Lupita Reads
asked
Barack Obama:
It is such an honor to be able to ask you a question! As someone, who follows your annual "drops" of favorite books and songs I'd love to ask you if by any chance you will be creating a playlist to accompany A PROMISED LAND? If not, what are two songs that you would consider as the "soundtrack" of it?
Barack Obama
Lupita, just for you, I put together a playlist of songs that reflect memories of my time on the campaign trail and in the White House.
When it comes to writing, though, I typically like to have a clear head, free of distraction. I might listen to some jazz if I feel like I’m in a good flow, but that’s about it. I am reminded, though, of a couple conversations I had in the White House with Cody, my chief speechwriter. He wasn’t big into jazz, but I told him once to read James Baldwin when he’s stuck on a speech and listen to John Coltrane when he’s not. And on one particularly weighty draft he turned in, I told him to go home that night, pour a drink, and listen to some Miles Davis. I told him the thing about Miles Davis is the silences. The notes he doesn’t play. So with that in mind, go take another swing at your draft, find me some silences, and then I’ll get to work.
Cody returned the favor once. When we were working on my 2016 State of the Union Address, he suggested we approach it like Jay-Z’s “My 1st Song.” To feel the same hunger I felt as a younger man, even entering my eighth year as President of the United States. To “treat my first like my last, and my last like my first/And my thirst is the same as when I came…Like I never rode in a limo/Like I just dropped flows to a demo…”
I pulled the song up on my iPad and we listened to the whole thing in the Oval Office. It was solid advice. It’s a solid song. It keeps me steady. It reminds you that you always have to stay hungry. So naturally, I put it on my A Promised Land playlist, too.
When it comes to writing, though, I typically like to have a clear head, free of distraction. I might listen to some jazz if I feel like I’m in a good flow, but that’s about it. I am reminded, though, of a couple conversations I had in the White House with Cody, my chief speechwriter. He wasn’t big into jazz, but I told him once to read James Baldwin when he’s stuck on a speech and listen to John Coltrane when he’s not. And on one particularly weighty draft he turned in, I told him to go home that night, pour a drink, and listen to some Miles Davis. I told him the thing about Miles Davis is the silences. The notes he doesn’t play. So with that in mind, go take another swing at your draft, find me some silences, and then I’ll get to work.
Cody returned the favor once. When we were working on my 2016 State of the Union Address, he suggested we approach it like Jay-Z’s “My 1st Song.” To feel the same hunger I felt as a younger man, even entering my eighth year as President of the United States. To “treat my first like my last, and my last like my first/And my thirst is the same as when I came…Like I never rode in a limo/Like I just dropped flows to a demo…”
I pulled the song up on my iPad and we listened to the whole thing in the Oval Office. It was solid advice. It’s a solid song. It keeps me steady. It reminds you that you always have to stay hungry. So naturally, I put it on my A Promised Land playlist, too.
More Answered Questions
Daryl Muranaka
asked
Barack Obama:
As a president who has spent a lot of time working on your writing craft, I wanted to ask about your process. Did you set aside a daily time to write or do it in clumps? Given your busy scheduled, I'm wondering how you fit in the time to not just write but also THINK about the actual words and structures you were going to use. How long would you take on your first sentences for the chapters and for the memoir itself?
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