Can”: Soul and hip-hop comprise a large portion of this list. Obama is doing wonders for some of these crooners and underground MCs. The Black Eyed Peas‘ will.i.am takes the crooner approach on this one (a little bit corny, but appropriate). Watch the music video of  ”Yes We Can” here.

7. Bruce Springsteen: “Working on a Dream”: Yes, Springsteen is still good – he deserves this spot. Stop denying it check out this video for the title track on his new record.

6. Ludacris – “Politics (Obama is Here)”: With my Tejas heritage, I have to include a little dirty dirty south-side love for Obama. Anyone who gets in a line like  ”Bush is mentally hanicapped” followed by an “Obama is here!” chant scores points in my book. Once again, the actual video for the song was removed from the internet, but here’s a YouTube still-vid with the entire song over it.

5. Extra Golden - “Obama”: Really I’m just a sucker for African grooves. If you haven’t heard Extra Golden yet, this is a good place to start. And get this – they’re half-Kenyan (two members hail from the East African country) and so is Obama!

4. Michael Franti and Spearhead – “Obama Song”: OK. This is one of the funny ones. I generally dig Michael Franti, but the ‘Barack Obama!’ refrain on this one is just too cheesy. However, Franti’s Mc skills and his backup singers make for an undeniably catchy mix, so download it while it’s free! This one will gain club remix status in no time.

3. Tony Nyadundo – “Obama!”: If you haven’t heard the style of Kenyan music called Ohlangla (which features eight drummers!), check out Nyadundo, one of the most reputed Ohlangla musicians in Kenya. At almost 11 minutes in length and with some other sweet string and flute instruments (that I can’t pronounce, spell or explain), this masterpiece is the closest to an Obama anthem yet.

2. Mr. Lif – “Obama”: From legendary underground hip-hop crew The Perceptionists comes Mr. Lif with a balls-out, come-out-swingin’ critique of the United States’ last 8-year-long presidency (disaster) under He-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named (special thanks to J.K. Rowling for the metaphor). The politically conscious rapper continues with a call for future hope with some of the sweetest rhymes of the new year mixed with speech samples from of our new leader. The song title may lack originality, but the download, available on iTunes, makes up for it with four tracks, including a radio edit, instrumental and a’capella version.

1. Daft Punk & Adam Freeland – “Aer Obama”: The next big thing is going to be Obama-themed dance parties. I’m calling this one right here and now. And this remix of Daft Punk’s “Aerodynamic” by Adam Freeland, this piece of genius, will be THE ANTHEM. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the video (made entirely with stop-animated action figures), and if you think this shit is mind-blowing, “you are correct!”

What song do you think should be President Obama’s anthem?

Photos available via MySpace.