It has always been my contention that the Hungarian Rhapsody is *not* their national anthem.
Even if you think TUIB is a good song, you have to concede it would make a shitty anthem.
Funny thing about that song: a friend of mine is completely convinced that "...but I used a little too much force" describes the narrator beating up his woman, which strikes me as a totally unsupported reading.
No Ben, I concede no such thing. Not only is it a great song, capturing so much of the American experience, but everyone already knows the words, and I think it would rock if we all sang TUIB at major events. "...she bent down to the laces/of my shooooees."
a friend of mine is completely convinced that "...but I used a little too much force" describes the narrator beating up his woman
That's wrong, you need new friends.
I submit that our national anthem should be "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin," and furthermore that it would be even better if this had been the national anthem from 1970-1995, if you know what I mean.
I don't think SSB was meant to be sung in the first place.
No, he's a great guy, but he gets these weird ideas sometimes and it's impossible to talk him out of them. In person it can be charming, really.
I'm sorry Labs, but he's already slated for elimination. Don't get all sentimental on me, ok?
Apologies for my perhaps inscrutable first comment.
Here's what puzzles me about TUIB, aside from how it could ever be an anthem (who needs anthems, anyhow? they all suck): what book of poems does she give him? La Vita Nuova?
I would go the other way with this and have baseball games in blue states start with a singing of the full set of lyrics. That way when people from red states come to visit, they would get confused and we could ridicule them for their lack of patriotism.
It's too long, by far, and it doesn't inspire you to go out and crush the enemy! Plus I don't know all the words. I find your assertion that "everyone" does entirely consistent with the brand of blue-state solipsism you practice so well. I understand the red army anthem is pretty effective.
I like the idea of quinivicenial anthem fights (NB: I believe I followed standard english word formation rules for "quinivicenial." The utter lack of google hits makes me nervous though), but in order for the song to have a particularly anthemic resonance with the populace, I believe any song, to even be considered, must be at least fifty years old.
What are you, the AARP lobbyist? We want the youth to sing these songs. You know, TUIB might be too old.
Nomination: We Sell Everything
I don't know if Rosselson is disqualified because he's British.
Great. Bond with the youth cohort over Bob Dylan. Even my pedagogical strainings toward hipness don't get this bad.
This is you getting sentimental isn't it? I said it might be too old.
Son House has a song about America! one of whose couplets involve "the red, white and blue / that represent you", but I can't remember anything else about it.
Not just Dylan, but one of the adult-contemporariest of Dylan's songs (IMSE).
I mean, these lines:
Then she opened up a book of poems
And handed it to me
Written by an Italian poet
From the thirteenth century.
And every one of them words rang true
And glowed like burnin' coal
Pourin' off of every page
Like it was written in my soul from me to you,
Tangled up in blue.Barf. Belongs on a Lifetime special.
Dead Kennedys, California Uber Alles, either the Jerry Brown or Ronald Reagan versions.
Also, the Marseillaise isn't bad, is that taken?
And yes, I am the one and only AARP lobbyist. You'd be surprised how persuasive your elected representatives find someone in their early 20's explaining what the life experience and needs of the elderly is like
Even better, something contemporary and with an apocalyptic edge: Revolution.
I'm not sure it could ever be accepted as an anthem but it certainly was written as an anthem of sorts.
Think about entire stadiums of people concluding a thundering rendition with the final verse:
"And though you may choke me and shoot me
And hang me your toil is in vain
No dungeon, no gallows can scare me
Nor will I be frightened by pain
Each time I'll arise from the earth
And break through all your weapons of doom
Until you are finished forever
Until you are dust in the tomb"
"I saw you commenting on that blog &..."
"I saw you tag-team Ogged &..."
If TUIB becomes the anthem I'm going to be that America-hating liberal. What about the USA strikes you as nasally, Ogged?
Not an anthem nomination, but related America-bashing music: The Decemberists' "Sixteen Military Wives."
Too bad the lyrics for Henry Cow's "Living in the Heart of the Beast" aren't online.
If their output afterwards thus far is any indication, the Decemberists should have called it quits after The Tain.
John Emerson's son played bass on their second album, you know.
Atomic Dog! because I want to hear vast stadiums chanting "bow-wow-wow-yippee-oh-yippee-yay"!
I noticed you're gay, FL.
This will teach you to try to ally with w-lfs-n.
The Anal Cunt song is good, but we need an "in a good way" line to wrap it all up.
If you are going for a Cat Stevens song I would go with Father and Son . That way half the crowd could sing the father part and half the crowd could sing the son part. Which would be pretty funny.
