The Rolling Stone article entitled “Obama’s Secret Record Collection” immediately caught my eye. The journalist, David Browne, begins by saying, “When Barack Obama moved into the White House on January 20th, he gained access to five chefs, a private bowling alley- and a killer collection of LPs."
Perfect. After months and months of being bombarded with terms like "bailout," "recession" and even “Joe the Plumber,” I was appreciative of an article about the president that didn’t make me furrow my brow and worry about the future. I am certainly not discrediting these issues as legitimate, far-reaching concerns; I am simply saying that it was refreshing to read an article about the White House that captured my interest without an accompanying feeling of nausea and panic.
Preface aside, I enjoyed Browne’s tongue-in-cheek discourse on the evolution of the record collection in various presidential administrations. In 1973, during the Nixon administration, the RIAA, the record companies’ trade group, donated 2,000 albums to the Library. Browne humorously adds that there is a downside to this benevolent gift. “The bad news: The selection was dominated by the likes of Pat Boone, the Carpenters and John Denver,” Browne says, with the biting sarcasm that has become a prerequisite for any Rolling Stone reporter.
Browne includes interesting touches in his article, including that each LP is marked with the presidential seal. I also enjoyed how he documents the respective personalities of several presidents in relation to how the LP collection was used. For example, during the Carter administration, the collection was placed “near the third-floor listening room, complete with a sound system.” Conversely, during the Reagan administration, the LPs were moved to a less prominent locale, namely the basement. Browne nods toward Nancy Reagan as the catalyst behind this decision.Browne concludes his article by mentioning Obama’ s favorite albums that are included in the collection, Bob Dylan’s "Blood on the Tracks" and Bruce Springsteen’s "Born to Run." This closing paragraph is a perfect addition to an interesting article and sets Browne up for an anticipated follow-up
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Margaret,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very well-written post. I wonder: why did the editors choose this piece? What news values does it meet? Were their particular sections that you found appealing because of rhythm or tone?
I asked myself the same question as Amber, what news value does this have? I suppose it was newsworthy because just about anything pertaining to the president is newsworthy, and yes it was interesting to hear what Obama's favorite tracks are, but (even though this article may seem like a relief from all the current negativity in the news) I would think that given the current economic situation of the U.S., aren't there more pressing issues to be addressed as opposed to what music Obama is listening to?
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