[Sloth]

I'd rather scoop out my eardrums with a teaspoon than listen to any of that overwrought, self-indulgent crap, wherein the "artist" turns every single note into a scale or an arpeggio that seems to go on longer than did the Clinton Administration.

I find this particularly galling when it's done to the national anthem.

[N. Theknow]

I find this particularly galling when it's done to the national anthem.

Did you ever notice that it is only OUR National Anthem that these "artists" screw up with their "personal interpretations?"

Never hear anybody customize "Oh Canada" "God Save the Queen" or "Rule Britannia."

[andy58-in-nh]

I find this particularly galling when it's done to the national anthem.

I share your feelings about that. It incenses me to no end hear tone-deaf idiots gargling our National Anthem as though it were a throat-clearing exercise between drags on a bong. Or, some modern "artiste" engaging in up-and-down masturbatory vocalizations ending in a pitch audible only to certain species of guide dogs.

And you're also right that I never hear anyone mangle "O! Canada" in such routine fashion, even if it is a somewhat easier song to manage vocally than "The Star Spangled Banner".

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“wherein the “artist” turns every single note into a scale or an arpeggio “

I think it was that guy from New Orleans that really popularized that style. Aaron Neville??????