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Super Bowl flub in the National Anthem?

For us, I think, it's more about the spirit of the country than anything else. We all know that the government isn't perfect and that things are a mess, but ingrained in us is a sense of unity and hope because we know how great we can be.

Nice sentiment. I just think that feeling should encompass everyone, rather than being border, or anthem, specific.
 
Anyway, soldiers and civilians started singing the Star-Spangled Banner before baseball games during the US Civil War as a symbol of Union solidarity. It was played on opening day in Philadelphia in 1897, and regularly at the Polo Grounds in NYC from 1898 on. President Wilson ordered it to be played at military events and other appropriate settings in 1916, and two years later it gained national association with baseball when it was played during the seventh inning stretch of the World Series during WW1. President Hoover signed it into law as the official national anthem in 1931. During WW2 the song 'Ballad for Americans' performed by football player/singer Paul Robeson (and later Bing Crosby) actually competed with it in popularity at some sporting events for a while.

The modern tradition of singing it before every baseball game (and gradually every major pro sporting event afterward) came about as a result of the huge number of professional baseball players (over 700) returning from serving in WW2. It was sung in their honor and eventually caught on as a pre-game tradition.
Thank you, I didn't know any of that. I still think it's a silly tradition, but I guess most traditions are silly.
I would argue that going to a baseball game is one of the most American things a person can do, so of course we sing the anthem every time! There are few things that make me feel like more of an American than sitting at Wrigley Field, watching baseball, and eating a hotdog :D
 
For us, I think, it's more about the spirit of the country than anything else. We all know that the government isn't perfect and that things are a mess, but ingrained in us is a sense of unity and hope because we know how great we can be.

Nice sentiment. I just think that feeling should encompass everyone, rather than being border, or anthem, specific.

Y'know, it's ok for the Americans to have some things to themselves occasionally.
 
I would argue that going to a baseball game is one of the most American things a person can do, so of course we sing the anthem every time! There are few things that make me feel like more of an American than sitting at Wrigley Field, watching baseball, and eating a hotdog :D
Heh, nice. :) But then the anthem is redundant, right? ;)
 
I agree with Trekker4747 and Maestro's sentiments that the singing of the National Anthem should be about the song and not so much about it being a showcase for the performer. Personally, I do not care for the extra vocal gymnastics and "warbling" that some singers add to the anthem. I would prefer to hear someone with a good voice simply singing the song "straight".

On a separate point, however, I must disagree strongly with those who claim that singing the lyrics incorrectly can only be the result of either not knowing the words well to begin with, or doing a poor job in 'cramming' to learn them at the last minute.

I feel that those holding these views about forgetting words probably do not have any public speaking, or stage or singing performance in their background. I do not care if you are Frank Sinatra or Joe Shmo from some community theater. We are all human. We sometimes mess up and forget lines or lyrics, and BELIEVE ME you have no choice as to whether it occurs while you are singing songs at some reunion of old classmates or during your big solo at the Kennedy Center. Makes no difference how many times you have sung the lyrics.

It has happened to me. It feels like a cold icicle being driven up your spine. It is like turning a page in your personal photo album and being stunned as you see someone has mysteriously removed all the photos from those pages. As my friend would say, "Brain Fart!"

If you are really good, you probably don't forget words, but I suspect it does happen to most everyone in entertainment, including high paid professional performers.

(I find it curious that I haven't seen a thread discussing how unpatriotic it was that during the Super Bowl certain high-paid, professional athletes that practice their skills on a very regular basis messed up and dropped passes that day....)

Perhaps the focus on adding extra notes and syllables did create a sort of distraction that lead to getting lost in the actual lyrics, but this does not make Christina Aguilera evil or possessing bad intent.
 
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At least we didn't bare;y see her nipple poking out of a big shield.
I wouldn't have minded.

Anyway, my problem with the performance wasn't so much the vocals as it was her atrocious treatment of the song itself. It's not a solo. It's not a vocal exercise. Sing the goddamn notes and stop throwing in random pitch changes and Chewbacca growls.

Now enjoy a treat. This is how it should be done:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3qD1jKNYaU[/yt]
 
I'm sorry, but I'm afraid they're just too goddamn loud. ;)

No, that was great too and another example of how it should be sang without getting stupid with it.
 
At least we didn't bare;y see her nipple poking out of a big shield.
I wouldn't have minded.

Anyway, my problem with the performance wasn't so much the vocals as it was her atrocious treatment of the song itself. It's not a solo. It's not a vocal exercise. Sing the goddamn notes and stop throwing in random pitch changes and Chewbacca growls.

Now enjoy a treat. This is how it should be done:

Damn straight. That's the Captain Santelmann harmonization, and it's being sung respectfully and reverently. The focus from the start is on the nation (Please join Huey Lewis and the News).

There are two standard harmonizations. There is the Santelmann, which is commonly used by bands and vocal groups. Then there is the Sousa, which is used only by bands. The only difference is the addition of running 1/8th notes in the bass line during the final strain. With singers, Captain Santelmann's harmonization fits right on top of Sousas band harmonization.
 
It's not a solo. It's not a vocal exercise. Sing the goddamn notes and stop throwing in random pitch changes and Chewbacca growls.
Surely if you guys insist on listening to the exact same song over and over again every time you go to a sports event, the only way to make that bearable is to allow for all kinds of different interpretations of said song. Otherwise, you might as well just record an official version and stick with it, while I bring my iPod to the stadium.
 
We're not fucking listening! That's the point that you foreigners can't seem to grasp. We're all supposed to be singing it TOGETHER as a sign of our national unity.

You can listen to some hip-hop version of "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken" on your iPod before your football games. I'm going to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before ours.

Get it?
 
We're not fucking listening! That's the point that you foreigners can't seem to grasp. We're all supposed to be singing it TOGETHER as a sign of our national unity.

You can listen to some hip-hop version of "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken" on your iPod before your football games. I'm going to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" before ours.

Get it?
Well, I'm not a foreigner, and I listen to the singer rather than sing along. Perhaps it's not worth getting this worked up over.
 
At least we didn't bare;y see her nipple poking out of a big shield.
I wouldn't have minded.

Anyway, my problem with the performance wasn't so much the vocals as it was her atrocious treatment of the song itself. It's not a solo. It's not a vocal exercise. Sing the goddamn notes and stop throwing in random pitch changes and Chewbacca growls.

Now enjoy a treat. This is how it should be done:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3qD1jKNYaU[/yt]

Are Sha-Na-Na still together?
 
At least we didn't bare;y see her nipple poking out of a big shield.
I wouldn't have minded.

Anyway, my problem with the performance wasn't so much the vocals as it was her atrocious treatment of the song itself. It's not a solo. It's not a vocal exercise. Sing the goddamn notes and stop throwing in random pitch changes and Chewbacca growls.

Now enjoy a treat. This is how it should be done:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3qD1jKNYaU[/yt]

This performance is great. Great sound and well-done, yet not a gaudy showcase for how a performer could "make the song their own". Like Baby Bear's porridge- just right. Thank you for sharing, Guitarded.
 
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