Let’s Get A New National Anthem
July 3rd, 2008, 12:06 AM EDT
When Denver jazz singer Rene Marie sang the Black National Anthem at the State of the City Address people freaked out, as she was hired to sing the National Anthem which is, unfortunately, the Star Spanged Banner.
Besides the fact that it’s an impossible song to sing, the Star Spangled Banner is based on an old English drinking song. And, do we want our image as a country to be “bombs bursting in air”? There are many other songs that present a fuller and more accurate view of the America I envision. I like this for our National Anthem:
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=X1MaGwl51qg]
boo dixie version. boo
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:07 am
stop hatin’ on the Dixie Chicks, WFG. big meanie.
since that caller brought up John Denver, I’ve had “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” in my head.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kzldLJcorbo
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:29 am
Dixie Chucks
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:31 am
I nominate ZZ TOP’S “Mexican Blackbird” as our new national anthem based on lyrical content…
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:40 am
Dixie Chicks ROCK!
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:42 am
Allen, I am dieing laighing over here:
What if Aliens landed on the roof? Comedy
Conjuror . . . B&N Amazon . . .
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:55 am
Well, if you’re black, or green, or whatever you are, you can’t have your own National Anthem unless you’re forming a separate country, and if that’s the goal then don’t look for my support.
Now the Star Spangled Banner may seem like an impossible song to sing, but that’s in part because we have thousands and thousands of people who own the job, and cut the demos, and get the releases, and all the PR, and someone may stay on the scene for a while, but most don’t really own the vocal instrument that only a very few, very gifted people have shown us over the years.
And, come to think of it, one of the best versions of the SSB I’ve ever heard was an instrumental, played when one of the NY stations signed off, sometime after midnight, maybe WPIX, because, rather than breaking into organ music over the rocket’s red glare, it brought out the brass and the cymbals, and really made something of the song.
And, ultimately, this song should be reminding us that this country was born in battle, through blood and sacrifice, and despite all our flaws and all the problems and all the many injustices, we should give thanks to our founders for the heroic vision they sought valiantly to make real.
Now if you want to make a medley of it, and follow the Anthem with America the Beautiful, that’s fine, but there’s only one Anthem, and I vote it stays.
July 3rd, 2008 at 5:01 am
“And, ultimately, this song should be reminding us that this country was born in battle, through blood and sacrifice, and despite all our flaws and all the problems and all the many injustices, we should give thanks to our founders for the heroic vision they sought valiantly to make real.”
Well put, RC. America the Beautiful is a great song, but it’s hard to deny SSB staying based on arguments like this.
July 3rd, 2008 at 5:17 am
“Still” by the Geto Boys should be the new anthem…
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:22 am
And actually, flap, I even kind of like the jazz/gospel version of AtB in the clip Alan posted, and I have no idea who’s singing it, though it reminds me of Joe Cocker.
And here’s where Marie Rene went wrong: “I don’t think it is necessary for an artist to ask permission to express themselves artistically.”
And that’s fine for a creative performance. But she wasn’t invited there to express her artistry, or to impose her own creative vision. She was there to fulfill a civic function, and if that’s a problem for her she should have opted out beforehand.
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:14 am
wtf, why aren’t there any black people in that video?
rc~ that’s ray charles singing. he’s black. but no black people in the vid. that’s so irritating, but i’ve gotten used to it.
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:23 am
my bad. i watched it again, and there are a handful of tokens in there.
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:24 am
Why am I not surprised that a liberal (credit for Alan admitting he’s a liberal and not running/hiding from it) wants to change the national anthem.
What’s next, that pesky constitution?
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Alan,
Check out “I am an American” Kenny Gamble’s new release featuring Patti LaBelle and the Temple University Symphony Orchestra and Choirs. I’m not suggesting it as a replacement for the national anthem, but I think it’s great.
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Bozak:
The constitution can’t be changed. It’s already been destroyed by the Bush/Cheney family.
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Cheryl, better to be an unbelievably talented black person that singing that song versus being in it! Ray Charles is awesome.
Another great black singer: Sam Cooke! He was brilliant. Someone said Cooke could sing the phone book and it’d be beautiful.
July 3rd, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Oh yeah, Ray Charles. I’m musically illiterate.
But this representation thing is a real problem, because it’s all perception. How many of which kind of Americans is enough to satisfy everybody? Do we go strictly by population? Which population? If you live in some parts of NYC you might think whites are in the minority, and in some neighborhoods you’d be right, but if you live in Iowa you might think minorities amount to no more than a tiny fraction of one percent of the population.
July 3rd, 2008 at 7:20 pm
We should use that Coolio song, Gangsters Paradise.
Seems fitting? No?
July 4th, 2008 at 1:18 am
I found the version of the anthem I’ve always preferred. It dates from the 1980s W-NBC TV station sign-off, courtesy of the US Army band: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edEd2ergAmY
It’s got a lot of brass, and there’s a metaphor in that.
July 4th, 2008 at 3:19 am
This person needed a large bucket of water thrown on her asap.
BOY that song sucked
July 5th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Well RC, you didn’t grow up seeing nothing but white people on TV shows and commercials.
Did I tell you guys about the time when I was about 4 and I sat in my bed and rubbed my legs with a brush to give it that ashy look? My mom came in and asked me what I was doing, and I told her I wanted to be white. She then spanked me, which I think is why I remember it so well.
Things have definitely gotten better. But minorities tend to notice things like this bc we’re used to it. How often do you see a Hispanic in a commercial, or an Asian? Not often, unless they’re a token presented with one or more white people.
July 5th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Alan: you choose not to comment on the fact that Rene Marie did not sing the song she was contracted to sing. You quickly changed the subject. It doesn’t matter what our National Anthem is, that is what she should have sung. Many people, including me, rightly “freaked out.”
July 5th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
If you were hired/asked to sing a song and you chose not to do as requested/agreed then it looks poorly on YOU. No matter what people say afterwards.
The whole thing just shows her ignorence for ANY mutual agreement.
Might as well trash the resume for anymore public GIGs
a performance only Rosanne Barr would be proud of.
July 5th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Alan said she should have sung the correct song.
July 5th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Don~ you must not have listened to the whole show, bc he said that although LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING is a beautiful song, it’s not the National Anthem. He spent plenty of time stating that she shouldn’t have sung it.
If you’re looking for bias, go listen to Hannity’s show.
July 6th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Well actually, Cheryl, I did grow up seeing nothing but white people on TV, but for the rare exceptions like Sammy Davis Jr.
And my question about how many of which minorities is enough wasn’t meant as a slam. It’s a question. And I’d like to know how do we find an answer in a country where even whites are so sensitized to the issue that it seems like no matter what anyone does it’s never enough, or it’s tokenism, or it’s just plain wrong.
July 6th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
RC said~
“Well actually, Cheryl, I did grow up seeing nothing but white people on TV…”
LOL! but you know what I meant, bro.
I really do understand what you mean about the challenge in “properly” representing our various racial groups. No easy answer, man.
And I didn’t think you were slammin’ me or anyone else.
July 7th, 2008 at 2:47 am