What's on Bush's iPod?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Pengwuino
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the music preferences of President Bush as revealed by his iPod playlist, including artists like The Beach Boys, The Beatles, and Aretha Franklin. Participants express their opinions on his musical taste, speculate on the implications of his choices, and engage in debates about music classification and cultural perceptions.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express disbelief or humor regarding Bush's music choices, with comments on the incongruity of a president listening to certain artists.
  • There are mixed feelings about The Beatles, with some participants stating they dislike the band while others defend their popularity and artistic merit.
  • One participant suggests that Bush's playlist could be a PR stunt, questioning the authenticity of the music choices.
  • Debate arises over the classification of bands as "artists," with some arguing that it is incorrect to refer to a band in the singular form.
  • Participants discuss the cultural differences in language usage, particularly between American and British English regarding the treatment of band names.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally disagree on the value of The Beatles and the appropriateness of referring to bands as singular artists. The discussion remains unresolved with multiple competing views on these topics.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved assumptions regarding the implications of Bush's music choices and the cultural context of music classification. The discussion reflects varying interpretations of language and music appreciation.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in music culture, political commentary, and language usage in music classification may find this discussion engaging.

Pengwuino
Gold Member
Messages
5,112
Reaction score
20
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=13388&Page=1&pagePos=1

Artists on the presidential shuffle include: The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Alan Jackson, Alison Krauss, The Archies, Aretha Franklin and Don McLean, apparently.

I can't believe I voted for this guy...
 
Science news on Phys.org
Aretha Franklin? Ha! That's Awesome!

I can't believe I didn't vote for this guy! (well, not really)
 
Bush calls Don McLean, the singer songwriter behind classic track "American Pie", Dan McClean, until he is corrected.
Hehe!

Amazing, a Nixon-wannabe listens to the Beatles for fun. Am I the only person on the face of the Earth who thinks they suck?
 
Pengwino said:
The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Alan Jackson, Alison Krauss, The Archies, Aretha Franklin and Don McLean, apparently.
I can't believe I voted for this guy
You expected him to be listening to Green Day, Audioslave, and Linkin Park?

I thought his playslists sounds pretty cool. In fact, I stole and hacked his ipod, now I have Dick Cheney's home number. Prank calling anyone?
 
I think the last thing we need is an 'emo' president. I personally think his taste isn't that bad.
 
rachmaninoff said:
Hehe!
Amazing, a Nixon-wannabe listens to the Beatles for fun.
Nixon-wannabe? Kind of harsh, and completely untrue, don't use such overexaggeration and facts to back up your statement, and you might not sound so ten-year-old.
Am I the only person on the face of the Earth who thinks they suck?
Uhm, yes. They are arguably, the top selling artist in the world.
 
Mk said:
Uhm, yes. They are arguably, the top selling artist in the world.

I hated the beatles :mad:
 
Hurrah, there are two of us!
 
Is it just me or are people absolutely nuts with their music? I mean mp3s on their computer, ipods, in their cars... the hells with people
 
  • #10
rachmaninoff said:
Hehe!
Amazing, a Nixon-wannabe listens to the Beatles for fun. Am I the only person on the face of the Earth who thinks they suck?

Yes, one person and one penguin.

It's a bit outdated, but Bush's music list ain't bad. If he ran again, I'd laugh less before voting for his opponent.
 
  • #11
Seeing the reactions this is getting from all of you, I have to wonder if this was not some sort of PR stunt after all... if some guy with a degree in marketing prepared the iPod and trained the President how to pronounce all the proper names. The President still mispronounced some of them, though.
 
  • #12
I don't really care for the beatles either.
 
  • #13
Uhm, yes. They are arguably, the top selling artist in the world.

The beatles were a band not an artist, a very good one, but if you are also going to make statements like that you should also back up your statement, but I think you will find it false regardless :-)
 
  • #14
Anttech said:
The beatles were a band not an artist, a very good one, but if you are also going to make statements like that you should also back up your statement, but I think you will find it false regardless :-)

Well, technically they are artists.
 
Last edited:
  • #15
rachmaninoff said:
Seeing the reactions this is getting from all of you, I have to wonder if this was not some sort of PR stunt after all...

