Speaking of patriotism and tradition, I'm glad to see the New York Daily News getting on board with FINALLY stopping the singing of "God Bless America" at baseball games.
But it wasn’t long before heartache became headache. The Yankees still play it at every game, but most teams, like my beloved Mets, play “God Bless America” only on Sundays or holidays. But even that’s too much.
Part of my outrage stems from ponderous Mussolini-esque introduction of the song, when fans are asked to rise, remove their caps and place them over their hearts.
Reality check, friends: “God Bless America” is not the National Anthem. The only songs Americans should stand for are “The Star Spangled Banner” and “Here Comes the Bride.”
PREACH. I've been a GBA truther for a long time now. 9/11 was 15 years ago, for Christ's sake. Give it a rest.
Not that there aren't a host of excellent America songs to pick from! No 4th of July party is complete without Kim Wilde.
Oh that reminds me, here's a great interview with Kathy Valentine of the Go-Go's about the song "Vacation." This has nothing to do with July 4th or America except in the sense that Kathy Valentine is an American but for some reason "Kids in America" always reminds me of the Go-Go's so you can see my train of thought here. Anyway.
Then there's your dad's America song:
Or maybe your grandad's. "Comments disabled until after the election." GREAT JOB, GARBAGE PEOPLE.
There are lots of others. If you're making a killer playlist for your cookout, you can find some here and here. Those lists are boring and predictable, though. Esquire has a better version here, with stuff like Kendrick's "Alright" and Father John Misty's "Bored in the U.S.A."
Did you watch Aziz Ansari's very very very funny show "Master of None"? If you didn't, you should watch it right away. Apart from being funny, it also had a killer soundtrack. There's a Spotify playlist you can use if you have Spotify. If you don't have Spotify, you probably feel smug because you're not ripping off artists. Anyway, one plot point in one (or maybe two episodes) is a Father John Misty show and how hard it is to get tickets and how everyone wants to go to the Father John Misty show and I like FJM just fine but really? It's not like a surprise Beyonce show at Mezzanine or something. It's Father John Misty. Calm down.
Somehow I'll find a way to wedge and Elliott Smith song into this feature every week. This one for obvious reasons.
That's about it. Get your pets into Thundershirts and your sausages on the grill because IT'S JULY FOURTH MOTHERFUCKERS. Be safe out there.
TK, I always appreciate your Elliott shoe-horning. Damn, I miss him.
ReplyDeleteI had to look it up to be sure, but Kim Wilde does indeed sing 'From New York to East California, there's a new wave coming I warn ya'.
ReplyDeleteEast California? Was Bishop a hotbed of new wave in 1981 or something?
But then I dug a little deeper and it turns out Kim Wilde was English and that song was released in the UK an entire year before it came out here.
The English: better at music than we are for at least 50 years, even music specifically about being American.
Rachel - Me too, and I will continue to find ways to fit Elliott Smith into every post, as I do in my everyday life.
ReplyDeletesubframe - I've noticed that before too and I just assumed the "East" is in there so the line would scan. She needed an extra syllable and couldn't think of a better one-syllable adjective I guess.
Space Pants: https://youtu.be/NbknlX_548I
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