Amph Presidential Playlists: Martin Van Buren ?Indian Reservation?

By Bonnie Stiernberg
Presidential Playlist: A Song for Every Commander-in-Chief

"[Yester]day, as the nation honors our fearless leaders (or, you know, hits the mall for some ridiculous deals), we at Paste pay tribute to the country?s highest office with a track for every president (before you ask: Grover Cleveland only gets one).

We chose songs that were written specifically about certain presidents when possible, but while there?s a bevy of material about JFK, Lincoln and Nixon, finding tracks about Millard Fillmore proved to be a little more difficult. For cases like those, we tried to get a little more creative, choosing songs that represent a theme or factoid from that president?s life.

Without further ado, we give you our Presidential Playlist. Be sure to let us know in the comments section if there?s an awesome Rutherford B. Hayes jam we missed.

George Washington
?No More Kings? by Pavement

Stephen Malkmus and company teach us all about taxation without representation by covering this Schoolhouse Rock classic. But if historical accuracy?s not your thing and you prefer to hear about how our first president ?ate opponent?s brains and invented cocaine,? we recommend Brad Neely?s hilarious Washington rap."

Music Clip

 

Thank god Benjamin Franklin wasn't a president.

Mind you, I still expect a hurricane of bad puns.

 

There must be a better song about George Washington...

 

This is an absolutely absurd and ridiculous idea and I am therefore signed on for the duration. I seriously hope that the song for Taft is I Like Big Butts.

This is not the best song for Washington, surely. I can't think of any others off the top of my head though.

 

It isn't. But I wish it was.

 

John Adams
?Je T?aime Moi Non Plus? by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin

"Adams? presidency was marked by foreign policy disputes with France, who was at war with Britain at the time. So what better track for Adams then this ode to Anglo-Franco lovin? by one of France?s finest and his English girlfriend?"

Music clip

Rotten stupid Eurostuff. I much prefer the music to the "John Adams" miniseries:

Music clip

 

John Adams has got to be turning over in his grave. The "song" he gets assigned to his presidency? A porn soundtrack. Right. Well, at least it's soft core.

 

Thomas Jefferson
?Goin? To Louisiana? by John Lee Hooker

Jefferson nearly doubled the size of our country in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase, purchasing 828,000 square miles for just $15 million. No word on whether he also bought a ?mojo hand.?

Music Clip

Well, the Stones "Brown Sugar" did occur to me, but yeah, it's tasteless.

 

I will never complain about anyone selecting John Lee Hooker for any playlist of any time. Though, yes, I had exactly the same thought about Brown Sugar.

 

Brown Sugar is too good for this list.

 

James Madison
?The Battle of New Orleans? by Johnny Horton

"This 1959 country hit recounts the story of the Battle of New Orleans, a key victory for the U.S. in the War of 1812 during Madison?s presidency."

Music clip

Why Madison? Andrew Jackson is actually mentioned in the song--twice--so wouldn't he be the better choice?

Try "Yankee Doodle Dandy" which was written during his presidency, instead.

 

I actually don't mind this song so much, though it does seem it would fit better under Jackson. It's seen as a piece of camp now, I think, but it's actually a pretty fun song.

 

James Monroe
?Keep Your Hands To Yourself? by Georgia Satellites

Music Clip

"The Monroe Doctrine, laid out during the president?s seventh State of the Union, warned that further European colonization of North and South America would be seen as an act of aggression requiring American intervention."

Clip about Monroe's presidency--does this sound familiar?

John Quincy Adams is the guy in American history with plenty to complain about. The song? It's a natural for JFK or Clinton.

 

The more things change the more they stay the same.

I think referencing the Monroe Doctrine is probably the way to go with his song on this list. But there are surely better "**** off" songs than the one they picked. Of course, the only one coming to mind at the moment is Pink's U + Ur Hand, which isn't any better than the one they picked. Maybe Ceelo's **** You? No, seriously, what about Hank Williams' Mind Your Own Business?

 

John Quincy Adams
?I Predict A Riot? by Kaiser Chiefs

"John Quincy Adams was strongly opposed to slavery, and he correctly predicted that the only way it would be abolished would be if a civil war were to break out."

How about "Little Ye Know Who's Coming" by Trusty Sidekick (allegedly Adams' actual campaign song)?

 

I Predict a Riot is a great song. But what about The Addams Family? You know, because of the father-son thing.

 

Yes!

 

Andrew Jackson

?The Jackass Song? by Harry Belafonte

'Democrats today have Jackson to thank for the party?s mascot. Opponents referred to him as a ?jackass,? but rather than get offended, Jackson owned it, using the animal as a symbol on campaign materials.'

 

Pretty weak. As posted above, The Battle of New Orleans makes much more sense.

 

Martin Van Buren
?Indian Reservation? by Paul Revere & The Raiders

?Indian Reservation? is inspired by the Trail of Tears?the forced relocation of many Native American tribes to small reservations in the West?which Van Buren oversaw."

Music Clip

Again, this took place mostly under Jackson (who was an enthusiastic genocidist/ethnic cleaser).

This is a song re: Van Buren called "The Little Magician" but I wasn't able to find either the lyrics or a clip.