Four Songs for the 4th of July
By Matt Ashworth
This weekend we crowd sourced ideas for 4th of July songs through our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Replies ranged from Nirvana to the “1812 Overture” to the kind of patriotic schlock commonly heard in Chevy truck commercials.
Here are our four favorites, all of which are called “4th of July.”
4) “4th of July” by Sweet
Sweet came on our radar via the Dazed & Confused soundtrack, which features their 1975 glam rock classic “Fox on the Run.” The British band has a huge catalogue of albums and singles, including this one, which seems to use the 4th of July as a metaphor for getting loaded.
3) “4th of July” by Soundgarden
One the Seattle grunge gods’ sludgier tracks from their later years, this “4th of July” reminds us of the song that made us first fall in love with Soundgarden, “Hunted Down” which appeared as a 7″ inch single, on the band’s debut EP Screaming Life, and on our favorite Sup Pop compilation Fuck Me I’m Rich.
2) “4th of July” by Galaxie 500
This one, a love song, sees staff favorite Dean Wareham contrast dissallusionment with his home country with being sweet on an American girl.
“And if it don’t improve
Then I have to move
I never thought that I would end up here
Maybe I should just change my style
But I feel alright when you smile”
1) “4th of July” by X
An American classic from the seminal LA punk band X. Later covered by Tom Waits.
“On the stairs I smoke a
cigarette alone
Mexican kids are shootin’
fireworks below
Hey baby, it’s the Fourth of July
Hey baby, Baby take a walk outside”
Editors note: The NadaMucho.com staff deny any affinity for Katie Perry’s “Firework.” We don’t secretly love that song. Really. We don’t.