The Independence Day Saturday List — July 4, 2026

What I'm Watching, Reading, Listening to, and Rediscovering on America's 250th Birthday

The Stars Have Aligned…And, luckily for me, this little ol’ list that started nearly a year ago gets to give you The Saturday List on July 4.

250 years ago today, July 4, 1776, Philadelphia. The Declaration of Independence was ratified, and a new nation was born.

Sure, the process of getting the signatures might have taken awhile — copies had to be printed the old-fashioned way; can you imagine life without email? — but the fact is that this date is cemented on the calendar.

Happy Birthday, America! Now, onto this week’s list.

Watching: The Patriot

Not to be confused with the TV show Patriot, about which I wrote last year, this is The Patriot, which was the revolutionary war film that starred Mel Gibson.

(My suggestion for a title was The Passion of The George, but this movie was not written or directed by Gibson, so that joke falls flat. Also, it’s not about George Washington.)

While the film is historical fiction, it does a really good job of painting the human cost of the revolution. The scene below serves as a little foreshadowing of what was to come later in the film; and it includes the late Heath Ledger, fellow Oscar winner Chris Cooper, and Gibson as the lead character, Benjamin Martin.

Worth a watch on a day like today.

Reading: All About The Declaration of Independence

How about a patriotic rabbit hole?

The National Archives website provides just that opportunity, and one thing I’ve been digging into all week is the list of the signers of The Declaration of Independence.

There are some expected names: John Adams, John’s second cousin Samuel Adams, Ben Franklin; and there are some fun names, like Charles Carroll of Carrollton, or William Williams. And George Washington’s name ISN’T there (he was busy, in New York, leading an army).

Realize this, though: it took…a while…to get all the signatures, and the last of the 56 was secured on August 2.

On the site you can play around quite a bit, even adding your own John Hancock to the document. And you can spin through the other big documents from our nation’s founding, including the Constitution of The United States and the Bill of Rights.

Listening to: SiriusXMU’s ‘All-American Indie 250 Countdown’

SiriusXMU is one of my presets, and it’s the station I’m most likely to have on in the car. (There’s a Yacht Rock channel, though, that also gets fired up on longer trips.) All weekend, they’re ranking their take on the best songs from American artists in Indie rock history.

Anyway, I figure that, since the music I share here is probably more “Indie” than anything, why not share three songs that I’ll bet you’ll hear on the list; or at least that I’d put on this list.

The Strokes, “Juicebox.”

Sure, “Last Nite” is likely the song that put them on the map — and I bet it’s pretty high up on the XMU list — but I’m a big fan of this song.

Built to Spill, “Carry the Zero.”

Just a fun, kinda-trippy, late 90s Indie rock anthem.

Sufjan Stevens, “Chicago.” Uber-talented, puts on a tremendous live show, clever as heck — “Come on, feel the Illinoise!” — and “Chicago” is still amazing.

Rediscovering: The Greatest Performance of The Star-Spangled Banner…Ever

I will accept no debate on this subject.

Wayne Messmer, Chicago Stadium, NHL All-Star Game, 1991. During the Gulf War.

Wherever your celebrations take you this year, make them safe and extra-special. Thanks for hanging out with us each and every Saturday.

Dave