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Holidays in the middle of the week are weird. You can’t really do too much with them since they’re bookended by the requirements of your (if you’re me) 9-to-5. Not that I’m complaining. Days off for something unpainful and untragic have been in short supply lately.

These (Not-So-)Random Tens are a good way to ease back into posting; they don’t require much preparation, study, intellectual delving, or thought. Perfect for 6:45 in the morning on a holiday.

Enjoy your Fourth, everyone.

1. “4th of July”, Soundgarden
2. “4th of July”, Voodoo Shoehorn (a one-off band consisting partly of Billy Pilgrim’s Andrew Hyra and Kristian Bush, covering X)
3. “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
4. “Independence Day”, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
5. “I’m Afraid Of Americans”, David Bowie
6. “American Pie”, Don McLean
7. “America”, Neil Diamond
8. “Last Boat To America”, David Gray
9. “America”, Simon and Garfunkel

and, of course,

10. “America, F**k Yeah”, Trey Parker (From Team America, World Police) Note: I will reward anyone who can find a karaoke version of this song and get it to me.

[youtube 3sdKq00uZjA]

Society is produced by our wants, and government by wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher. Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil. — Thomas Paine