August 13, 2008
I said last time that my next blog would involve a quest – and that’s to come, I promise. But until then, I want to pose a question that’s been on my mind this week: Am I the only one that doesn’t like the recording of “The Star-Spangled Banner” that is being played during the medal ceremonies in Beijing? It probably doesn’t help that they bungled it the first time I heard it (during the ceremony after Michael Phelps won the 400 IM). I can’t quite place my finger on it, but it seems to me like it’s poorly arranged, or a bit unrefined, or something. Is it always that brassy? Is there a “proper” way to arrange or play it?
I searched on iTunes, and there are tons of recordings available (including famous versions by Jimi Hendrix and Whitney Houston) – and I even found a couple I like more.
If there’s anyone out there that knows – is there a standard or common recording of the anthem that’s uniformly used by sports organizations, schools, and other institutions?
2 comments
Agree. It's kind of heavy sounding. I seem to remember noticing the national anthem sounding a little strange at previous Olympics too. Almost as though the band that is playing doesn't really "get" the style. My husband tells the story of a Russian orchestra playing Gershwin -- all the notes correct but it really didn't swing. By the same token, Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty ballets take on a whole new nuance when performed by the Kirov Orchestra. So, maybe it's cultural. As individualistic as we Americans are, I don't really see us pulling off the 2008-man opening ceremony drumming either.
Enjoying your blog!
Ya know, I never noticed THAT about the anthem... but I did notice that anthems are one of the ONLY ways to make us Americans shut up. I mean, you can be ANYwhere - in a movie theatre ridden with cellphones, in a wedding with sobbing relatives, heck even a Church will always have a few pagan chatterboxes - but when that national anthem comes on, we all slap hand to heart and look like a bunch of doped up rhesus monkeys.
Great blog, man!