NPR's other anthems, and not just for America

July 4, 2019 9:06 PM

NPR has looked at 46 alternative (American) anthems, starting a year ago, discussing the history and meaning of individual songs, from "America the Beautiful" to "To Be Young, Gifted and Black". For ease of review, the full list is also included below the break, with links to individual tracks on YouTube, or enjoy the playlist from NPR on Spotify and Apple Music.

The series started with two posts:

What's Your American Anthem?
May 28, 2018 • Starting July 4, we'll bring you the stories of 50 songs — stretching from before the days of sound recording to the present — that rouse, uplift or call to action. To do that, we need your help.

American Anthems: The Songs That Unite Us
July 3, 2018 • Sometimes it's a stirring call to arms or a recognition of injustice. But an anthem always captures something much larger than itself - the spirit of a community, unified in a common feeling or cause.

The full list, in chronological order:

1. How 'The Battle Hymn Of The Republic' Became Everybody's Anthem • The refrain — "Glory, glory, hallelujah" — shows up at labor protests, conservative rallies, church services and football games. It turns out the song, originally a war march, is flexible by design.
2. Why 'Seven Nation Army' Is The One Jock Jam To Rule Them All • From the Queen of England to the hounds of hell, just about anyone can sing its hypnotic riff. Here's why The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" is the world's biggest sports anthem.
3. On 'Fanfare For The Common Man,' An Anthem For The American Century • Written in the thick of WWII, Aaron Copland's piece seems to have hope woven between its notes. Mandalit del Barco asks why so many who hear it, from presidents to prog rockers, are still so moved.
4. Tell 'Em Where You're From: The Regional Anthems That Move Us • Some sprout from the cities and states they rep for; others are imports, held up in pride by a sister community. NPR's American Anthem series continues with a list of [nine] place-based bangers.
5. Why 'Dancing In The Street' Gets The People Going • The Motown hit landed at a turning point in civil rights — and where Black Power movements flourished, the song followed. Scott Simon explores why, with a little help from singer Martha Reeves.
6. 'This Little Light Of Mine' Shines On, A Timeless Tool Of Resistance • Born as a children's song [Cedarmont Kids performance], transformed by the civil rights movement into an anthem, "This Little Light of Mine" works by letting the singer control their own story [Etta James, gospel version].
7. Till Victory Is Won: The Staying Power Of 'Lift Every Voice And Sing' • Beyoncé sang it at Coachella. Kim Weston sang it at Wattstax. The song often called the "black national anthem" is still with us — in part because the struggle it describes never went away.
8. 'Like A Virgin' Lives On, A Winking Anthem For Women Getting Married • The unofficial anthem of bachelorette parties, Madonna's 1984 hit can be seen as a wink at virginity's ongoing place in the theater of weddings — even today, when most brides are sexually experienced.
9. Don't Get It Twisted: 'We're Not Gonna Take It' Can Be Anyone's Protest Song • Talk about ironic: Twisted Sister's 1984 anthem to bucking authority has since been adopted by religious entities, teachers and even politicians, each bending it to their own definition.
10. 'Since U Been Gone': The Crossover Pop Needed, The Anthem Rock Deserved • The Kelly Clarkson smash wasn't just a great pop song: In 2004 it was a cultural bellwether, a sign that the walls between mainstream and underground were starting to crack.
11. How Sports Met 'The Star-Spangled Banner' • "The Star-Spangled Banner" has been played at major sporting events as far back as the Civil War [Civil War band version, restored and arranged by Raymond Burkhart], even before it was officially named the national anthem. How and why did the tradition stick?
12. 'God Bless The U.S.A.,' A Country Anthem With Enduring Political Power • Don Gonyea visits musician Lee Greenwood [at Yankee Stadium, 10/31/01] to talk about the song that, after three decades in political campaigns, might be more popular than "Hail to the Chief."
13. The Anthemic Allure Of 'Dixie,' An Enduring Confederate Monument • Despite its origins in the popular music [Buttermilk Junction Old-Time Stringband playing 1859 version] of the North, the song became the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy during the Civil War and still endures as a divisive symbol in modern America.
