By Brett Milano

Mid summer party season is here, and we’ve got this year’s Fourth of July playlist for your dancing and barbecuing pleasure. As usual, we try to favor songs that aren’t on all those online lists (and whose idea was it to put the very un-patriotic “American Woman” on half those lists anyway?) Plenty of eras and genres are represented here — but if the list seems weighted toward inspiring songs about coming together and making things right, we just like to roll that way.

The Beach Boys, “Spirit of America:” In honor of Brian Wilson — who’ll be recognized as one of the greatest American composers if he isn’t already — we open with this vintage Beach Boys track that’s rich in stirring harmonies. Only catch is, it’s not a patriotic song at all: Originally on a hot rod-themed album, the song’s about a souped-up racecar called the Spirit of America. But really, what could be more American than that?

Bruce Springsteen, “Land of Hope and Dreams:” The Boss took some heat recently for pointed political comments he’s made onstage in Europe. But he made them to introduce this song, which is as inclusive as it gets. Taking a hint from his heroes Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, Springsteen sings of a train of redemption where all will be welcomed, above all it’s a plea for kindness. And he’s recently released a live version with the now-famous intro, if you want to go down that road.

Lana Del Rey, “American:” For anyone who plans on meeting a special someone on the Fourth of July, this would be the perfect soundtrack — How can you fault a pickup story that begins with the pair bonding over their love for Springsteen? The scenario just gets steamier from there, and we can’t deny advice like “Be young, be dope, be proud, like an American.”

Neil Young & the Chrome Hearts, “Let’s Roll Again:” You can always count on our veteran warhorses to hit the nail on the head. On his new album which just dropped this week, Neil calls for some American renewal — specifically, he calls for the car companies to “build something useful people need.” He pounds the message home with plenty of his trademark, heavy-duty lead guitar, and the tune’s resemblance to “This Land is Your Land” is surely no coincidence.

Camper Van Beethoven, “Good Guys & Bad Guys:” This band of California oddballs — still going strong as we speak — may have written the quirkiest patriotic song in pop history. To them, America is all about getting high while the radio’s on. And they sign off with a truly inarguable piece of reasoning: “Just be glad that you live in America, just relax and be yourself. Cause if you didn’t live in America…You’d probably live somewhere else!”

Taylor Swift, “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince:” Taylor Swift doesn’t write a lot of explicit message songs, but this one got surprisingly close, using the storyline of a misunderstood high-school couple to subtly argue against American social and political divisions. It was also one of her first stabs at electronica and when this album (“Lover”) came out in 2019, a few nay-sayers thought her career was on the downswing. It didn’t quite work out that way.

Dumpstaphunk, “Turn This Thing Around:” Led by Ivan Neville of the famous family, this may currently be the funkiest band in New Orleans — and that of course is sayin’ something. With a bassline guaranteed to get you off your butt, this tune celebrates the American tendency to come together when people are in trouble. A party with a purpose indeed.

The Fleshtones, “American Beat ’84:” This vintage party groove is always worth another spin. The New York garage band originally released this song to strike back when MTV was playing an endless stream of UK bands. Copping a Motown feel, the Fleshtones salute America’s gifts to the world, starting with “Louie Louie.” Listen at the end and you’ll hear shout-outs to a few great Boston bands: The Lyres, the Real Kids and the Modern Lovers.

The Violent Femmes, “American Music:” Since this acoustic punk band keeps on keepin’ on (with a show in Medford coming up in October), we’re glad to include one of their greatest hits. It’s one of the few songs in the Femmes’ repertoire that’s got no angst at all, just a celebration of homegrown pop music and the less wholesome things for which it provides a soundtrack. “We like all kinds of music. But I like American music best, baby!”

Frank Sinatra, “The House I Live In:” How did a song this resonant get forgotten over the years? Sinatra went out on a limb with this tune, whose plea for racial and religious tolerance sounded strong in 1945 and more so today. In the accompanying movie, he sees a group of kids chasing someone down for being different, and offers to step in on the outsider’s behalf himself. We could use a guy like that nowadays.