Much has been made of Barack Obama inviting Henry Gates and James Crowley to the White House for a beer. The weird thing is that everybody got to order their own beer. Steve Dahl recently had a column in the Chicago Tribune where he noted that when he has a party he buys the beer and you drink what he has. I can see maybe buying a couple of kinds of beer so your guests have a choice, but you don’t have a different beer for everybody.

When I have a party I pick the music and you listen to it. Like this soundtrack for my next beer summit.

Waco Brothers “White Lightning” (George Jones)
Henry Gates originally requested a Red Stripe but then changed his order to a Sam Adams. I’m not sure why. It’s not like there’s a trade embargo against Jamaica. Interestingly enough that Sam Adams was the only beer at the Beer Summit that was brewed by an American-owned brewery. The others were made by foreign conglomerates. Perhaps the White House leaned on Mr. Gates so that somebody would be drinking a truly American beer. If they were really interested in having everybody drink a distinctly American beverage they should have just served moonshine. I bet the conversation would have been quite interesting if they had.

Authority Zero “Drunken Sailor” (Traditional)
I just loves me a good sea chantey, especially when it’s played by a punk band.

Roy Clark and Buck Trent “Beer Barrel Polka” (Will Glahe and his Musette Orchestra)
You usually hear this song played on accordions. Occasionally you’ll hear a brass band version. This is probably the only time it’s ever been played on a banjo and fiddle. It just doesn’t sound all that Germanic anymore.

David Bowie “Alabama Song” (comp. Kurt Weill)
This a very weird arrangement. There’s something just a little off about the drumming, I can’t put my finger on it. The whole thing sounds like postindustrial circus music. And David Bowie sings in his famous “scary voice.” Talk about limited commercial potential. And the strangest thing is that this was released as a single in Europe.

Devil In A Woodpile “Keep On Drinkin'” (Big Bill Broonzy)
I just love listening to Rick “Cookin” Sherry sing. It sounds like he’s shouting from the bottom of a coal mine. I’ve pretty much given up drinking these days. My doctor only had to mention monkey glands once.