An alternative anthem

May 29, 2011 6:08 PM

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, we're all tired, things have been hard here in the States, hard for years and years and years. Perhaps we could use a new (but not really) anthem to bring some spirit back.
posted by tomswift (24 comments total)

Aww, I was hoping it'd be a link to this!
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 6:33 PM on May 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

Aww, I was hoping it'd be a link to this!

I was hoping for this.
posted by zabuni at 6:37 PM on May 29, 2011 [3 favorites]

I prefer Lift Every Voice And Sing.
posted by tivalasvegas at 6:38 PM on May 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

my vote
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 7:16 PM on May 29, 2011

I'm kind of partial to the current one; it is pretty, has meaning, and give honor to some really fucking brave kids who volunteered to get shelled by an invading army that stayed out of range of their guns.
posted by Blasdelb at 7:32 PM on May 29, 2011

If we're nominating Springsteen, American Land, Irish as it is, should be a contender.
posted by tomswift at 7:39 PM on May 29, 2011

This sums it up for me with the most eloquence.
posted by squalor at 7:47 PM on May 29, 2011

Sorry, there's only one real choice.
posted by waitingtoderail at 7:53 PM on May 29, 2011 [15 favorites]

Aw, come on, the competition should have been closed after Albert Brooks. Something for everybody, people!
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:57 PM on May 29, 2011

If we are nominating Springsteen, the contender should be that song off "Nebraska" about late-night scariness with the cops.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 8:28 PM on May 29, 2011

I was kind of hoping this link would be to exactly where it turned out to be linking to.
posted by Dr.Enormous at 9:22 PM on May 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

Speaking of memorial day, misguided patriotism, and music, I made the mistake of attending the National Memorial Day Concert earlier tonight.

It's hard to put to words, but the whole thing was very oddly constructed, and succeeded at making every person in our fairly diverse group of liberals, conservatives, veterans, and pacifists uncomfortable in some way or another. Also, it felt like it was constructed like a PBS telethon, which was also odd, and contained precious little actual music...

Announcer*: "....and what better way to welcome our veterans home than a performance from American Idol runner up _____"

Veteran sitting next to me: "Oh, Christ. This makes Iraq seem good by comparison."

I've got to agree. The music was really, really, really bad. Like, out of time and severely out of tune bad. Maybe the telecast was better....

*The announcer was the guy who voices Fat Tony on The Simpsons. I couldn't really get that out of my head, and can't understand why he's apparently been invited to host this thing 6 times in a row.
posted by schmod at 9:25 PM on May 29, 2011 [3 favorites]

Yeah, if only the kids sang this each morning instead of reciting the Pledge.

The guitar picking is really distracting during the verses, though.
posted by Deathalicious at 9:37 PM on May 29, 2011

If we're going to propose a folk song to be the national anthem, then we should just agree on this and end the discussion.

Of course, it's not cynical enough for this age. Luckily, the same songwriter also wrote this.
posted by dw at 11:10 PM on May 29, 2011

Announcer*: "....and what better way to welcome our veterans home than a performance from American Idol runner up _____"

Veteran sitting next to me: "Oh, Christ. This makes Iraq seem good by comparison."

This is truly hilarious. Like we have to get this line on the Daily Show or something. Anyone have any contacts?
posted by zachlipton at 11:14 PM on May 29, 2011

I saw part of the TV version. I t looked like a rerun form last year, was super schmaltzy, and I went away to watch a rerun of a Star Wars prequel. That should tell you how poor it was.
posted by Cranberry at 11:44 PM on May 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

Until there's some meaningful reform of the criminal justice system, my vote goes to a little kid singing Folsom Prison Blues.

After that, my vote goes to Greased Lightning, because Greased Lightning is a metaphor for America (in that if America is a car, it is a real pussy wagon) and the national anthem should have a little dance, and I want to see basketball players have to do the little dance before every single game.
posted by milkrate at 12:03 AM on May 30, 2011 [1 favorite]

Anthems should be things that everyone can sing together at the top of their lungs. like The Bouncing Souls' True Believers

if we're going for a car song, Robert Mitchum's The Ballad of Thunder Road
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 12:45 AM on May 30, 2011

Laibach was already kind enough to rewrite our national anthem for us.


(also those of Germany, Israel, Slovenia, England, Turkey, France, Russia, Japan, Italy, China, the Vatican, and Spain).
posted by the bricabrac man at 2:17 AM on May 30, 2011

Yes the National Anthem is hard to sing, glorifies war, has a nasty line about the British in a verse never sung, etc. But its origin story is great and the tune is actually based on a drinking song. The thought of a bunch of drunk guys in a tavern slurring a melody that later becomes the anthem of the most powerful nation ever is awesome.

Now I'm going to wait a few hours for the F-15 fly over as part of my town's Memorial Day parade.

OK maybe we should change the anthem to America Fuck Yeah.
posted by JohntheContrarian at 4:22 AM on May 30, 2011

The words are fine, but the music background and beat need lots of work. they should redo the song and lets hear it next Memorial Day.
posted by taxpayer at 8:05 AM on May 30, 2011

Warning: Facebook members may see pictures of themselves appear amidst the content at the FPP link.
posted by gubo at 12:40 PM on May 30, 2011

And see, I thought it was going to be this, and also was certain that the first few links saying what they thought it was would also have been this. I'm kind of surprised I'm the only one who remembers this precious gem.
posted by Hal Mumkin at 1:42 AM on May 31, 2011

Cranberry: "I saw part of the TV version. I t looked like a rerun form last year, was super schmaltzy, and I went away to watch a rerun of a Star Wars prequel. That should tell you how poor it was."

Oh, right. Speaking of the schmaltz, apparently they commemorated World War II by showing clips from Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor.

So, yeah. That happened.

I didn't realize it at the time, because I wasn't seated in a place where I could see the screens (which was evidently important, as it turned out to be a telecast first, and a concert second). Sigh.
posted by schmod at 7:21 AM on May 31, 2011