Here are three things to know about America's evolution:

1. Wally and the Beav may be done with the suburbs. People are choosing to live with less space if they can be closer to the social amenities that they want, say authors Leigh Gallagher and Alan Ehrenhalt.

2. The last Apple was in the U.S., and the next Apple will be in the U.S., according to Joel Kurtzman, analyst and author of Unleashing the Second American Century.

3. Julia Child ended up with a cooking show by accident. And that television show set the stage for today's cooking culture.

And here's the playlist, in case you want some of the show music to liven up your backyard barbeque.

• "American Idiot" - Green Day
• "Living in America" - James Brown
• "Party in the USA" - Miley Cyrus
• "American Boy" - Estelle
• "Firework" - Katy Perry
• "American Woman" - Lenny Kravitz