Independence Day

With the world about to start Level 7 of Jumanji, July 4th, 2020 is going to be another holiday that probably won't look the way it traditionally does. There's been a lot of talk about the meaning of freedom lately, and while Independence Day doesn't mark the day all people in America became truly free, it does mark the vitally important first step in the right direction by choosing to walk away from political tyranny in a way that has inspired revolutions both domestic and foreign for the last 244 years.

My Independence Day playlist is probably one of the most eclectic I've ever put together, which makes it the perfect playlist for this holiday. America is, after all, The Great American Melting Pot and is made up of one of the most diverse, eclectic group of humans in existence. Trust me, each song has a reason for being on there, and as usual this is just a small selection from a much larger playlist that would take years to fully unpack if I did it all at once.

One Day (Vandaag) (Radio Edit) by Bakermat (written by L. Fluttert, M. King)

I found this 2014 single from Dutch DJ Bakermat while exploring other peoples' Independence Day/Americana playlists and I was taken aback by how much I liked it. It seamlessly flips back and forth from clips of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s iconic I Have a Dream speech from 1963 and a really cool saxophone solo, all with a light, colorful electronic beat underneath. While Bakermat isn't an American musician, this song definitely encompasses the American spirit with Dr. King's words that so many of us today have known since we were in grade school. The song also has a good, light-hearted summer feel to it, making you feel kind of hopeful that maybe not everything in the world sucks as bad as it seems to.

I have a dream/That one day/This nation will rise up/Live out the true meaning of its creed/We hold these truths to be self evident/That all men are created equal/I have a dream/That one day on the red hills of Georgia/The sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners/Will they be able to sit down at the table of brotherhood/I have a dream/One day

Springsteen by Eric Church (written by E. Church, J. Hyde, R. Tyndell)

Country music, like rock, has been a huge political medium for musicians for years. While Springsteen is NOT one of those political "American pride" songs, it's definitely one of Church's most well-known summer anthems since its release in 2011 on his album Chief. A lot of the more modern country singers, especially the men, from the 2010s really tend to get on my nerves, but I do have a soft spot for Eric Church because he's one of the closest things we have to a country music "outlaw" anymore and his songs don't sound like a copy-paste of all the other ones out there. Springsteen is a great song to listen to on a summer night as you drive around with your windows down, and it's a great nostalgia trip for anyone who's ever had a summer romance.

To this day, when I hear that song, I see you standing there on that lawn/Discount shades, store bought tan, flip flops and cutoff jeans/Somewhere between that setting sun, I'm on Fire and Born to Run/You looked at me and I was done, but we were just getting started/I was singing to you, you were singing to me/I was so alive, never been more free/Fired up my daddy's lighter and we sang, ooh/Stayed there 'til they forced us out/We took the long way to your house/And I can still hear the song of you saying, "Don't go"/When I think about you, I think about 17/I think about my old Jeep, I think about the stars in the sky/Funny how a melody sounds like a memory/Like a soundtrack to a July Saturday night/Springsteen

Justice and Independence 85 by John Cougar Mellencamp (written by J. Mellencamp)

Duh, we can't talk about American themed music without talking about rock, and one of the most well-known "heartland rock" musicians out there is Johnny Cougar. This song from Mellencamp's 1985 album Scarecrow personifies the classic American ideals of Independence, Justice, and Nation as a sort of broken family that's trying to put itself back together. Admittedly I'd never heard the song before, but I totally dig it and love how it's still just as applicable today as it was when the song was released back in the mid-80's. It's definitely a bop with some seriously killer guitar, and a good addition to any Americana or classic rock playlist.

He was born on the fourth day of July/So his parents called him Independence Day/He married a girl named Justice/Who gave birth to a son called Nation, then she walked away/Independence, he would daydream and he'd pretend/That someday, him and Justice and Nation would be together again/But Justice held up in a shotgun shack/And she wouldn't let nobody in, so a Nation cried/Oh, oh, when a Nation cries/His tears fall down like missiles from the skies/Justice, look into Independence's eyes/Can you make everything alright/And can you keep your Nation warm tonight

Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show (written by B. Dylan, K. Secor)

First of all, I am ashamed of myself as a musician that I didn't know Bob Dylan wrote this song until mere days ago. Featured originally on their 2004 album O.C.M.S., Dylan wrote and recorded the chorus back in 1973 and OCMS front-man fiddler Ketch Secor wrote and added in the verses in 1998. I will admit that I've listened to the Darius Rucker cover of this song more than the original, but the original just has an Americana rawness to it that gets a little lost in that cover. Whichever version you prefer, this song is great all around and a great listen all year long.

