The Star Spangled Banner (and other national anthems)

Hawkwings · Post by **Hawkwings** » 2008-01-11 01:42am

Brought up from this topic...

What is up with some truly awful singers being allowed to sing the US national anthem? See video here. Does any other country in the world allow such bad singers to slaughter their national anthem at major sporting events, political rallies, etc?

Post by **weemadando** » 2008-01-11 01:59am

Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes.

Every "artist" who sings it decides that they need to "jazz it up" with their fucking vibratto or ad lib or "I've created a whole new key" or rock impresario powers.

There have been a few awesome covers of anthems (mainly the Eastern European ones by various metal groups), but for the most part its horrible, mind-warping shit.

Post by **Broomstick** » 2008-01-11 02:45am

It doesn't help that the vocal range required is at the limit or beyond the range of many pop singers.

Brother-Captain Gaius · Post by **Brother-Captain Gaius** » 2008-01-11 02:56am

I'm going to go on record and, as much as it pains me to do so, say that I've always thought that Jimi Hendrix's rendition of the anthem was god awful noise.

It's not the electric guitar. I love electric guitar. There's a cover of the Russian anthem out there set to an aggressive, thrash-like rhythm that's fucking awesome. But then they also sung the anthem musically and faithfully so that it was still clearly the original work, except with a legitimate musical variation.

Havok · Post by **Havok** » 2008-01-11 03:07am

The only version I have ever heard of our national anthem that was anywhere close to being better than just "OK" was Whitney Houston at the Super Bowl in, I think, 1990, and it was fucking awesome.

Hendrix's version would have been better if it were shorter.

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » 2008-01-11 08:22am

I'm a firm believer in just having a band (marching band or the like) come in and play the anthem without any singing. Because they always fuck it up.

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2008-01-11 08:47am

It's generally best when hardly anyone knows the words to the National Anthem - that way all versions sound vaguely good, apart from the truly horrific versions.

I honestly don't know the words to GSTQ. Other than the whole crushing rebellious Scotsmen it doesn't sound particularly good.

Havok · Post by **Havok** » 2008-01-11 01:26pm

What's funny with our Anthem is when people try to sing the OTHER part of it. That is just a nationally televised accident waiting to happen.

Dartzap · Post by **Dartzap** » 2008-01-11 02:02pm

The bit where everyone just generally goes "Mmmm, mmmm...mmm..hmm...mmmm! Mmmmm, mmmmm! Hrummmmm...."?

Havok · Post by **Havok** » 2008-01-11 02:10pm

Dartzap wrote:The bit where everyone just generally goes "Mmmm, mmmm...mmm..hmm...mmmm! Mmmmm, mmmmm! Hrummmmm...."?

That's the one.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2008-01-11 04:30pm

You mean like the 2nd and third verses?

pieman3141 · Post by **pieman3141** » 2008-01-12 09:29pm

Canada does it poorly too. Ours, being shorter, has more concentrated awfulness to it if it's done badly. The dude singing at Vancouver Canucks games is pretty alright, though.

I don't believe I've ever heard the Chinese (PRC) anthem sung live, ever. It's just the instrumentals.

I don't think I've ever heard a bad rendition of the Soviet anthem, either. Damn those commie countries, attempting to make their anthems sound good consistently!

The_Saint · Post by **The_Saint** » 2008-01-13 07:11pm

Here in Aus most of the lyrics truly are mmmm hhmmmmm dmmm mmmm hmm mmm and if you actually sing the words to any verses past the first one people think you're a nutter...

Saying that... where most people would say the words need changing some at one of the comedy festivals they put the words to other music and came up with a working class anthem.. sounds pretty good actually..

Doesn't Spain have an anthem with no words? solves the crappy singer problem easily.

white_rabbit · Post by **white_rabbit** » 2008-01-15 11:55am

Hawkwings wrote:Brought up from this topic...

What is up with some truly awful singers being allowed to sing the US national anthem? See video here. Does any other country in the world allow such bad singers to slaughter their national anthem at major sporting events, political rallies, etc?

That can't be real, surely thats some sort of piss-take add-on to that video, otherwise I'm really impressed none of the candidates burst out laughing.

Hawkwings · Post by **Hawkwings** » 2008-01-17 01:13am

pieman3141 wrote:I don't believe I've ever heard the Chinese (PRC) anthem sung live, ever. It's just the instrumentals.

I don't think I've ever heard a bad rendition of the Soviet anthem, either. Damn those commie countries, attempting to make their anthems sound good consistently!

The PRC anthem is sung. In fact, I sang it when I attended school (briefly) in China. It's probably not sung at any sporting events or such.

white_rabbit wrote:That can't be real, surely thats some sort of piss-take add-on to that video, otherwise I'm really impressed none of the candidates burst out laughing.

You think that's bad? this is truly awful, worthy of large quantities of explosives.

Adept · Post by **Adept** » 2008-01-17 12:13pm

I once heard of a truly amazing account of a singer at a Toronto Blue Jays' game. I forget what team they were playing (though it was certainly an American one), and the singer proceeded to belt out the American anthem first. Next, right in the middle of "O Canada", she froze up/forgot the lyrics and went off. Angered a ton of people, let me tell you.

Thanas · Post by **Thanas** » 2008-01-19 09:22am

There was one pop singer in Germany with very little talent who somehow managed to forget/screw up the lyrics of the anthem...before a soccer game.

Her career was pretty much over at that point.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2008-01-19 02:09pm

At a highschool basketball game, once, a girl forgot the words to the national anthem. People started heckling her, and she ran off crying.

Havok · Post by **Havok** » 2008-01-19 06:37pm

Something similar happened at a pro game of B-ball, but just when the crowd started to turn one of the players came to the girls aide and started singing with her.

Qwerty 42 · Post by **Qwerty 42** » 2008-01-20 12:54am

Hendrix's version is awfully, awfully screechy.

Whatever TSO did to their version of "O Holy Night" would make for a very good version of The Star-Spangled Banner.

Apparently Zeppelin also covered it as part of Achilles Last Stand live, but alas, it cannot be legally obtained

.

KlavoHunter · Post by **KlavoHunter** » 2008-01-20 01:06am

The crowd at a game should, after a singer finishes the National Anthem, perform a Colosseum-style thumbs-up or thumbs-down to determine the fate of the singer - if it was good, they can live. If it was bad, they are immediately executed on the field!

Executor32 · Post by **Executor32** » 2008-01-20 06:51am

I rather like the EU anthem, being the Ode to Joy and all. However, like my own national anthem, I only know all the words to the first verse.

wjs7744 · Post by **wjs7744** » 2008-01-20 08:15am

it has words?

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The Star Spangled Banner (and other national anthems)

The Star Spangled Banner (and other national anthems)

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