THE FOURTH of JULY WEEKEND STARTS HERE: ...with THE BEACH BOYS! It's time to "Do It Again." Because folks my age will always remember their mammoth July 4th concerts at the Washington Monument -- as with this 1980 take on "Good Vibrations." Their "Lost Concert" from 1964 includes "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Long, Tall Texan," "Little Deuce Coupe," "Surfer Girl," "Surfin' USA," "Shut Down," "In My Room," "Papa Ooh Mow Mow," and "Hawaii." Their take on "Dance, Dance, Dance" from Shindig! later that year is like a slice of Christmas in July. There's also a nifty twofer of "I Get Around" and "'When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)" from their first UK TV appearance on Ready Steady Go! The Andy Williams Show serves up "Help Me, Rhonda," while The Jack Benny Hour produced these quick takes on "Barbara Ann" and "California Girls." There's a primitive video for "Wouldn't It Be Nice" that starts with a cameo from Brian Wilson's dogs (Banana and Louie), who appear at the end of the Pet Sounds LP. And I'll finish with a live version of "God Only Knows" from the 1967 European tour -- one of the last Brian would do for a decade or so. BONUS: Part 1 and Part 2 of the epic Political Beats podcasts covering the entirety of the Beach Boys' catalog. RAY CHARLES performs "America The Beautiful" like no one else. INDEPENDENCE DAY: Bruce Springsteen, circa 1978, before it came out on The River. AMERICAN MUSIC: The Violent Femmes, circa 1992. DAVE ALVIN: Hey, baby, it's the "4th of July." JAMES LILEKS: Truth. THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER: As performed by Jimi Hendrix, Whitney Houston, Smokey Robinson, members of the Grateful Dead, and Umphrey’s McGee. BLUR shares “St. Charles Square.” THE CLIENTELE shares "Claire’s Not Real." THE FOLK IMPLOSION returns with "Natural One." JALEN NGODA shares "Come Around and Love Me." Hell yeah. GORILLA vs BEAR's faves of 2023 (So Far). BELLE & SEBASTIAN's Stuart Murdoch: ‘Songs tumble out like dreams - you can't control them.' AMERICAN FOOTBALL: Against the odds, Indie legends. THE BEST ALBUMS of 2023 (So Far), according to Variety. MADONNA is not out of the woods after being hospitalized for a serious bacterial infection. DUNE: PART 2 has a trailer online. MEGXIT: Harry and Meghan were asked to move their remaining possessions out of their UK home close to Windsor Castle. JENNIFER LAWRENCE didn't really understand mother, despite sleeping with the director. WES ANDERSON is OK with this IG. KEVIN COSTNER does not think child support includes plastic surgery. THE TOP 10 TV SHOWS of 2023 (So Far), according to Variety. TRACKING: It's a way to July 21, but Barbie is looking to make 70-80MM, while Oppenheimer looks to make 40MM. TWIGGY: Another Fourth of July tradition, the water-skiing squirrel. She's retired, but it remains a great story. Compelling and rich. SHARING a watermelon. A CAT and a horse. HAPPY to see her wheels.
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