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 ...
its in the wrong key at the Olympics. Its supposed to be done in the key of Bb, not C.
Yet another part of Islamic Hussein’s al-transformatsiyya.
I’m surprised this article is coming from the New York Slimes.
Maybe they should play Darth Vaders Imperial March Theme? That’s what we’ll be hearing if Hillary gets elected.
Yeah, I was about to say, this might be a foretaste of what we have in store.
It is surprising, but the guy is right. I just figured it was a crappy recording on a crappy sound system.
The cadence seems off, too; it sounds like a funeral dirge instead of our national anthem.
How about “Rifle Regiment”?
That's the way it always gets rendered these days. It's supposed to be a stirring, rousing and martial air, sung in a masculine way ... think of Francis Scott Key in the hold of a ship, wondering how the battle is going, and waking up to see the flag flying in the morning breeze, proof that the enemy had been defeated. That sort of thing.
But I DO like your statement, "Yet another part of Islamic Hussein’s al-transformatsiyya.", because I have been trying to be aware of the psych jobs played on the American people.
Goebbels is not dead .... not by a long shot
It sounds best when played by a military band.
But I guess that would be too jingoistic.
“The Star-Spangled Banner” being used at the Olympics. Put bluntly, it has been butchered.”.....
Maybe odumbo got to the band director or, Hitlary paid someone off to play it horribly.
Pretty soon it’s going to be replaced with The Internationale.
I remember it from back in the 50s & 60s, as a rousing anthem, not the pathetic way they do it now.
I blame Jose Feliciano, he started this in the 68 World Series.
IIRC, in a previous Olympics, they modified many of the anthems into shortened versions. Their rationale was that regular anthem versions took up too much time.
Actually it was written in G minor. But the key in which it is played is most often dictated by the instruments identified in the arraignment.
Everyone outside the U.S. butchers it. I remember the wonderful Brits playing it after 9/11 and leaving out an entire section.
The version I pulled from youtube sounded like a lot of high school fifes which makes ANY and ALL music sound like crap.
The instruments used had no bass, no definition or shape.
Jose was the poster boy for Valium; he did that to everything he sung.
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