Headed down south to the land of the pines, I'm thumbing my way into North Caroline/Staring up the road and pray to God I see headlights/I made it down the coast in seventeen hours, picking me a bouquet of dogwood flowers/And I'm a-hoping for Raleigh, I can see my baby tonight/So rock me, mama, like a wagon wheel, rock me, mama, any way you feel/Hey, mama, rock me/Rock me, mama, like the wind and the rain, rock me, mama, like a southbound train/Hey, mama, rock me

Vegas Lights by Panic! At the Disco (written by B. Urie, B. Walker, D. Weekes, S. Smith)

I told you this mix was going to be more eclectic, didn't I? Panic! isn't the first band most people would associate with the 4th of July, but one criteria I gave myself for this list was that if an American city or state was predominantly involved in the title or the lyrics, it gets a spot. This song from their 2013 album Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! also gives us a look at the more hedonistic lifestyle of a lot of modern people (not just Americans) through the lyrics. We all know that what happens in Las Vegas, Nevada should ideally stay there, but life doesn't necessarily always work that way. In short, I love, Panic!, I love Brendan Urie, and this song is a banger that you should at least give a try.

Oh, if only you knew what we've been up to/I guarantee you'd keep it a secret/So give it to me now, we're lost in a dream now/Do it one more time/In the Vegas lights, where the villains spend the weekend/The deep end, we're swimming with the sharks until we drown/The Vegas lights, the lies and affectations/Sensation, we're winning 'til the curtain's coming down

Swing, Swing by The All-American Rejects (written by N. Wheeler, T. Ritter)

Whoo BOY did I take a weird trip down memory lane with this song. As I was listening to it I felt like I might as well be fourteen years old and shopping at Delia's with my best friend again (cue all the current fourteen year old girls saying, "Wait, what's Delia's?"). As you could probably guess, The All-American Rjects automatically get a spot on the playlist because of their name, but this style of Alt Rock/Punk Pop type music was a huge factor in the musical upbringing of Millennials like myself. I didn't listen to AAR as much as other artists at the time, but this song was being played so much everywhere for years after it came out that I still found myself singing every word to it even 18 years after its release (it was included on their 2002 self-titled album).

Days swiftly come and go, I'm dreaming of her/She's seeing other guys, emotions stir/The sun is gone, the nights are long/And I am left while the tears fall/Did you think that I would cry on the phone/Do you know what it feels like being alone/I'll find someone new/Swing, swing, swing from the tangles of/My heart is crushed by a former love/Can you help me find a way/To carry on again

Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars (written by J. White, J. Williams)

We're going to end today's set with another song on my Never Ever Skip When It Comes On Ever list. I really hate that The Civil Wars broke up like six years ago because they just work so perfectly together on a musical scale. Barton Hollow is easily one of their most recognizable songs - featured on their 2011 Barton Hollow album, it has insane vocals from both John Paul White and Joy Williams, killer rhythmic guitar, a thudding drumbeat you can feel in your spine, and pretty much everything else I love in a song. I really can't put into words how crazy I am about this song - just listen to it yourself and thank me later.

I'm a dead man walking here, that's the least of all my fears/Ooh, underneath the water/It's not Alabama clay gives my trembling hands away/Ooh, please forgive me, Father/Ain't going back to Barton Hollow/Devil gonna follow me e'ry I go/Won't do me no good washing in the river/Can't no preacher man save my soul

I hope everyone has a safe, responsible, and yet fun upcoming holiday weekend in spite of the current climate of the world. Yes, it sucks that the year July 4th is on a Saturday happens to be in the middle of a global pandemic, but grill out, find a place to responsibly view or set off fireworks (and keep your dogs inside while you do it, they hate that shit), and have a good time in spite of it all. See ya'll next week!