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Posted

Ok I guess. Too much improvisation for my taste but completely appropriate given the venue.

 

If you want to hear God Bless America in all its glory. Try a version by Kate Smith in her prime. No one has done it better.

 

 

Are you talking about this bimbo and

?

 

youtube.com/watch?v=rfcdrUDQ_tc

Posted

Aguilera did butcher the song. The over the top Mariah Carey esque approach is horrible for me and messing up the words is just stupid.

 

However, it is just a song at its base and to the extent it can have special reverence that actually stems from the circumstance and not from the simple words themselves. I make no personal demands that anyone sing it exactly as it was written but only that one make changes which work. Aguilera's rendition is not bad because it changed the original words it was bad because it was not good communication, sharing, entertainment, etc.

 

My personal favorite national anthem was a personal one when a bar in Greenwich village I was in to watch the US Hockey team beat the Russians in the 80 Olympics spontaneously sang the anthem.

 

The best performance of the anthem I have seen was by Marvin Gaye at an early 80s NBA All Star game > youtube.com/watch?v=QRvVzaQ6i8A < Ironically, he probably changed more words than Aguilera (but at least his changes made sense and evoked a sense of reverence in most. He simply showed his mastery of music where he employed a beat timing which was appropriate to the song but unusual in its presentation.

 

Personally, I think America the Beautiful (in particular the Ray Charles version) would be a far better national anthem than the Star Spangled Banner (easier to sing and speaks to glories of the land that we love rather than the more martial Banner, but either can work in the hands (and pipes) of a good artist.

 

I would have been calling for the traditional singing like everybody else today, except that my favorite is the one you posted. Marvin Gaye's rendition is so awesome.......Magic Johnson said nobody wanted to play basketball. They just wanted to keep listening to Marvin.

Posted

This will always be the standard for me

 

youtube.com/watch?v=YHmdu_I_0zI

 

I agree, and contrary to previous posters, she did not just sing it, she made it her own, with her on style and interpretation, but without completely changing its core feels/style. Thats what good artists and musicians do when performing standards, and by doing so, they make their performance the NEW standard (anyone notice how every new artist in some way emmulates a portion of whitney's version while performing the national anthem? She was pretty amazing...but like rick james said, cocaine's a helluva drug.

 

I'm just sayin.

Posted

She muffed the line, big deal. She did recover and went on. Without instant replay and youtube and twitter etc, most people wouldn't have even known. If you've ever performed music in front of large crowds you'd know that it's not a matter of if you're going to make a mistake, but how you recover. She recovered and carried on like a true professional. Nice job CA.

 

The Mo Cheeks thing was cool though.

Posted

 

Here's the complete opposite of what went down yesterday. A young girl freezes up and Mo Cheeks knows precisely what to do.

 

Kind of like

 

 

I'm okay with non- traditional renditions. Whitney Houston, Marvin Gaye, Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson gave great interpretations. Occasionally I guess you have to put up with Mariah Carey and her squeal or Aguilera, whose renditions seem to forced even when she doesn't blow a line.

Posted

I thought it was treasonist.

 

My 6 yr. old grandgirl came to attention when the first words were sang. Proud of her, I did as well, next to her. SHE caught the flub and was concerned with what she heard, given her expressions, but remained silent and at attention throughout. I hugged her afterward and apologized -on behalf of old Americans everywhere.

Posted

I thought it was treasonist.

 

 

She made a mistake singing a song and that's treasonous? (yeah it's treasonous, not "treasonist" - that's not a word).

 

It's called perspective old timer. Get some.

 

But i guess that's what America is all about: we can all have an opinion. No matter how irrational and reactionary it is.

Posted

She made a mistake singing a song and that's treasonous? (yeah it's treasonous, not "treasonist" - that's not a word).

 

It's called perspective old timer. Get some.

 

But i guess that's what America is all about: we can all have an opinion. No matter how irrational and reactionary it is.

While Chandler used it as an adjectival noun, ' treasonist ' most certainly IS a word...

 

treasonist

 

Noun 1. treasonist - someone who betrays his country by committing treason [syn: traitor]

 

 

(It's called literacy, young pup. Get Some.)

Posted

Yeah, I thought the national anthem was bad, but it is every year. The NFL hired Christina Aguilera to sing the anthem, because she is who she is, good or bad. They got what they hired. She has vocal skills, though her style is not anything to my liking, I can't see vilifying her for it. Honestly, and I will bet this is true of most here, I tuned out Christina almost immediately, never noticed the flubbed line...

 

As for the half time show, last year, it was common pop culture humor to rank on the Who for beig old, "can't we they get anyone from this millenium?" So, we got that, and it turns out, it was even worse...maybe the Super Bowl should just avoid this crap altogether...

Posted

Well done - i stand corrected. Whether Aguilera is treasonous treasonist or a traitor or turncoat for flubbing a lyric is an important question to consider, and my embarrassing illiteracy will certainly kill the debate.

 

My apologies to the entire pack of ornery moderators and their precious offended granddaughters for my insolence and limited vocabulary.

Posted

She was awful. I think the whole Super Bowl crapped the bed. Fail all over the place.

 

All that being said, I'd give Aguliera another chance next year to redeem herself. I think that would be a classy touch.

Posted (edited)

Communist? How dare you, sir? :D

 

If it makes you feel better, there's nothing like 80,000 drunken English football fans singing "God Save the Queen." And my favorite would have to be Turkey's. Those minor notes are badass.

 

 

England's anthem may be the only one I'd put on a par with ours. I love the Brits. And yes, I'm an unabashed jingoist :P

Edited by joesixpack
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