Obama tribute songs: The good, the bad, and the goofy

A bunch of tribute songs honoring our new president became available for purchase this week at iTunes, including "Obama," a sobering state of the union address by indie rapper Mr. Lif, and a lame ballad called "Yes We Can!" by R&B singer-songwriter Brian McKnight. But my favorite remains Ashford & Simpson’s "Solid as Barack," an unintentionally hilarious live remake of the duo’s 1984 R&B classic, "Solid." Yeah, I know SNL beat them to the punch back in October, as my colleague Simon Vozick-Levinson pointed out last week. I just can’t believe A&S actually had the guts to release their absurdly earnest homage as an official single. Who in the world would pay money to hear them belt out lyrics like, "Brick by brick, we gon’ make it stick"? Oh, wait. I did. Well played, A&S!