this anthem thing...

[nolly]

OK, I see two basic sets of reactions from people.
I see people reacting to Bush's "keep it in English" statement, which was documentably inane -- not only is there a long history of translation, including ones promoted by the gov't, Bush was singing the anthem in Spanish on the campaign trail.

I see people reacting to the song itself, and this is what I don't understand. Can someone explain what, if anything, is problematic about it?

Comments

[king-tirian.livejournal.com]

Having just listened to the song, it is really unmistakably recognizable as the tune of the national anthem of the United States after the first twenty-three seconds. One may argue (as some have elsejournal) that it was an old drinking song before it was the tune of the national anthem of the United States, but it seems somewhat flimsy to suggest that very many people alive today would recognize the tune as "To Anacreon in Heaven" rather than "The Star-Spangled Banner". It is the same song because it was designed and marketed specifically to burrow into our cultural subconscious and force us to react to it in reference to TSSB.

Of course, it breaks all of our irony meters when President Bush tells someone else "How dare you wrap yourself in the flag to promote your personal agenda!" and I trust that his cheerleaders in talk radio are similarly shocked (shocked!) that people would use a politically sacred song to advocate resistance against society's oppression. Still, their point is not completely without merit.

[nolly.livejournal.com]

I finally had a chance to listen as well; my impression is that the melody is reminiscent of, but not identical to the SSB. The range seems to be compressed -- highs are less high, and other changes I don't have sufficient musical vocabulary to describe accurately.