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The greatest song never sung

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by LongTimeListener, Feb 1, 2016.

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  1. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Couple of stories hitting the rounds 25 years after Whitney's anthem. I am sure there will be more.

    From The Mag: The night Whitney won SBXXV

    Anthem of Freedom: How Whitney Houston Remade “The Star-Spangled Banner” - The New Yorker

    Both stories detail (the ESPN way too late, in a somewhat meandering article) how the song was pre-recorded, and that's a good part of the story (she did it in 4/4 time instead of 3/4, and the NFL initially rejected it as being too slow). But the focus of both stories was what a groundbreaking song this was and what a wonderful time for America.

    Is that where things stand? That the entire live performance being pre-recorded is a footnote to the big picture?
     
    LongTimeListener, Feb 1, 2016
    #1
  2. swingline

    swingline Well-Known Member

    Well, she was no Bleeding Gums Murphy:
     
    swingline, Feb 1, 2016
    #2
  3. micropolitan guy

    micropolitan guy Well-Known Member

    "what a wonderful time for America."

    Yeah, reminded me of the good ol' days after the Gulf of Tonkin resolution. But at least my generation's equivalent of the never-ending Iraq/Afghanistan wars finally ended at some point.
     
    micropolitan guy, Feb 1, 2016
    #3
  4. poindexter

    poindexter Well-Known Member

    I thought the whole thing was overrated. Precorded sucks.
     
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2016
    poindexter, Feb 1, 2016
    #4
    Stoney likes this.
  5. SpeedTchr

    SpeedTchr Well-Known Member

    Just sing the damn song.
     
    SpeedTchr, Feb 1, 2016
    #5
    HC likes this.
  6. terrier

    terrier Well-Known Member

    What a piece of schlock. Either sing it a capella, or with live instruments. Imagine Jim Cornielson singing it at a Super Bowl...too cool to ever be allowed to happen.
     
    terrier, Feb 1, 2016
    #6
  7. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    You guys are pretty rough. Whitney Houston was not my go-to kind of music ever. But, certain things are just true: 1) She had a set of pipes. Just an amazing voice. 2) She knew how to deliver a song.

    Whitney Houston, at her best, could bring people to tears. That included that rendition of the anthem, in my opinion. My take on it always has been that we have just a crappy national anthem. It's difficult to sing. It meanders and it doesn't give people the goosebumps that say the Russian (and former Soviet) or French anthems, for example, give their people when they are performed with full orchestra.

    Deduct points for her prerecording it and lip synching it, if you want, but that rendition elevated our anthem to about the best it can possibly be. I do believe only Houston, with that voice and her innate feeling for how to do it for effect, could have gotten that much out of our anthem.
     
    The Big Ragu, Feb 1, 2016
    #7
    Big Circus and bigpern23 like this.
  8. poindexter

    poindexter Well-Known Member

    The best shots I've ever seen on a basketball court are trick shots, tried over and over again until successful. When they finally get the shot right, they put it on youtube.
     
    poindexter, Feb 1, 2016
    #8
  9. Riptide

    Riptide Well-Known Member

    Same here on Whitney's take. And Canada's anthem kicks ass.
     
    Riptide, Feb 1, 2016
    #9
    HC likes this.
  10. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    The gold standard of national anthems -- and this is something I actually have spent way too much time thinking about. It always made me visualize millions of Russian peasants ready to set fire to themselves rather than surrender. It may be the only thing the former Soviet Union got right.

     
    The Big Ragu, Feb 1, 2016
    #10
    BTExpress likes this.
  11. Riptide

    Riptide Well-Known Member

    I'll put Canada's first any day. Good words, nice chord changes, and it's over in a minute. Perfect.
     
    Riptide, Feb 1, 2016
    #11
  12. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    The Rocky IV version nearly made me want to renounce my American citizenship.



    And speaking of Soviet nation anthems, this is always obligatory to mention:


     
    Baron Scicluna, Feb 1, 2016
    #12
    BTExpress and Batman like this.
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