Happy Music Monday! Much like the tune The Star Spangled Banner (written today, in fact) America's an odd sort of nation, a mix of bizarre highs and lows. We all love freedom, but a side effect of being free is that a lot of stuff you don't like has to exist! Naturally, people who don't like your stuff have to deal with that as well. And this means that most of the time we're all sort of mad at other people for using their rights. It's sort of like sharing a house with a family. We're all trapped in this freedom together, aren't we? Today Scott's got five songs about the good and the bad of America. It's your right to not listen, but we hope you do.
Alice Cooper's deep in parody here (one of the most sacred of American values!) but he's also telling some truth. We've all enjoyed at least one thing on this list, and Alice Cooper has certainly done the same. And anyway, who hasn't jokingly insulted someone they love? America can take it, right? America's cool.
More America coming up inside, after the jump.
The Clash - I'm So Bored With The USA
America is seen all over the world in different ways. Pretty consistently, the actual people and styles are the height of cool. But then, there's the politics. Not everyone likes America's politics. But, let's face it, Americans don't always like America's politics either. We're a big nation with lots of opinions!
Grand Funk Railroad - American Band
One of the most interesting aspects of America is hidden away in this lovely stomp-and-clap classic. "We're comin' to your town/we'll help you party down/we're an American band." We take that sentence for granted but think about what it really means. Freedom to travel from state to state, freedom to assemble and have fun, freedom to make a little noise and dance, all because they're American. This song might be unexplainable to many nations in history. But here? It's just something we flip past on the radio.
Yes, their name meant I had to include them, but it's more than just that. This song has that driving-through-open-spaces feel that always has been so vital to post-war America. Heck, even pre-war America! Lewis & Clark's journey was really just an early road trip where somebody forgot to bring a mix tape! Also of note: this song might have inspired Prince to use the name Purple Rain and pretty much invent all of modern pop music, which is pretty cool.
Rick Derringer - Real American
The central idea of America is that we want to do the right thing. The reality might be way different, but it's hard to hate on the idea. Winston Churchill described America as "a large, friendly dog in a very small room. Every time it wags its tail, it knocks over a chair." It's not too hard to picture a large, friendly dog singing a song like this about protecting it's pack. Also, of course, it was once the theme song for the now-shamed Hulk Hogan.
Let us just remind you: some images come from the corresponding Wikipedia page and are here under fair use. See you next week.