National Anthems

[dogriver]

So I'm listening to the hockey game a little bit last night. American National Anthem is sung. Someone tell me, please, I know I'm a Canadian so I may just not understand these things. Is the level of patriotism, for an American, determined by how many completely extra, unrelated, and unhelpful notes he or she throws into the Anthem when singing it? I understand embelishing a piece a little with trills and runs and so on, there's a place for that, but in my view it's gotten beyond ridiculous lately, the notes being added having no bearing on the rest of the song and seeming to give the impression that the singer is trying to "sound impressive", more than anything else. A bunch of my Canadian friends will tell me that I'm being anti-American, but that's not it at all, I just think some singers of your anthem are getting very full of themselves.

Comments

[masterofmusings.livejournal.com]

Yes, that does sound amusing.

[quirkofonic.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's just the anthem, but it seems it's standard operating proceedure for any kind of pop singing, at least that which is contrived to be hit-oriented product, which is why my musical taste pretty much lives in the past. OK, I thought Aretha Franklin is a great singer, but so many singers seem to want to take her style, crank it up to ten and then triple that, adding extra notes here and curlycues there and all that. I'm not one who thinks a song should be sung completely by the book, but, dammit, there are limits.