Independence Day is almost here. I’ll be honest, the last few years, I didn’t feel too celebratory. This year, however, I feel like things might just be going ok for the country. The last six months have seen an uprising on our nation’s capital, but we survived. Once more, we got rid of some trash. George Floyd’s killer is behind bars where he belongs, and we now have a president with empathy and compassion. There’s a lot still wrong with this country, but America has turned a page in our history. We have a lot of work to do, but it’s also time to celebrate that we might have gotten somewhere positive. This is the duality we live in, and this is the duality that inspired this week’s playlist, American Music.
American Music has songs that celebrate the United States. The Star-Spangled Banner as played by Jimi Hendrix, Rockin’ in the Free World by Neil Young, and Even Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus. This playlist also shows some of the darker sides of America; 16 Military Wives by The Decemberists, American Idiot by Green Day, and Fortunate Son by CCR. There are songs about history, such as Jimmy Horton’s The Battle of New Orleans, and Alexander Hamilton by the cast of Hamilton. Mostly, though, there’s a bunch of songs about America. American Girl by Tom Petty, Kids in America by Kim Wilde, I’ve Been Everywhere by Johnny Cash, American Music by the Violent Femmes, and more. All in all, American Music is simply that – music about the United States.
Happy Independence Day everyone. Celebrate, but also be ever vigilant.
What will American Music look like in the future?
I ended this playlist with The Times, They Are a-Changin’ by Bob Dylan. The song was written over 50 years ago and predicted a very different future. I ended the playlist with this song for a reason. As I said, we need to be ever vigilant. Things are going moderately ok right now, but there’s still so much to do. Once more, it could all go to hell if one senator dies. It could all go to hell in 2022, and it could all go to hell in 2024. We’ve won a few battles, but the war rages on. I want Dylan’s cry from over half a century to live on and to come true. I want the times to really change. Let’s remember that as we celebrate this July 4th.
Rock on, and rocksteady!