Before Antony Blinken became known as “Mr. Secretary” with a security detail, he was simply a musician. Long before engaging in diplomatic variable geometry, Blinken was engaged in a different kind of geometry – the fretboard of a guitar. A passionate guitar player since his youth, the current US Secretary of State has amassed a collection of guitars, including a prized Martin acoustic, confessing it’s “that I don’t deserve.” For years, his musical explorations were confined to home recordings with a four-track, but this private passion culminated in a public debut with the release of three singles on Spotify under the moniker Ablinken – a playful, almost dad-joke-esque stage name.
These Spotify tracks, showcasing a blues-rock style with relatable, everyday lyrics, offer a stark contrast to the public persona of a government official known for discussing multilateral engagement. With over 150,000 streams collectively, Ablinken’s music hints at a hidden depth beyond diplomatic jargon. In “Lip Service,” for example, Blinken sings of personal heartbreak over staccato electric guitar chords: “And then I came home to you/But you said, ‘Let’s just be friends, yeah.’”
Blinken himself has mentioned that these songs were recorded and released between 2018 and 2020, a period when he was outside of government during the Trump administration and uncertain about his future in public service. “I had little idea that there would be another run at government, or a public career of any kind,” he explained. “And so when the president put me forward for this job, there they were,” he said, referring to his unexpected musical catalog now available for public consumption.
Branded by Blinken as “wonk rock” on social media, these songs have occasionally crossed over into his official duties in surprising ways. His music has been played at overseas events, including before an address to embassy staff in San José, Costa Rica, in June 2021. Furthermore, a Finnish radio station even broadcast one of his tracks during Blinken’s visit to Helsinki for a speech regarding the war in Ukraine, demonstrating the unexpected reach of his musical endeavors.
Prior to his Ablinken project, Blinken was part of a band named Cash Bar Wedding, a group considered “pretty cool, at least by the standards of Washington.” His bandmates included notable figures such as Eli Attie, a former speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore who later became a writer for the acclaimed TV show “The West Wing,” and Jay Carney, who served as President Biden’s spokesman during Biden’s vice presidency. This history underscores that Blinken’s passion for guitar and music has been a long-standing and significant part of his life, existing well beyond the realm of international politics.
