Anthemless

I was just listening to the local oldies radio station when the jockey announced they were in the middle of an All-American weekend, meaning they would only be playing American artists. At first, I wondered how that would alter the station's playlist from any other day. Upon second thought, however, I realized that removing foreigners meant no Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elton John, ABBA, Queen, Joni Mitchell, or Rod Stewart.

So I switched the station.

It's not just an oldies thing. My favorite musical artists of the moment are the xx, Noisettes, Mumford & Sons, and New Pornographers. That's British, British, British, and Canadian, respectively. In other words, I probably won't be celebrating America's independence musically this year, considering our former oppressors are still doing it better.

But I promise to eat processed meat at some point this weekend - that's patriotic, right?