National Anthem issuesâ?¦

[DuWayne Steurer]

Now I know people will say this is a football topic, or whatever, but I don't think it's just football.

 

In general, I don't see many performers, be it football, baseball (you know, like all star game or world series game) who treat the Anthem with any kind of reverence anymore. They all gotta 'make it their own' or whatever, by making one syllable words into 8 syllable words. Or singing the lines wrong. Or in the case of those idiots in Chicago, cheering wildly during the entire singing of the anthem.

 

I'm not much of a fuddy duddy or a person who puts much stock in 'tradition'. Maybe it's the little bit of a patriot or whatever in me, who knows. I'm just tired of seeing the anthem butchered, disrespected, and just generally apparently not meaning anything to these people who can't perform it properly (or in teh case of those idiots in Chicago, respect it during the singing of it).

 

Tell me I'm wrong, tell me I'm too old fashioned, whatever. Not asking you to agree. It just bugs me.

[rwa12]

Honestly, I would be just fine if they played the Whitney Houston version at every major event. I don't believe that can be topped.

[TabbertBB]

The key is that they need to get away from these "stars" that don't know the words. Select a church choir or 5th grade choir that can actually sing and know the words.

[djoctagone]

i'm not a big fan of a song that reminds us about war. i'd much rather that "america the beautiful" became our national anthem . . . especially if it prompts this and future generations to become better stewards of this nation's spectacular beauty.

[GAME05]

i'm not one of those people who were bothered at all by Aguilera flubbing the lines--it's a huge moment and nerves can get the best of anybody. that a singer takes one vowel and stretches it out for 10 seconds of "see what a good voice i have!" has always bugged me, but that seems like more a product of today's pop songs and what people apparently want in a singer. although i really dislike that it makes the song impossible to sing along to.

 

i've always thought that a singer should singers should sing the song as-is so that we can appreciate the lyrics or the melody instead of having to run up and down three octaves at every opportunity. if you have a good voice, then it'll come through. of course it all smacks of "Music these days is terrible..." which just makes me old.

 

though i'd love to speak on the whole Marine flag-waving neo-con comments, that'd be a sure way to kill this thread.

[joepepsi]

though i'd love to speak on the whole Marine flag-waving neo-con comments, that'd be a sure way to kill this thread.

Deleted it.

 

Agree with you on the modern Mariah Carey style "octave runs" of singing. Annoying.

[bjkrautk]

It goes hand-in-hand: if you are going to 'Diva up' the National Anthem....you can't screw it up at the same time.

 

She screwed it up.

[1992casey]

The most "correct" version is quite brisk. You hear it when military bands perform it. That doesn't mean that "unique" renditions aren't cool if they're done well and performed under the right circumstances.

 

At games, however, people want to sing along. Often, that's impossible. The pace should remain consistent, and the melody should be predictable. Maybe one time out of ten there can be an exception. I remember a really cool guitar version at a Brewers game, for instance. The problem is that everyone wants to be that exception.

 

If it isn't a sing-along situation, there'd be much more latitude for singers to do what they want. There still needs to be quality, though. Quality was certainly lacking yesterday.

[pitchleague]

Back in college, one of my vocal coaches told us that "The Star Spangled Banner" is one of the toughest songs to sing in the history of music because of the vocal range that is required of it. If you start too low, the high parts completely lose any bravado and "umph" (please note, not a technical term) creating a pretty boring song that should be exciting. If you start to high, your voice will likely crack or worse on the really high parts (see Carl Lewis.) In order to perform the song in public, he said, one really needs to research the song with your voice to find the right key to sing it in.

 

As for the idiots in Chicago (or anywhere, really) that yell or scream or whatever during the anthem, I wouldn't have a problem with it if they were actually singing along. It would probably reek with a little bit of patriotism if they did that. Watch

if you want to get some goosebumps.

[1992casey]

Performing as part of a

will get you around the range requirements. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[zurch1818]

Maybe it should sound more like the original 1700's English Drinking song, To Anacreon In Heaven.? I still can't believe our National Anthem is based off a drinking song.

 

[pitchleague]

Page 2 has a whole article about why it's hard to sing.[/url]

 

Please note that I wrote my first post in this topic over an hour ago and did not know of this Page 2 article.

