Barack Obama—and nothing else—on cover of current Rolling Stone.

By Waylon Lewis on Jun 29, 2008 inin active citizenship, blog, the arts |

Alex just tipped me off: there’s a great new interview with Senator Obama in the current Rolling Stone. If, like me, you gotta read profiles of Obama at least once a week just to keep your fix on, below is an excerpt courtesy Huffington Post’s review of Rolling Stone’s profile…

“Several musicians on Obama’s iPod support his bid for the White House, including Bruce Springsteen. Earlier this month, Dylan told a British newspaper that he believes Obama is redefining politics in the United States and could deliver change to a nation in upheaval.

“I’ve got to say, having both Dylan and Bruce Springsteen say kind words about you is pretty remarkable,” Obama said. “Those guys are icons.”

Obama said he hasn’t met Springsteen, but the two have talked over the phone.

“Not only do I love Bruce’s music, but I just love him as a person,” Obama said. “He is a guy who has never lost track of his roots, who knows who he is, who has never put on a front.”

And did he address him as the Boss?

“You’ve got to,” the candidate said.

Asked what he thought of rap, Obama said the genre has broken down barriers within the music world, though he’s concerned about his daughters _ Malia, 9, and Sasha, 7 _ listening to it.

“I am troubled sometimes by the misogyny and materialism of a lot of rap lyrics,” he said, “but I think the genius of the art form has shifted the culture and helped to desegregate music.”

He said hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and rappers Jay-Z and Ludacris were “great talents and great businessmen.”

“It would be nice if I could have my daughters listen to their music without me worrying that they were getting bad images of themselves,” he added.