Today is the Fourth of July, better known in the United States as Independence Day, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

This also means many of you will be off today and enjoying time with your friends and families, but we here at Ickmusic are dedicated to ensuring our readers have their Friday Five fix. In spirit of the holiday I’ve cooked up this playlist to get some patriotic tunes going for the days activities.

Match ANY of the following conditions

NAME contains Independence
NAME contains U.S.A.
NAME contains America
NAME contains Fourth
NAME contains July
NAME contains Declaration

This pulled up a few more tracks than I suspected it might. I hit the shuffle and away we go!

For those of you reading this for the first time, here’s how it works… I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and then show you my five with some words for each track.

Then it’s your turn!

Here are this week’s tracks:

1. Bruce Springsteen – Born in the U.S.A. (from Greatest Hits)

This song, along with “Glory Days”, is to me the epitome of summer songs. It stands beside Creedence Clearwater Revival‘s “Fortunate Son” and John Mellencamp‘s “Jack and Diane” as true American Standards. I could go on, but I’m just going to enjoy listening to the rest of the track.

2. Frank Zappa – Food Gathering in Post-Industrial America, 1992 (from The Yellow Shark)

As performed by Ensemble Modern, this is perhaps one of Frank’s most challenging works. I didn’t come to truly appreciate the depth of this record until much later in life. And in the spirit of the day there is something to be said of Frank’s ardent support of the First Amendment and the fight against censorship of any sort.

3. Jimmy Eat World – Bleed American (from Bleed American)

I actually purchased this record in its pre-9/11 configuration (my copy is titled Bleed American as opposed to the self-titled change) and had been a JEW fan for a few years prior. I still think this song is underrated and had it come out in a different time it would have been a huge single.

4. Ani DiFranco – Independence Day (from Little Plastic Castle)

I don’t think my love of the little folk singer has come up before. I’m a huge fan.

5. Weezer – Surf Wax America (from Weezer)

What a great send off into the holiday weekend! My 10 year old has recently discovered early Weezer (thanks to Guitar Hero) so I’ve been listening to the Blue Album and Pinkerton quite a bit lately.

So what’s not letting you go quietly into the night?