14. 'The Times They Are A-Changin" Still Speaks To Our Changing Times • The Bob Dylan classic came out in 1963 and was embraced by the civil rights and anti-war movements. Decades later, young people are finding it vibrates with new meaning.
15. The Legacy Of 'Adam's Song,' An Anthem To Darkness, Loss — And Recovery • The Blink-182 hit was a surprise in 1999: a raw look at suicide and depression from a band more known for naked antics and fart jokes. Two decades later, it stands as an unlikely salve for survivors.
16. Bigger Than Disco, 'You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)' Is A Celebration Of Self • Sylvester's 1978 dance hit transcends its moment and even the gay rights and AIDS awareness movements it came to represent. It's an anthem to liberation — of desire, and of the body.
17. I Hope We Both Die: How The Mountain Goats Wrote The Ultimate Anthem To Dysfunction • "No Children" began as a darkly funny song about divorce. Today, it's something more: a vessel for raw-throated catharsis [live] and a safe place to be your worst self.
18. Through Slavery, Segregation And More, 'La Bamba' Has Been The Sound Of Survival • Sixty years ago, a Mexican folk tune sung entirely in Spanish became a rock and roll phenomenon. Generations after Ritchie Valens, young Latinos are still harnessing its power.
19. You're Gonna Hear Them Roar: 'I Am Woman' Is An Anthem Beyond Its Era • Helen Reddy's 1972 single captured the spirit of second-wave feminism. Today, its echoes still sound in American culture — including a version [Pink Martini, live] that arrived just in time for #MeToo.
20. 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken' Connects Musicians, Generation After Generation • From family memorials to jam sessions to every show at the Grand Ole Opry, the familiar singalong helps people feel connected to those who have died — whether legendary musicians or loved ones.
21. We Asked For Your Favorite Anthems. You Answered 'America' • When NPR asked listeners for their personal American anthems, many responded with Simon & Garfunkel's "America." We asked them to tell us why.
22. How The 'New World' Symphony Introduced American Music To Itself • Sometimes it takes an outsider to see a culture clearly. Czech composer Antonin Dvorak's Ninth Symphony was an ode to what American music could become.
23. In Praise Of 'Good As Hell,' The Song That Believes In You Even When You Don't • Lizzo's self-love anthem works by turning a mirror to the listener. Every moment, from the hair-tossing hook to the rapturous call and response, is about you — the best, most impossible you.
24. The Story Of 'Whittier Blvd.,' A Song And Place Where Latino Youth Found Each Other • One of the first Chicano rock bands, Thee Midniters were often called East L.A.'s Beatles. Their instrumental track "Whittier Blvd." was a regional smash that pointed to a coming cultural movement.
25. 'Fight The Power': A Tale Of 2 Anthems (With The Same Name) • NPR's American Anthem series brings together two songwriters — Ernie Isley of The Isley Brothers and Chuck D of Public Enemy — whose respective versions of "Fight the Power" eyed the same struggle.
26. Unfurling 'Sweet Home Alabama,' A Tapestry Of Southern Discomfort • More than 40 years after its release, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama is still one of the most recognized rock anthems celebrating the deep South. It's also a song with a complicated legacy.
27. George M. Cohan, 'The Man Who Created Broadway,' Was An Anthem Machine • Cohan was a myth builder: Songs like "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "Over There" and "Give My Regards to Broadway" celebrated both life in early 20th-century America and the glowing allure of the stage.
28. Nina Simone's 'Lovely, Precious Dream' For Black Children • With "To Be Young, Gifted and Black," Simone aimed to capture joy in black identity amid bloody civil rights struggle. The song was addressed to children, but adults caught on, too.
29. A Song Called 'Quiet' Struck A Chord With Women. Two Years Later, It's Still Ringing • Born as a vessel for one person's trauma, the song by MILCK became an anthem overnight after the 2017 Women's March. But it wasn't done growing.
