Semi-OT: Just sing the goddamn tune!

[Aidan]

The fallout from Christine Aguilera's slip-up at the Superbowl is now all over the web - am I the only one who finds her "performance" far more offensive than her forgetting the words?

 

The Star Spangled Banner is a perfectly nice tune, carefully composed by Englishman John Stafford Smith. Why do singers like Aguilera (she's far from being the only guilty party in this respect) believe they are "improving" it by splitting up its phrases and inserting their own inane improvisations?

 

What is wrong with just singing the goddamn tune as it's written? Maybe then people might remember the words, huh?

 

And yes, before someone mentions baroque ornamentation and classical cadenza tradition, I'm aware of all that, but mostly those were executed by people blessed with ability and taste. The Aguileras and Careys of this world have neither.

[Pale]

I wouldn't go as far as saying that Aguilera has no ability.

[ITGITC]

 

Agreed.

 

So what do you tell someone like Marvin Gaye regarding taking liberties with the song?

 

On the one hand, you want them to add their unique style.

 

On the other, if you give them too much leeway, you'll get a performance like that of Ms. Aguilera.

 

I would like someone with a really good voice, who can remember the lyrics, to sing it straight.

 

Is this too much to ask? :idk

 

Err, happy Monday monkeys.

 

Tom

 

[zephonic]

It could be worse...

 

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1889754_1889752_1889689,00.html

 

Check all fo them. Have fun!

[smanzella]

Per my middle school and junior high band director who was a retired Naval officer and Navy band leader;

 

The National Anthem of any country, especially this of ours, The Star Spangled Banner, is an anthem of reverence and respect. Therefore, the Star Spangled Banner is not an opportunity for someone to perform and show off. It should not be improvised or changed and should be performed with the greatest care and respect. Spectators are encouraged not to applaud the Star Spangled Banner but to sing its lyrics and think about their meaning and importance.

 

As young band students, we were required to play our parts perfectly. In fact, each semester exam included playing our parts. A good portion of our graded depended on it. Additionally, screwing up the Star Spangled Banner got you thoroughly yelled at. The band director would always discourage the audience from applauding when we opened each concert with it.

 

That was my first training with The Star Spangled Banner and I still adhere to those beliefs. There are plenty of other tunes for singers to show off with. When a singer sings The National Anthem, he or she is not so much performing as they are providing a service by leading others in its singing, like when a clergyman leads a congregation in prayer.

 

My beliefs...to each his own......

[Aidan]

Yeah, I saw that clip of Marvin. But great as he was, that arrangement sounds contrived to me, albeit well performed.

[Mogut]

Okay, maybe one simple embellishment IF YOU MUST! but not every single god darn word needs to be beat to death with R&B nonsense and silly pitch fluctuations.

[Dana.]

Unfortunately, she has made a strong case for lip synching.

[johnchop]

Me, I'd like to retire "Star Spangled Banner" in favor of "America the Beautiful". Easier to sing, nicer tune, lyrics more about the beauty and scope of the natural resources, less about blowing stuff up.

 

Also not a former drinking song.

 

 

 

-John

[Aidan]

At least we're now all aware of the true meaning of "extreme rendition"

[DanS]

Unfortunately, she has made a strong case for lip synching.

 

I thought it was manditory that the performance was pre-recorded and then lip-synched for the show?

At one point it seemed like she was lip-synching, but then thought they couldn't have pre-recorded such crap.

 

At one point my buddy says "she's starting to look a lot like Cyndi Lauper..."

[SK]

Some singers think the national anthem is all about them - it's no longer about the music or the lyrics, but how much they can show off.

[B3bluesman59]

Aidan wrote: The Star Spangled Banner is a perfectly nice tune, carefully composed by Englishman John Stafford Smith.

________________________________________________________________

The poem that would become the lyrics to our US National Anthem was composed in 1814 by Francis Scott Key as he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Maryland during what we now call the War of 1812. A few months later it was joined together with the music to a popular British drinking song of the day and The Star Spangled Banner was born.

[AnotherScott]

Per my middle school and junior high band director who was a retired Naval officer and Navy band leader;

 

The National Anthem of any country, especially this of ours, The Star Spangled Banner, is an anthem of reverence and respect. Therefore, the Star Spangled Banner is not an opportunity for someone to perform and show off. It should not be improvised or changed and should be performed with the greatest care and respect.

I'll guess he wasn't much of a Hendrix fan.

[Tonysounds]

I hate musicians who are ruled by their ego and let the music suffer at its (ego) expense. Marvin Gayes famous version was initially met with public outcry, but he was respectful of the melody (and the lyrics!), he just did it his way..and of course, now its considered a hallmark; Stravinsky was arrested in 1940 at the initial performance by the Boston Symphony of his beautiful arrangement of the anthem because he tampered with the harmony (chords; he dared introduce some 7ths where there were none as written); and of course you cant talk about the anthem without discussing Hendrix: of all, his seems the most sacrilegious at face value, but you cant talk about it without putting it in context, which was in the heat of Americas civil unrest over the VietNam War, and as a veteran military paratrooper, a lot of his performance was the sonic recreation of him jumping out of an airplane and chuting into battle. To me, its the most faithful and respectful of the versions as it goes right to the spirit of its lyrics: Francis Scott Key wrote it after watching British warships bombing Fort McHenry.

 

And as has already been pointed out, F.S. Key only wrote the lyrics, and composed them to a popular British drinking song.

 

So to bring it all back home: Xtina knows better, and has performed this song many times. She just puts herself before it. And thats the true crime here, not only in terms of musicality, but in terms of patriotism.

 

She's no stranger to butchering the national anthem.

