4th of July – Alvin Style

Along with Springsteen’s “4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy)”, this song by Dave Alvin has worked its way into my July 4th music rotation over the years. This great song was released on Dave’s 1994 album ‘King of California’. Dave, along with his brother Phil, fronted the Southern California rockabilly band the Blasters. Since then, Dave’s been churning out some great solo material, including last year’s Ashgrove.

Happy Birthday, U.S.A. – though it’s been a rough ride the last few years, and those at the helm are steering us in a direction that many of us are extremely uncomfortable with – we’re still with you… most of us are a tolerant, even-keeled bunch. Much more than our government’s neo-conservative wack jobs would have you believe. No political party can claim to be more patriotic than the other. Sorry, we’re all in this together, we all love our country… even those of us who are against our young men and women dying in droves overseas for reasons that are less than clear, with no stop in sight (not to mention the scores of innocent civilians). *end of short rant*

So happy Independence Day.

Dave Alvin: Fourth of July (mp3)