30. For Many With Disabilities, 'Let It Go' Is An Anthem Of Acceptance • The breakout song from Disney's Frozen has inspired many marginalized groups — but its message of rejecting stigma holds special resonance for disabled people and their families.
31. How 'Born This Way' Was Born: An LGBT Anthem's Pedigree • Lady Gaga's 2011 megahit has been praised as inclusive and criticized as exploitative. But there's a little history to the song's origins that isn't often discussed.
32. Oh Yes Son, They're Talking To You: 20 Years Of 'No Scrubs' • TLC's 1999 smash was a song women loved about the men they wouldn't put up with. Two decades later, fans still take its message to heart when scrubs run amok.
33. From Funerals To Festivals, The Curious Journey Of The 'Adagio For Strings' • How did Samuel Barber's stirring, lush work for strings — music that has become America's semi-official music of mourning — morph into a beloved and endlessly remixed dance floor anthem?
34. A Thousand People In The Street: 'For What It's Worth' Captured Youth In Revolt • Though often associated with the Vietnam War, Buffalo Springfield's signature song was inspired by a confrontation back home, which erupted on a few famous blocks in Los Angeles.
35. A Sprawling Blueprint For Protest Music, Courtesy Of The Jazz Duke • He called it "a parallel to the history of the American Negro." Duke Ellington's "Black, Brown and Beige" wasn't an immediate hit, but it set a tone for ambitious, provocative works about black life.
36. How 'This Land Is Your Land' Roamed And Rambled Into American Life • Woody Guthrie was born into the Dust Bowl's devastation and displacement. His signature song, taught in classrooms and sung at protests, offers an expansive, inclusive idea of what home can be.
37. What Does 'Born In The U.S.A.' Really Mean? • It's not enough to say the Bruce Springsteen hit is misunderstood. Its contrasts — between grim verses and a joyous chorus, damning facts and fierce pride — are what give it its anthemic power.
38. In New Orleans, 'Indian Red' Is The Anthemic Sound Of Tradition • African-Americans in the city have paraded in spectacular regalia inspired by Native American motifs for more than a century. The song of the Mardi Gras Indians exudes joy, defiance — and mystery.
39. Greatness Is Not A Given: 'America The Beautiful' Asks How We Can Do Better • Written by a feminist poet [Katharine Lee Bates] who struggled with bouts of depression, the song [Ray Charles' rendition] is an aspirational counterpoint to "The Star-Spangled Banner" — calling on America to use its riches for the common good.
40. Beyond The Summer Of Love, 'Get Together' Is An Anthem For Every Season • The song was everywhere during the 1967 gatherings in San Francisco. After it was used in a public service announcement, it became an anthem for the rest of the world.
41. 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' The Anthem For A Generation That Didn't Want One • Nirvana's culture-shifting hit mocked mainstream rock songs and wound up becoming one. But in his very ambivalence about success, Kurt Cobain captured something essential about growing up.
42. 'A Song For Any Struggle': Tom Petty's 'I Won't Back Down' Is An Anthem Of Resolve • Petty's song has been used by striking workers in defiance, by political candidates to show grit, on national stages in the aftermath of tragedy. We asked what "I Won't Back Down" means to you.
43. Stressed Out: How 'Mind Playing Tricks On Me' Gave Anxiety A Home In Hip-Hop • Gangsta rap had been known as aggressive, rebellious and political, but the Geto Boys' 1991 hit made it something new: vulnerable. Hip-hop's relationship with mental health has never been the same.
44. Alone Together: Robyn's 'Dancing On My Own' Opens The Corners Of Community • The magic of Robyn's millennial anthem is its bait and switch: It's a fun, energetic dance song about being lonely and heartbroken. And yet, the minute you hear it, you instantly feel less alone.
45. For Those Missing Puerto Rico, A Song About Dreaming Of Home • The official anthem of the capital city, "En Mi Viejo San Juan" [José Feliciano's version] also serves as a nostalgic lament, evoking memories of the island for the many forced to leave it behind.
46. 'You Don't Own Me,' A Feminist Anthem With Civil Rights Roots, Is All About Empathy • Ever since a 17-year-old Lesley Gore sang it in 1963, the coolly mutinous song has moved women to reject passive femininity. Its writers, though, say there are layers of resistance in its words.

