Memorial Day is one of the best weekends of the year as many of us celebrate by performing the All-American activity of taking a day off of work to eat, drink, and spend time with family and friends. This playlist is meant as a soundtrack for those get-togethers so point those speakers out your window and flood the backyard barbeque with some hot summer jams.
But this mix is also about America; Memorial Day is, after all, a holiday for honoring those that gave their lives for the country. The Civil War and the Vietnam War are prominent, the National Anthem is played twice, cities and states are named, and pictures of Americana are painted. You can hear a cyclical push and pull of American patriotism through these tracks, through both unabashed pride and skeptical concern for the country. But this mix is also universal. Soldiers fight for the same reasons (sometimes winning and sometimes losing), heroes are honored, and the pain of loss is felt by everybody. It would be nice to think that we're all fighting for an end to fighting...imagine that.
Happy summer, enjoy the weekend, and cheers!