What were you expecting him to listen to? Dying baby seals?
 
  • #16
Anttech said:
The beatles were a band not an artist, a very good one, but if you are also going to make statements like that you should also back up your statement, but I think you will find it false regardless :-)

It's standard to refer to bands as artists in this context. The Beatles are the top-selling artist in the US:

http://www.riaa.com/gp/bestsellers/topartists.asp"

I don't know how they stand worldwide. Last I'd heard, ABBA was outselling them, but I don't know if that's still true.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #17
SpaceTiger said:
What were you expecting him to listen to? Dying baby seals?
If they were Iraqi baby seals, yes.
I don't know if there's any hard and fast rule about bands in general, but they're certainly categorized as 'artists' for indexing and reference purposes. And the Beatles were the best as far as I'm concerned. By that, I mean that if I could only listen to one artist for the rest of my life, there's no question that I would choose them. You can't possibly get bored of a selection that ranges from 'She Loves You' through 'Come Together' to 'Fool on the Hill'. Their variety was incredible. That's one reason why I also love Elton John's stuff.
 
Last edited:
  • #18
Yeah I have to agree with Danger here, I would choose the Beatles if I could only listen to one group/artist/band/whatever for the rest of my life.
 
  • #19
It's standard to refer to bands as artists in this context.

Yeh but it isn't standard to refer to a band as an artist (singular).

The Beatles are the top-selling artist in the US:
Thats just wrong... How can a group of people be referred to in the singular?
 
  • #20
Anttech said:
Thats just wrong... How can a group of people be referred to in the singular?

I think you should write an angry email to the Recording Industry Association of America explaining why their use of the word "artist" is inappropriate.
 
  • #21
Anttech said:
Yeh but it isn't standard to refer to a band as an artist (singular).

Thats just wrong... How can a group of people be referred to in the singular?

I think it's more common to use singular tense of a verb in American English for band or group names, especially if the band name doesn't end with a plural word. I've read predominantly British-used message boards and had found that strange when reading it the other way. As far as calling them an artist, well I guess the implication could be that all their artistic talents combine to one distinguishable artistic output. Or, I'm just making things up.
 
  • #22
SpaceTiger said:
I think you should write an angry email to the Recording Industry Association of America explaining why their use of the word "artist" is inappropriate.

Ha ha :-p
 
  • #23
I think you should write an angry email to the Recording Industry Association of America explaining why their use of the word "artist" is inappropriate
Why angry? I was just confused with you using singular where it would be better to use plural. And the fact you seem to justify it by sending me to a Recording Industry web site, which has nothing to do with English grammar.
I think it's more common to use singular tense of a verb in American English for band or group names, especially if the band name doesn't end with a plural word.
Well that makes more sence.. In England (the place where english is from :eek: ) they wouldn't say that.
 
  • #24
Anttech said:
I was just confused with you using singular where it would be better to use plural. And the fact you seem to justify it by sending me to a Recording Industry web site, which has nothing to do with English grammar...*snip*...In England (the place where english is from ) they wouldn't say that.

Urge to kill ... rising ...
 
  • #25
SpaceTiger said:
What were you expecting him to listen to? Dying baby seals?
Am I the only one? :rolleyes:
 
  • #26
I think that's a band from Sweden.
 
  • #27
Mk said:
Am I the only one? :rolleyes:

I'd love it if he did.
 
  • #28
Anttech said:
Well that makes more sence.. In England (the place where english is from :eek: ) they wouldn't say that.

Well, if we're going to be picky, then you better start making sense.

It isn't even odd to group people and refer to the group as a singular thing. The artists form a band. The bands form a label. The labels form an association. The association is protecting its copyright. The band is an artist. The band is made of artists.

Just because the name looks plural does not make it plural. The Beatles is a band. The charts show The Beatles as a high-ranking artist.

Us silly yanks want to making everything into groups that can be managed as singular people.
 
  • #29
Lol... welcome to PF Sharpie.
 
  • #30
Maybe people expected that he'd be a big Wagner fan like Hitler?
I really couldn't see him enjoying opera much.
 

Similar threads

News Bush Honest & Trustworthy Until How Many Lies?
  • · Replies 65 ·
3
Replies
65
Views
12K