And at the end of the series, there were more related posts --

ALT.LATINO | A Deeper Listen To Anthems Of All Kinds
by Felix Contreras July 4, 2019 • …Sometimes a song is more than a song. As NPR's year long series American Anthem points out, anthems do not have to mean patriotic songs about specific nations. Earlier this year, Alt.Latino featured anthems connected to Latin music or history. Before the series closes later this summer, we present another batch of songs that qualify as anthemic to one group of people or another.

Throughline | American Anthem
July 4, 2019 • …The Star-Spangled Banner is the official anthem for the United States, but there are plenty of songs that have become informal American anthems for millions of people. This week, we share three stories from NPR Music's American Anthem series that highlight the origins of songs that have become ingrained in American culture.

All Songs Considered | The Songs That Define Us, From NPR's 'American Anthem' Series • July 2, 2019
For the past year, NPR has been taking a deep look at American anthems and all the forms they can take. These are the songs that unite us, inspire us or say something about what it means to be an American — songs as traditional as Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," or as defiant as Public Enemy's "Fight the Power."

On this special edition of All Songs Considered, NPR's Elizabeth Blair and Tom Cole share highlights from this ongoing series, along with some of the stories behind their favorite tracks, from "America The Beautiful" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" to Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." and Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man."

posted by filthy light thief (43 comments total)

And to make it a nice, round 50, four of my own suggestions for anthems:

1. Si Fuera Presidente / If I Was President - Las Cafeteras
2. Who Is This America (Dem Speak Of Today?) - Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra
3. Declare Independence - Björk
4. Makeshift Patriot - Sage Francis

posted by filthy light thief at 9:14 PM on July 4, 2019 [2 favorites]

Unlike everything here except the Battle Hymn, Columbia, Gem of the Ocean was an actual contender (and not a bad choice IMO).
posted by Rash at 9:21 PM on July 4, 2019 [2 favorites]

My pick is #36. But I also love Lana Del Rey’s “God Bless America - And All the Beautiful Women In It,” which will always remind me of the period from the Women’s March through the 2018 midterms:

Even walking alone, I'm not worried
I feel your arms all around me
In the air on the streets of the city
Feels like I am free
It's got me thinking
God bless America, and all the beautiful women in it
God bless America, and all the beautiful women in it
May you stand proud and strong
Like Lady Liberty shining all night long
God bless America

I’m happy to see Chuck Brown make the regional list. I hope to still be here to hear it playing when DC gets statehood.
posted by sallybrown at 9:22 PM on July 4, 2019 [2 favorites]

Fuck yeah!
posted by growabrain at 9:30 PM on July 4, 2019 [4 favorites]

I've always thought "Rock Lobster" should be the new anthem because I want to see an entire stadium make all the noises of the fish.

THERE GOES A NARWHAL
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:33 PM on July 4, 2019 [9 favorites]

Oh, glad to learn Young Gifted and Black is Nina Simone tune. She rocks, and I've only ever heard the Heptones' version.
posted by pompomtom at 9:38 PM on July 4, 2019

For me, Albert Brooks did it best.
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:45 PM on July 4, 2019

Hey, back in 2014, I posted my own candidate for consideration as the new US National Anthem, right here at MeFi Music, and I must say I'm still surprised that it wasn't selected as the official one.

The US National Anthem

from the steamy swamps of Utah
to the sandy deserts of Maine
the jungles of Rhode Island
that i've crossed again and again
way down in Louisiana
where the snow falls every day
to the shark infested waters
of the Kansas City Bay

that North Dakota baba ganoush
i've loved since i was a lad
and the sushi of Nebraska
is the best i've ever had
in Idaho they make that curry
red hot like they should
and the monkey brains they eat in Georgia
lord, they taste so good

America, America
it's such an awesome place
where the light of peace and happiness
shines down on every face
no one ever fires a gun
we ride on high speed trains
our wealth is redistributed
'cross the mountains and the plains

now the minimum wage paid 'cross the land
it's honest and it's fair
every worker has a decent life
with spending money to spare
no one has to worry
that getting sick is gonna ruin 'em
and the things we need to fix or do
we're fixin 'em man we're doin' em

America, America
it's such an awesome place
where the lights of peace and happiness
shine down on every face
no one ever fires a gun
we ride on high speed trains
our wealth redistributed
'cross the mountains and the plains
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:23 PM on July 4, 2019 [15 favorites]

Simon & Garfunkel - American Tune (from The Concert in Central Park)

... And I don't know a soul who's not been battered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered or driven to its knees
But it's alright, it's alright, for we live so well, so long
Still, when I think of the road we're traveling on
I wonder what's gone wrong, I can't help it I wonder what's gone wrong
posted by Auden at 10:25 PM on July 4, 2019 [9 favorites]

