Happy Fourth of July dearest patriotic readers. To help you celebrate, we’ve put together a playlist of Independence Day-related tunes. Feel free to let them accompany your backyard BBQ or your late night bottlerocket launching. Ironically though, most of these songs came from major label records, not independent. Our favorite track in the bunch is the Descendents’ excellent “‘Merican,” which keeps it real while keeping it patriotic: “I’m proud and ashamed every Fourth of July / You got to know the truth before you say that you got pride.” Happy 4th ya’ll!

Descendents – “‘Merican”
Nerds? Hell yes, and proud of it.

Jimmy Eat World – “Just Watch the Fireworks”
Great tune from the band’s “Clarity” record. Before emo went and got all… emo.

No Motiv – “Independence Day”
Though the band forget the “e” in their name, they remembered to include it in the song’s title.

Caitlin Cary – “Fireworks”
Ex-Whiskeytown fiddler pens a pretty tune to present her pretty voice.

Less Than Jake – “Independence Day”
Uber-fun pop punk from LTJ’s latest album, “In With The Out Crowd.”

Eve6 – “Bang”
Explosive track from this occasionally interesting L.A. trio.

Elliott Smith – “Independence Day”
One of the best tracks from Smith’s major label debut, “XO.”

Plain White T’s – “Fireworks”
Plain tight power pop.

Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Fire”
Punked-up version of Jimi’s classic inferno.

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