Jul. 5: Fourth of July playlist

I spent way too much time putting together music for our Fourth of July celebration last night. Here’s how a song met my playlist criteria:

  1. The song has something—just about anything—to do with the Fourth of July; uses words like independence, freedom, etc. in the title
  2. Anything about America or a state
  3. Mentions fireworks, fire, explosives, rockets, bombs, sparks, bright lights, etc.
  4. Gettin’ hurt (using said explosives, of course—cuz that’s funny)
  5. Party-ish theme, celebrating the holiday
  6. Summer or heat—July 4 is hot everywhere but here, apparently
  7. War, soldiers, etc.
  8. Traditional patriotic songs

Most choices were made by title, but there were a few that had more to do with the lyrics. For instance, “Heart of Rock & Roll” was selected because it mentions all those cities; same with “I’ve Been Everywhere.” “The Remedy” talks about the Fourth of July. “Afternoon Delight” was used because if you take the lyrics literally, it sounds like a fireworks kind o’ song instead of a dirty little thing. Here it is, in all its grand, shuffled order.

  • Rocket Man, Elton John
  • Great Balls of Fire, Jerry Lee Lewis
  • U Can’t Touch This, MC Hammer
  • Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Bette Midler
  • Oregon Girl, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
  • Breakfast in America, Supertramp
  • You’re a Grand Ol’ Flag, James Cagney
  • The Safety Dance, Men Without Hats
  • R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A., John Mellencamp
  • Holiday, Madonna
  • Dance the Night Away, Van Halen
  • Heat & Light, The Rouge
  • Dancing in the Street, David Bowie/Mick Jagger
  • American Woman, Lenny Kravitz
  • God Bless America, Kate Smith
  • I’ve Been Everywhere, Johnny Cash
  • All American Girl, Train
  • I’ll Cover You, from the Rent soundtrack
  • Dynamite, Taio Cruz
  • The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades, Timbuk 3
  • Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘Round the Old Oak Tree, Tony Orlando & Dawn
  • Danger Zone, Kenny Loggins
  • I Gotta Feeling, Black Eyed Peas
  • America the Beautiful, Ray Charles
  • If It Kills Me, Jason Mraz
  • Summer Nights, John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
  • War (What is it Good For?), Edwin Starr
  • Heat of the Moment, Asia
  • Electric Avenue, Eddy Grant
  • Fireflies, Owl City
  • Sunglasses at Night, Corey Hart
  • Six-Shooter, The Rouge
  • Playing With the Boys, Kenny Loggins
  • North to Alaska, Johnny Horton
  • America, Neil Diamond
  • Do You Really Want to Hurt Me, Culture Club
  • Route 66, Chuck Berry
  • My Country ‘Tis of Thee, Accapella
  • All I Wanna Do, Sheryl Crow
  • Ohio (Come Back to Texas), Bowling for Soup
  • Doctor! Doctor!, Thompson Twins
  • Born in the U.S.A., Bruce Springsteen
  • Living in America, James Brown
  • Everybody Have Fun Tonight, Wang Chung
  • The Star Spangled Banner, Dixie Chicks
  • Lights, Journey
  • We Didn’t Start the Fire, Billy Joel
  • Afternoon Delight, Starland Vocal Band
  • Soak Up The Sun, Sheryl Crow
  • You Spin Me Round (Like A Record), Dead Or Alive
  • Rescue Me, Aretha Franklin
  • Freedom, Wham!
  • Timebomb, The Rouge
  • Sirens, The Gabe Dixon Band
  • Heart Of Rock ‘n Roll, Huey Lewis & The News
  • Disco Inferno, The Trammps
  • Philadelphia Freedom, Elton John
  • Battle Hymn of the Republic, Three Irish Tenors
  • Miss Independent, Kelly Clarkson
  • Summer of ‘69, Bryan Adams
  • Celebration, Kool & the Gang
  • Burning Up, Madonna
  • I Melt With You, Modern English
  • Soldier of Love, Donny Osmond
  • Eternal Flame, Bangles
  • Viva Las Vegas, Elvis Presley
  • California Gurls, Katy Perry
  • Glow, Nelly Furtado
  • Fireworks, Roxette
  • Surfin’ USA, The Beach Boys
  • Summer Love, Justin Timberlake
  • The Remedy (I Won't Worry), Jason Mraz
  • Summertime, D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
  • I Love L.A., Randy Newman
  • Happy Hawaii, ABBA
  • Light My Fire, The Doors
  • Sweet Home Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd
  • 16 Military Wives, The Decemberists
  • American Pie, Don McLean
  • Freedom 90, George Michael
  • She Blinded Me With Science, Thomas Dolby
  • 4th of July (Fireworks), Kelis

There ya go. I know you want to steal my excellent playlist. You do. Don’t lie to me. Go ahead—I don’t mind. And just to show you I love you, here’s Ron Burgundy’s music video of “Afternoon Delight.” See? That’s true love right there.

4 comments:

  1. That may just be the BEST playlist...EVER!!! Was so happy there was no "Proud to be an American"...uh...crap.

    Good job, Jen! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi-larious! Nice work Jen. I'm sure that took awhile. Thanks for including johnny Cash in there for me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That Ron Burgundy video isn't helping me convince Mom that the song isn't dirty. Damn be to you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That Ron Burgundy video isn't helping me convince Mom that the song isn't dirty. Damn be to you.

    ReplyDelete

Hey, please don’t leave an anonymous comment.
Select “Name/URL” below and you can use whatever name you want. No registration required.
Thanks! –Jen

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails