Trump’s Inauguration: Dance to the Music

“Just was watching the news,” Mick Jagger tweeted on election night. “Maybe they’ll ask me to sing ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ at the inauguration.”

As the GOP nominee, Donald Trump closed many of his rallies and campaign appearances with the 1969 hit, often considered the anthem for political and sexual revolutions of the ’60s, along with “Tell Me,” another Rolling Stones song about longing and return, which the candidate played as audiences waited for the festivities to begin.

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After he won on election night, President-Elect Trump closed his victory speech again with “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” inviting interpretation of the song as a repudiation of Hillary Clinton and the ’60s values she embodied.

Does all of this mean that Jagger and Co. would perform at Trump’s inauguration if invited?

Probably not.

After Trump played “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” at the Republican National Convention in July, along with “Start Me Up” — yet another Stones hit — the Rolling Stones publicly complained they never gave Trump permission to use the songs and demanded he stop. They joined artists such as Adele, Elton John, Aerosmith, and Neil Young, who didn’t like their music being played at Republican venues either.

Related: Rock Stars v. Republicans

Trump responded mildly to the complaints by pointing out he’d purchased the rights to use the songs. Bottom line: Even rock ‘n’ roll royalty like The Rolling Stones can’t always get what they want. They can always send back a few royalty checks in protest.

If The Rolling Stones aren’t going to rock “Start Me Up” at the inauguration, who’s going to play?

Critics have always enjoyed poking fun at Republicans who play songs like “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” or Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” at events, pointing out the lyrics have more ominous meanings that belie the songs’ cheerfulness or crowd appeal. (It never seems to occur to them that maybe people just enjoy the songs.)

[lz_bulleted_list title=”Inaugural Acts” source=http://www.mashable.com]Franklin D. Roosevelt — 1941 — Mickey Rooney|Dwight D. Eisenhower —1957 — Marian Anderson|John F. Kennedy —1961 — Frank Sinatra|Lyndon B. Johnson —1965 — The U.S. Marine Band and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir|Richard Nixon –1969 — The U.S. Marine Band and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir|Richard Nixon — 1973 — Ethel Ennis|Ronald Reagan — 1981 — Ethel Merman |Ronald Reagan — 1985 — Jessye Norman|George H.W. Bush — 1989 — Staff Sgt. Alvie Powell|Bill Clinton —1993 — Fleetwood Mac|Bill Clinton — 1997 — Jessye Norman|George W. Bush — 2001 — Ricky Martin, Jessica Simpson, and 98 Degrees|George W. Bush — 2005 —Susan Graham, Denyce Graves, and Bradley Bennett|Barack Obama — 2009 — Aretha Franklin|Barack Obama — 2013 — Kelly Clarkson sang “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” Beyoncé lip-synced The National Anthem[/lz_bulleted_list]

Which brings us to President Donald Trump. Here are our picks for his dream inaugural playlist:

Maybe Jagger and Co. would show up if they were asked to play some of their darker anthems, such as “Sympathy for the Devil” or “Gimme Shelter.” We already have liberals behaving as if the election released the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse — so why not go for it?

Might as well toss in AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” and R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).”

How about if we celebrate how a Washington outsider broke the back of the system? Let’s invite Rage Against the Machine. Have them play “Take the Power Back” and “Freedom.”

Bonus: Maybe enough of their fans will show up to tear down the venue for us and save some money. If there’s anything left of the stage, Buster Poindexter can stop by and help us bid the outgoing administration farewell with his excellent cover of Ray Charles’ “Hit the Road, Jack.”

There are actual musicians who have supported our new president, including Lynyrd Skynyrd and Ted Nugent. Skynyrd can contribute “Gimme Three Steps” and “Mr. Saturday Night Special” to scare the gun-control crowd into staying home. Who wants a bunch of wet blankets spoiling the fun for everyone else?

And Nugent! We need the Motor City Madman to applaud the blue-collar folks who ushered Trump in with “Workin’ Hard, Playin’ Hard,” “You Make Me Feel Right at Home,” and “Just What the Doctor Ordered.”

Other pro-Trump entertainers include Vegas headliner Wayne Newton, who of course will have to sing “Danke Schoën”; country superstar Loretta Lynn, who could favor us with “After the Fire Is Gone” or “Dear Uncle Sam”; and of course Kid Rock’s going to have to perform “Back From the Dead” and “Born Free.”

And Pat Boone, who has been praising new President-Elect Trump — we must get Pat Boone to do some material from his album of heavy metal covers, like “It’s a Long Way to the Top” or “No More Mr. Nice Guy.” Yeah.

All the media scrutiny Trump suffered during his campaign failed to answer an important question, one we’re sure an anxious nation is asking along with us:

Can Trump dance?

Let’s bring in Katrina and Waves and hit the crowd with “Walking on Sunshine.” Or maybe we can get Psy to bring in “Gangnam Style,” if not Kool & The Gang’s “Celebrate.” Or how about we invite Maroon 5  to play “Moves Like Jagger”?

Nah. We don’t want Trump or Chief Justice John Roberts hurting themselves. Not a good way to kick off the new administration.

And in the end, we could try to promote some “healing” of the country by sending all-expenses-paid invitations to Barbra Streisand and Cher, since they seem to be staying put after vowing to leave if Trump landed the job. If nothing else, it would be fun to see how they react.