THE FOURTH of JULY WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

...with THE BEACH BOYS!  Yep, 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." Given the time of year, I have to include this 1964 clip of "Surfin' U.S.A." which I think is from the same gig that produced these takes on "Little Deuce Coupe," "In My Room," "Shut Down," "Surfer Girl" and "Fun, Fun Fun." 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.

RAY CHARLES performs "America The Beautiful" like no one else.

INDEPENDENCE DAY: Bruce Springsteen, circa 1978, before it came out on The River.

JAMES LILEKS: Truth.

THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER: From 2008, Hidden Track serves up 12 video versions. And the only ones not working now are Jimi Hendrix and Whitney Houston.

THE UNITED STATES prepares to celebrate the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain on July 4, 1776. As the Wikipedia notes, this is a little arbitrary: New Englanders had been fighting Britain since April 1775; the first motion in the Continental Congress for independence was made o­n June 8th; and the Congress voted 12-0 for independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain o­n July 2, 1776. Even so, the publication of the Declaration was momentous .  If you're not in DC, the best way to see and learn about the Declaration may be through the Charters of Freedom website. But you can watch Mel Gibson, Michael Douglas, Renee Zelleweger, Kevin Spacey, Wynona Ryder and other Hollywood folk read the Declaration, after a short introduction by Morgan Freeman.

Of course, the holiday more broadly celebrates the American Revolutionary War, and the Founders' unlikely victory. People with the highest standard of living and the lowest taxes in the Western World fought a sometimes unpopular war for our freedom. Early o­n, the Revolutionaries (also known as "Americans" or "Patriots") had the active support of about 40 to 45 percent of the colonial population. By 1779, there were more Americans fighting with the British than with Washington, which is why Washington needed help from the French, the Spanish and freed Blacks. You can separate fact from fiction regarding the sacrifices and fates of the Founders at Snopes. You can hear two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough read from the first chapter of his 1776 via NPR. Or watch a nifty clip on the passage and public reading of the Declaration from the John Adams miniseries.

DAVE ALVIN: Hey, baby, it's the "4th of July."

POPULAR SONGS: Who Really Owns Them?

NINE HIT SONGS Musicians gave Away to Other Artists.

RETROMANIA: Simon Reynolds talks to PopMatters about his new book and pop's addiction to its own past.

IS THERE A FORMULA FOR HIT SONGS? Two grad students are working on it at Rutgers.

CUTOUT BIN: From Elvis Costello to Led Zeppelin, from Best Coast to Wilson Pickett, from Let's Active to Tom Petty, plus the Modern Lovers, David Byrne, the Beach Boys, the Feelies, Don Covay and more -- this Friday's fortuitous finds are now streaming from the Pate page at the ol' HM.

NOW SHOWING: In addition to Transformers 3, which opened Wednesday scoring 36 percent on the ol' Tomatometer, this weekend's wide counter-programming includes Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts in Larry Crowne, which is scoring 33 percent; and Selena Gomez in Monte Carlo, scoring 43 percent.

SHIA LeBEOUF & MEGAN FOX: More details leak after LeBeouf self-leaked to Details.

JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS (The Tudors) was hospitalized in London this week after a possible suicide attempt involving pills, according to the ever-reliable Sun.

DENISE RICHARDS adopted a baby girl domestically.

LINDSAY LOHAN stumbles leaving a social club on her first night out after the end of her house arrest.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE takes a minority stake in MySpace after its acquisition by online advertising network Specific Media and will help the company develop its new strategy and creative direction.

TOBEY MAGUIRE categorically denies he participated in illegal celebrity poker games.

PRINCE HARRY is having secret trysts with lingerie and swimwear model Florence Brudenell-Bruce, according to the ever-reliable Sun.

CHRIS HANSEN of To Catch a Predator was caught cheating on his wife by the National Enquirer.

AMERICAN IDOL: Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson re-sign as judges; J-Lo remains on the fence.

THOR 2 is pencilled for Summer 2013, albeit without director Kenneth Branagh.

YEMEN: Islamic militants linked to Al Qaeda gained ground on Wednesday in fierce fighting with security forces just outside the strategic southern port city of Zinjibar.

EGYPT: The Victorious Islamists.

IRAQ: June was the bloodiest month for American forces in two years.  US Military officials in Baghdad and at the Pentagon blamed the mounting death toll on the growing sophistication of weapons that insurgents and Iranian-backed militia groups are using, including powerful rockets, armor-piercing grenades and jam-resistant roadside bombs suspected of coming from Iran.

TWIGGY: For the Fourth of July weekend, why not another look at the water-skiing squirrel? Great story. Compelling and rich.

A POLAR BEAR and his trainer...playing together...Mass hysteria!

MISTER PIP: World's Grumpiest Cat?

A GIANT SQUID was found dead off Port Martin, FL.

A SMALL, PLANT-EATING DINOSAUR that became extinct 65 million years ago was the king of the head butt.