I've always thought that "Coming to America" (yes, Neil Diamond) best expressed the hopefulness of coming to America to make a new life. I wish we still embodied those virtues. (Yes, I know, in many ways, we never have. Still, it's a toe-tapper.)
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 11:25 PM on July 4, 2019 [4 favorites]

Apart from my own tune linked to above, I'd vote for L. Cohen's Democracy as the new US National Anthem.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:42 AM on July 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

Yes to American Tune! But I prefer the Allen Toussaint version.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:31 AM on July 5, 2019 [3 favorites]

A country that could dump The Star Spangled Banner for Lift Every Voice and Sing would be a country I could be proud of.
posted by hydropsyche at 3:44 AM on July 5, 2019 [7 favorites]

(a complaint about this land is your land not being on the list deleted)

Nevermind. I cant read.
posted by ShawnString at 5:18 AM on July 5, 2019

I carry a torch for “Everybody’s Got the Right,” myself. As with America itself, the brutality is something you have to study history to appreciate.

I get unironically sentimental about “Rocky Top,” but I am partly descended from a murderous hill clan, so there you are.
posted by Countess Elena at 5:30 AM on July 5, 2019 [3 favorites]

I played various versions of American Tune about ten times yesterday. Sad that it hasn't lost a bit of relevance in forty years.
posted by octothorpe at 5:45 AM on July 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

Wow, I just sort of got lost in this list, and have been going from article to article listening to music, something that's honestly a little surprising to me how little I do it anymore. I'm more than a little shocked how long it's been since I heard some of these songs.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:49 AM on July 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

I love American Tune.

I'd throw in Calle 13's Latinoamerica as another contender.
posted by bunderful at 5:56 AM on July 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

We sang Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing after the pledge of allegiance in elementary school every day, which is one of the reasons why I always feel like I grew up in an alternate universe. It's an easier song to sing than the star spangled banner, but you still have to feel for the first grade teachers who had to hear us all try to hit the right note on 'brought us'

But honestly, I feel like the best thing that America can do is just . . . less? It doesn't matter (much) what the song is, the sort of American nationalism and exceptionalism that saying the pledge/having the national anthems at most sporting events engenders is dangerous and extremely uncomfortable.
posted by dinty_moore at 6:09 AM on July 5, 2019 [10 favorites]

As a American-born, coastal white kid who grew up in the 80s and didn't learn about Simon and Garunkle until I was a teenager, "America" always seemed like the cheesiest junk in their repertoire. I used to fast-forward through it on the live album cassette. As a young adult I made some off-hand, snarky comment about it to my best friend. He was shocked and told me that he used to listen to the tape on repeat hundreds of times a day while waiting, as a foreign child in Qatar, to see if his US visa has been approved. I'm still not convinced it's actually a good song. . . but, I can no longer dismiss it. It clearly means something to many thoughtful people.

I'd certainly vote for a Lift Every Voice or A Fanfare for the Common Man, or even This Land is Your land, if we had a choice. (No Abide with Me? Too Scottish?) But, also, patriotism is a disease. National anthems are but a symptom. Complaining that all national anthems are boring music is like complaining that rashes itch. You're not wrong. . . but, what did you expect?
posted by eotvos at 7:52 AM on July 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

What a wonderful list. Thank you for the work of annotating and posting this, filthy light thief! I have a lot of listening to do. :-)

(I have a big soft spot for any rendition of "This Is My Song"/Finlandia.)
posted by brainwane at 8:02 AM on July 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

(The cheesiest junk in Simon and Garfunkel's repertoire is '7 O'Clock News/Silent Night.')
posted by box at 8:05 AM on July 5, 2019 [3 favorites]

I first heard Lift Ev'ry Voice in college; we had a gospel choir. I've always thought it would make an excellent national anthem.
posted by theora55 at 8:09 AM on July 5, 2019

I think the best Paul Simon song for a US anthem has to be Peace Like a River
posted by klanawa at 8:35 AM on July 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

We should pick a new National Anthem every year based on the current zeitgeist. I think the best fit for the current moment is the nonsense closing song from WKRP in Cincinatti.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:51 AM on July 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

I know they already mentioned a Mountain Goats song, but my vote is for This Year. Or possibly Up The Wolves. Maybe even Michael Myers Resplendent. I guess a lot of Mountain Goats songs can be mapped pretty well to how I've been feeling about America lately.
posted by ckape at 9:10 AM on July 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

I feel like the best thing that America can do is just . . . less?

