Saturday, July 3, 2010

Feelin' Kinda American

Happy Birthday America! You have gifted the masses with talented yet kitschy pop singers who like to praise and ridicule you in song. Here's a sample of my favorites.

Bruce Springsteen Born in the U.S.A. Duh. What I like most about this song besides the monotone drumming of Max Weinberg are the lyrics. They're about a Vietnam vet who comes home to find his industrial town has closed up shop and there are no jobs available. Reagan didn't get it and wanted to use it as his re-election campaign theme. Silly Reagan.

Arlo Guthrie City of New Orleans I remember hearing this song for the first time as a kid and feeling really sorry for trains in general.

Bob Dylan Tangled up in Blue My favorite Dylan song about a drifter who wanders the country trying to forget the one that got away.

Simon and Garfunkel America This song gets bonus points for the Michigan reference in the first chorus.

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