"Lonely Nation" by Switchfoot, Monday, July 4, 2022 + American Dreams: Hope for a Better Future Playlist

The Beautiful Letdown was the peak of Switchfoot's career. When lead singer Jon Foreman was reflecting on his career on The Load Out Music Podcast last year, he said that the band decided to follow up their most successful pop record with one that critiques the American Dream, a somewhat controversial topic with Christian listeners. The opening track, "Lonely Nation," warns listeners about consumerism and how it just creates social fragmentation and a desire for more. "Lonely Nation" is the representative song for my Independence Day mix called American Dreams: Hope for a Better Future. This playlist is far from perfect. Certainly it needs more diversity in style and artists' voices. But I hope that the songs on this playlist offer an alternative to blind patriotism. After all, patriotism shouldn't be blind nationalism, but rather a peaceful discourse between conflicting ideals. In a world where everything seems to be falling apart, it's so much easier to stand like the Danish King Canute who was said to stand by the shore, willing the tides to change. Maybe putting our hopes in music seems as futile as standing Canute-like along the shores, but we have to put our hopes somewhere! We can't solve all the problems, so for now, please enjoy this playlist.

1. "Lonely Nation" by Switchfoot.

2. "Dead American" by Anberlin is another song that calls into question the idea of the American Dream. The idea about being a rock star and having a big house and all the toys is less not a reality, at least anymore. 

3. "Cold Air" by Acceptance. A song about a community torn apart by prejudice, the song offers solace for all who "don't belong here."

4. "Winning It All" by The Outfield. Although they are a British band, their influence from American sport makes them seem quite American. "Winning It All" is the kind of song that screams of American pretension, without actually being American!

5. "exile" by Taylor Swift ft. Bon Ivor

6. "Fourth of July" by Sufjan Stevens

7. "Hero" by Family of the Year

8. "Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen

9. "My Favorite Place" by Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers is a song about being content wherever you are because of who you are with. Kellogg is included on this list for his contribution to performing for the troops overseas. 

10. "A Horse with No Name" by America

11. "Looking for America" by Lana Del Rey

12. "Merry Go 'Round" by Kacey Musgraves. It's a bit of an existential crisis for the young singer as she grapples with the meaning of life in a small town.

13. "Firework" by Katy Perry

14. "American Idiot" by Green Day

15. "Cynical" by Propaganda ft. Aaron Marsh and Sho Baraka. It's a song that looks at America's past and gives a bleak look for its future, but it's certainly not unmerited. 

16. "Great Divide" by Lovedrug is a song about bridging the gap between two polar opposites. 

17. "Futures" by Jimmy Eat World
18. "Dead Man's Dollar" by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness

19. "Brother" by NEEDTOBREATHE is a song about reconciliation.

20. "American Clouds" by Paper Route is from their electro-Americana EP Are We All Forgotten. Ending with a harmonica, the song gives the listener images of racing on a train or flying on a plane, looking at the vast clouds in the midwest.