 

[video:youtube]

[Ken Beaumont]

I'll guess he wasn't much of a Hendrix fan.

 

Hendrix was stoned, who knows he may have been trying to play it with reverence.

[Adan]

As for the histrionics (not the flub), I would blame it in part on the prevalent notion (American Idol, etc.) that music is a competition. And where would you expect that idea to have the most support and creedence? At the superbowl, of course.

[Bobadohshe]

Me, I'd like to retire "Star Spangled Banner" in favor of "America the Beautiful". Easier to sing, nicer tune, lyrics more about the beauty and scope of the natural resources, less about blowing stuff up.

 

Not to go OT, but I couldn't disagree with that take more. The song is not about blowing stuff up. It's about withstanding the British blowing US up during the war of 1812, looking up at down, and being seized with pride and conviction when the flag had remained standing through it all. I think about those lyrics everytime, even now, and I get goosebumps.

[ProfD]

It is unfortunate that vocalists are more focused on riffs and runs than lyrics. Musicians are also guilty of butchering songs to satisfy themselves.

 

Whether it is studied or subliminal seduction, as singers and musicians have become exposed to more Gospel and Jazz, they are trying to incorporate those flavors in popular music with mixed results.

 

Thankfully, there are still singers and musicians who know the importance of lyrics and melodies, taste and restraint. It is unfortunate that they aren't "popular" enough to deliver on the biggest stages.

[theGman]

Once in a while it would be nice to hear the SSB sung with a little class and respect, and not like it's being sung by someone from a 3rd world country who never heard it before. This crap really is getting old.

 

+1 to OP. Just sing the damn song like it's written!

[SK]

Good post, tonysounds.

 

I have no problem with people taking artistic liberties with the national anthem if it's done with reverence for the song. Another example, believe it or not, was Whitney Houston. She sang a good version of the anthem at an early 90's Super Bowl in a nice reharm of the song, which did not detract from the meaning/purpose of the piece.

[Meisenhower]

Me, I'd like to retire "Star Spangled Banner" in favor of "America the Beautiful". Easier to sing, nicer tune, lyrics more about the beauty and scope of the natural resources, less about blowing stuff up.

 

Also not a former drinking song.

 

-John

 

 

I second that. America the Beautful, sung by Ray Charles! How much more American do you need!

[Eric Iverson]

I am used to vocal flourishes by singers on the national anthem. Sometimes singers do flourishes in order to better express how they feel about the words - it's not ALWAYS about ego, in other words!

But I DID think that her flourishes were excessive and her pitch was questionable at times - of course, she was singing a capella and lots of singers are not used to that - they're used to having accompaniment to help keep them on pitch!

That's actually one of the few times I've heard her, since I don't usually follow cute young blonde singers. An artistic prejudice, I guess - I tend to assume they're not very good. But both of my sisters are blondes, and one of them is a fine flautist.

[kanker.]

I'll guess he wasn't much of a Hendrix fan.

 

Hendrix was stoned, who knows he may have been trying to play it with reverence.

Hendrix was making an art piece. I hear all the patriotism and reality that generation was feeling and experiencing in his rendition. It was kind of like Machine Gun, a sound collage that was a pretty singular experience. That said, it's one of the rare non-traditional renditions I've heard that I could defend.

 

The first NFL Sunday after the 9/11 attacks, there were a variety of different remembrances and Star Spangled Banner performances at the different game venues. Many were star studded, and in typical star-fashion, a bit over the top. I was at the game in Indy. There was no star, there was no real singer. There was, IIRC, a local media representative leading the crowd in the Star Spangled Banner. It was solemn, respectful, and with 60,000 voices singing it 'properly' in unison, it was one of the most beautiful and stirring things I have ever experienced. As a musician, I was touched every bit as deeply as I was as an American. I wish we could do it that way every game - simply, as a united group of citizens, with respect.

[Ken Beaumont]

That reminds me that we recently had an 8 year girl sing for the Admirals Hockey game. Her mic went dead and the audience finished the song without missing a beat.

 

[video:youtube]

[Tonysounds]

I'll guess he wasn't much of a Hendrix fan.

 

Hendrix was stoned, who knows he may have been trying to play it with reverence.

Hendrix was making an art piece. I hear all the patriotism and reality that generation was feeling and experiencing in his rendition. It was kind of like Machine Gun, a sound collage that was a pretty singular experience. That said, it's one of the rare non-traditional renditions I've heard that I could defend.

 

 

+1

 

Thank you for putting it so succinctly.

[ITGITC]

 

That reminds me that we recently had an 8 year girl sing for the Admirals Hockey game. Her mic went dead and the audience finished the song without missing a beat.

 

And that was very, very cool.

[Garrafon]

IF her performance was pre-recorded, then that only makes her worse than I already thought she was.

 

I agree with all the negative comments about the "artistic license" she took with the song.

 

Putting that aside, what disgusted me the most was that she can't sing. Sounded like all the cats in Dallas were murdered simultaneously.

[stepay]

I am neither a patriot who needs respect and reverence given to the Star Spangled Banner nor a music traditionalist who can't stand to see tunes shaken up a bit. I AM though a lover of music and like to see any changes be at least an improvement or interesting. Aguilera looked like a failed American Idol contestant last night. It was just not good at all. She should be really embarrassed. Piss poor performance.

[zephonic]

Me, I'd like to retire "Star Spangled Banner" in favor of "America the Beautiful". Easier to sing, nicer tune, lyrics more about the beauty and scope of the natural resources, less about blowing stuff up.

 

Also not a former drinking song.

 

-John

 

 

I second that. America the Beautful, sung by Ray Charles! How much more American do you need!

 

+1