[Teatoe993]

[hawing]

Watch

if you want to get some goosebumps.

That was cool. I'm not saying I want to move to Canada or anything, but I really like O Canada as a song, and prefer it to The Star-Spangled Banner as an "anthem."

 

Having heard a ton of different renditions of the U.S. national anthem at Miller Park and elsewhere, the S.O. and I have developed specific opinions (fortunately, ours are about the same) of what makes an anthem performance good. We both prefer a relatively straightforward performance to the all-too-common American-Idol-ized versions. "Diva-ed Up" is also a good phrase, though that kind of performance is definitely not limited to women singers.

 

We've also discussed several time over the years whether the anthem is a performance (i.e. the rest of us listen to the performer/s) or a sing-along. Some renditions seem more appropriate with audience silence, or (as 1992casey mentioned) are near-impossible with which to sing along. I usually don't sing along because I want to hear the performer/s.

 

My favorite MP performance (to date) of the national anthem was 2-3 years ago by a quartet from the Mount Horeb Fire Department. I heard that one on the radio and had goose bumps and teary eyes by the end - and I'm not one to wear patriotism on my sleeve.

[logan82]

As well known as the national anthem is why wouldn't everybody lip sync?

[nate82]

i'm not a big fan of a song that reminds us about war. i'd much rather that "america the beautiful" became our national anthem . . . especially if it prompts this and future generations to become better stewards of this nation's spectacular beauty.

You must really hate all of the other countries national anthems then. Most of them are about war.

[Paulus88]

I'm particular to straight up versions of the national anthem, but one of my favorites is Marvin Gaye's version during the 1983 NBA all star game, wholly untraditional and completely awesome.

 

Added:

[CheezWizHed]

Lt. Frank Drebin of Naked Gun. Best EVER!

 

I actually didn't listen to Christina Agulara sing the whole thing last night, as so many butcher it, I stop paying attention (and that is the shameful part of it). But I do remember her completely missing at one point (either "free" or "brave" at the end of the song) and being surprised that a singer like that could miss so badly.

 

I'll also throw in that most people are not used to singing with the stadium echo, so that throws many off.

[stoops17]

Or in the case of those idiots in Chicago, cheering wildly during the entire singing of the anthem.

I'm assuming this is in response to the NFC championship at Soldier Field? If so, the reason they did it is because Jim C the singer, is the Blackhawks anthem singer, the tradition has been going for a while as I remember my first ever Blackhawks game in the mid 80's they did it at Chicago Stadium, it was so loud, I couldn't hear the people around me, I saw their lips moving singing, but all I heard was the thunder of everyone cheering and people brought their OWN flags to the game, one was so big it was hanging from the upper level, to the next lower level where those people were grabbing it and waving it back and forth. Hearing that, feeling that, and seeing that was enough for me. For most it's a chance to get loud, for some you feel this energy in knowing that singing, cheering or just watching, most everyone in that stadium is on the same wavelength in the enjoyment and energy of the moment. TV doesn't do it justice. And if the Medal of Honor winner likes it, I like it.

[LouisEly]

Jim C gave the best rendition of the National Anthem that I ever recall hearing in my life, and he should be required to sing the National Anthem at every major sporting event similar to how Michael Buffer is the ring announcer at every fight and many other things.

 

I've had enough of people trying to put their own spin on it. Like bjk said above, if you're going to diva it up you better not screw it up.

[trwi7]

I don't really have a problem cheering during the national anthem. Watch

video. Really amazing.

[DHonks]

I'll always remember the first Packer game after 9/11, country star/vocalist Martina McBride sang the anthem in a way that made me cry. Simple, yet beautifully done from one of the best voices in the music world.

[dadofandrew]

I love the Chicago version. We should cheer every time the song is sung.

 

The USA is free because it was willing to fight for its freedom...it wasn't a gift. It's a song to honor the flag, the nation, and those who fought for it. While America the Beautiful is a lovely song, it does not symbolize what we stand for like the National Anthem does.

[GAME05]

if the Martina McBride rendition of the National Anthem is hard enough to duplicate, then i'd sure hate to be the singer to have to follow Ray Charles' or Marian Anderson's renditions of America the Beautiful.

 

the Star Spangled Banner has such a deep historical context that i appreciate, which America the Beautiful, though a nice song, doesn't offer.