Holy awesome musical taste, Pope

The Holy See apparently has no barriers to the types of jams it rocks. The Vatican’s MySpace playlist includes artists such as the rock band Muse, the folksy Fleet Foxes and the thuggish ruggish beats of the late, great Tupac Shakur. The Vatican joined figures such as Lady Gaga and R. Kelly in publishing their “celebrity” playlist, part of the new MySpace Music initiative.

The ‘Pac song included is “Changes,” which is about the struggles of poor, African-American, urban-dwellers; and is probably more suitable for a pious audience than, say, “Hit ‘em up.”

Not to dwell on the outlier issue, but the Vatican is advertising the fact that it listens to songs glorifying the life of Black Power advocate Huey P. Newton, and this is extraordinary. Most media outlets are making much ado about the graphic nature of many Tupac lyrics, but his underlying message of relief for the poor and suffering seems to fit. The 12-song playlist is rounded out by songs you would expect men of the cloth to listen to; Mozart and some other classical music.    

As far as the infallible-one’s affinity for Fleet Foxes, one need not look farther than the striking resemblance of front man Robin Pecknold to, well… you get the point.

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