Posted on 08/11/2016 7:57:36 AM PDT by simpson96
RIO DE JANEIRO — The playing of the United States’ national anthem at medal ceremonies is bringing tears to the eyes of American athletes here. Elsewhere, the song is having a very different effect.
“It is driving me crazy,” said Jason DeBord, a 45-year-old living in Ann Arbor, Mich. “I hit the mute button, or I make dinner, or I just sit there and brace myself.”
DeBord has nothing against displays of patriotism, nor is he simply eager to return to the action. What irritates him is the version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” being used at the Olympics. Put bluntly, it has been butchered.
O.K., that might overstate the problem. Maybe it would be more accurate to say the song has been altered in ways that rob it of its oomph, its power and its optimistic essence.
Specifically, DeBord says this “Banner” segues several times to minor chords, which in the Western canon have a melancholic tone, in places where major chords, which are heartier and more upbeat, are the norm. The effect, he says, is a rendering of the anthem that is darker, duskier and sadder.
“It has a totally different emotional feel,” he said. “It is supposed to have an ascending chord structure. Instead, it sort of has a descending chord structure.”
In short, this is a defeatist “Star-Spangled Banner,” and it is broadcast, around the globe, at a moment of ecstatic, international triumph. (snip)
Asked for the particulars of his beef with this “Banner,” DeBord offered to head to the piano in his home and provide a live tutorial, over the phone. (snip)
Once he pointed out the difference, it was obvious. The Olympic version was conciliatory, maybe even retreating. The standard version was chest-thumping and on the offense.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
It stills sounds better than when asshats personalize it before ball games.
It seems to me that bands these days are not playing patriotic tunes and marches as they used to in the old days. Back,Then these bands knew how to play in a way that stirred your blood.
The band is getting tired of playing it.
Ha. That’s nothing. Twice, the Presidential Seal has tried,
in vain, to excape from Obama’s podium and roll out the
door. Each time, an Obama minion recovers it and returns
it to its prison.
I heard it once and agree something is very wrong with that version.
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