I'm of two minds on this. Before seeing Jackie Kashian last year, I'd be 100% with you, but she had a bit on how she wasn't a "patriotic" type until Trump was elected, and she realized that yeah, America is pretty great, but Trump and Co are fucking it up, so now is the time to take patriotisim back from the hoo-rah (white) nationalists.

I don't think this country is the pinnacle of greatness, or goodness, but it is/was doing some things pretty well.


Also, I liked that NPR made this more than "American Anthems," but broadly "people anthems." Or as said/written by Felix Contreras for Alt.Latino, "anthems do not have to mean patriotic songs about specific nations." And that's why I like this list -- it's not just singing the praises (and criticisms) of the U.S., but also celebrating (or just recognizing) different communities, people, identities, feelings.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:14 AM on July 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

Well, why can't we have an "official" national anthem like Fanfare for the Common Man that is instrumental for those serious occasions , and an "unofficial" one for those times, like before a NFL game, like Dancing in the Streets by Martha and the Vandellas and everyone in the stands can sing along and dance and how can you not be in a good mood after doing that?
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:20 AM on July 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

I endorse this comment’s sentiment that Choctaw Bingo should be the national anthem.

It also could have replaced that obnoxious Lee Greenwood song in the list, but I guess it was inevitable that they would include it. Otherwise, it has been an interesting series to listen to over the past year; now I can catch up on the ones I missed.
posted by TedW at 12:20 PM on July 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

If we're going to pick a James McMurtry song, how about "We can't make it here anymore" instead?
posted by octothorpe at 12:40 PM on July 5, 2019

Or Levelland?
posted by kirkaracha at 1:26 PM on July 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

I am 100% here to back Antibalas's Who Is This America on this list
posted by gusandrews at 2:26 PM on July 5, 2019

I think Mcmurtry’s God Bless America also captures the national character pretty well. But since I’m not a columnist for Slate only my fellow MeFites will know this.
posted by TedW at 3:31 PM on July 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Arlo sang This Land is Your Land with the Boston Pops last night for the 4th of July. He sang the last verse with a wall instead of a sign.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 4:24 PM on July 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

For the NPR list, I nominate Sister Sledge We Are Family.
posted by carmicha at 7:51 PM on July 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

Dancing in the Streets by Martha and the Vandellas

They had a hit with it, but I am compelled to mention that the song is by, as in written by, Laura Nyro.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:59 PM on July 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

I think Marvin Gaye and a couple others would like to have a word with you. From 1964 in glorious black and white, Martha and the Vandellas!
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:46 PM on July 5, 2019 [2 favorites]

I mean I was in tears last night listening to Woodie sing this land is your land. it's a beautiful song and one that to me says a lot about how short we fall in terms of having an American dream. Plus it's a direct response to one of the worst God damn songs. I fucking hate it when they play that at baseball games.
posted by Carillon at 9:51 PM on July 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

I've always thought Stevie Wonder's Black Man is easily the best funk alternative national anthem. It's also got a very Bicentennial vibe to it since Songs in the Key of Life came out in 1976.
posted by mostly vowels at 11:54 AM on July 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

All sports contests shall be preceded by the full 18 minutes of NOFX's The Decline until the situation improves.
posted by ckape at 5:04 PM on July 6, 2019

I still think it's gotta be War Pigs until it isn't anymore
posted by Redhush at 6:29 PM on July 6, 2019 [2 favorites]

I think Marvin Gaye and a couple others would like to have a word with you.

D'OH! I am SO embarrassed! Damn, I really thought Nyro penned that one! Anyway, glad to be set straight on that count, thanks, TWinbrook8.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:14 PM on July 6, 2019 [1 favorite]

D'OH! I am SO embarrassed! Damn, I really thought Nyro penned that one!

I was entirely convinced the original comment was a snarky joke and the response a misreading of it. Shows what I know. (I've repeatedly said far more embarrassing things in public, on closely related topics. Cheers to all involved. And, now I know about Nyro. Thanks!)
posted by eotvos at 9:29 PM on July 11, 2019