Songs About America

Join Jim and Greg for the ultimate Independence Day celebration. They’ll play their favorite Songs About America and hear some of your picks.

American Flag Guitar
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Music News

First up in the news this week is the federal court ruling against RMG Technologies. Ticketmaster accused the software company of selling software that floods their web site, preventing other customers from securing tickets. A judge ordered RMG to pay the ticketing giants $18 million dollars and banned them from further activity, but Jim and Greg are sure that there's another software designer just waiting in the wings to pick up with the "scalping" where RMG left off.

Guns ‘N’ Roses fans haven't heard a peep since 1991's Use Your Illusion II, but now parts of the highly anticipated new album Chinese Democracy have leaked. But, Axl Rose doesn't seem so happy about it. His label not only ordered the leaker to cease and desist, but he worked with the F.B.I. to seek him out and question him. That leaker, known as Skwerl, describes the agents as Mulder and Scully types, and Jim and Greg wonder why they don't have anything better to do. They think Axl would be better off spending less time and money on alienating listeners and more on making music.

Songs About America

Sound Opinions celebrates Independence Day this week with Jim and Greg's favorite Songs about America. These are great rock songs that capture our country's spirit -- the good, the bad and the ugly.

Jim

  • Bob Marley, "Buffalo Soldier"
  • MC5, "Back in the U.S.A."
  • Talking Heads, "The Big Country"
  • Robyn Hitchcock, "America"

Greg

  • Chuck Berry, "Promised Land"
  • Sam Cooke, "A Change is Gonna Come"
  • Randy Newman, "Sail Away"
  • Public Enemy, "Fight the Power"

Listeners’ Picks:

  • Jen from Brooklyn, NY: Simon & Garfunkel, "America"
  • Jim from Exton, PA: Drive-By-Truckers, "Sink Hole"
  • Paco from San Juan, PR: James Brown, "Living in America"

Dear Listeners,

For more than 15 years, Sound Opinions was a production of WBEZ, Chicago's public radio station. Now that the show is independent, we're inviting you to join the band and lend a hand! We need your support more than ever because now we have to do all the behind-the-scenes work that WBEZ handled before (like buying insurance and paying for podcast hosting, ugh). Plus, we have some exciting ideas we'd like to try now that there's no one to tell us no!