Two more Dick Gaughan songs for consideration:
Your Daughters and Your Sons ( Words & Music : Tommy Sands )
( Words & Music: Ed Pickford )
I mean, really, if we're going to pick an anthem why go halfway.
Just what we need, a Commie song. Look at the post title, people!
Are you trying to say the revolution is unamerican? On the week of July 4th?
Well, it's no "Living in the Heart of the Beast", but this can be my submission for now.
Yeah, I've learned my lesson. Now the only thing standing in the way of my endorsement of your proposal is my commitment to anti-semitism.
Probably too old, but we could Send the Marines.
3. "Louie Louie" - so it won't ever matter if you forget the words.
2. "Not for the Innocent" - after IraqWarII, it's only natural.
1. "Fuck You Up"
If TUIB becomes the anthem I'm going to be that America-hating liberal.
Kriston, you know you're already there. I swear this is true: when drinking, I have witnessed Kriston and Susan spontaneously begin singing the soviet national anthem on multiple occasions.
Personally, I think that our scientifically optimal anthem probably does not yet exist, but that sending Andrew WK a list of words that rhyme with "America" would be an excellent start.
I didn't want to say it, but it's true: I wish they all could be the Soviet anthem.
"TV Party" by Black Flag, "I Wanna Conquer the World" by Bad Religion, or "The Ballad of Jimi Hendrixx" by Stormtroopers of Death.
No others need apply. Thank you, come again.
No, wait, this is it:
A national anthem that recognizes that "you can't always trust your mother" is what this country needs.
ogged: Not only doesn't everybody remember the words to TUIB, I've witnessed Dylan mess them up in concert ... on two separate occasions. Skipped one verse and sang another twice; maybe that's just how he performs it now. Plus there're different recorded versions.
I'd vote for ... Leonard Cohen's Democracy, but it's not very singable ... or positive.
Aw, LizardBreath beat me to the Lou Reed by one comment.
JSM, expand your mind: that's exactly why everyone knows the words.
You know, we've already established that pop music=not my thing, so I really shouldn't comment on this. But:
(1) Earnestness is bad and
(2) A Cat Stevens song is a runner-up for national anthem so does that mean that
(3) Cat Stevens isn't earnest?
Surely that can't be right.
earnest earnest earnest earnest ear nest ear nest nearest ear nest nearest far fat nose nest AIEEEEE
Your implicit assumptions: 1) I like the song 2) the song has to be good to be the National Anthem are both false. Well, actually, I do kind of like the song, in a campy way.
Oh, I like Cat Stevens fine. Like I said, I haven't got any particular musical taste that I'll defend. I just believed that Cat Stevens was recognized as objectively sucking, and sucking particularly in an earnest way.
How do you feel about Cecil Taylor, LB? Matt Weiner wanted me to ask you for him—the poor dear's too bashful to do it himself.
50 -- we solved the numerous paradoxes set off by ogged's hatred of earnestness in music by demonstrating that ogged was not actually using the word "earnest," as the rest of us often use, but instead a different word, that also sounds like "earnest" and is spelled the same way, but has a different meaning.
The national anthem should be the them to Mr. Belvedere. And it will be, soon.
that is the theme, although "Them Mr. Belvedere" would be a good name for a band.
Cecil Taylor
I suppose I should know who this is. I guess I could google.
I wonder if, in addition to a Mr Belvedere, there were ever Mssrs Gazebo, Balcony, or Cupola.
Mr. Gazebo was Belvedere's sworn enemy; he looked exactly the same but that he lacked a moustache, and he conspired with Weasley each episode to get Mssr. Belvedere's goat.
what fine televised entertainment we had, back in the day. What if Bob Uecker had a family? And what if that family had a butler? -- genius!
You know, looking over these nominations, I have to ask: do liberals hate America?
Uh, that last comment would make even more sense if Michael had posted his last comment here.
What's so America-hating about "Sixteen Tons"? Solidarity with the working man! How about a song about John Henry?
Mr. Belvedere was a Brit, wasn't he? Very well, I hate America.
Well, Ben, I think all evidence to date (see, e.g., Tivo) indicates that ogged hates the lumpenproletariat.
I'm not sure he hates the lumpenproletariat, or even its vanguard, though he might resent the fact that he can't get any of it.
I don't hate America, I just hate all the people there. Of course, I also hate all of the people everyplace else.
What, did you think I met you? No, no. I make an exception for you. You're special.
Chops is back! His hatred balances out the war of cosmic forces!
I am back, but in limited fashion for some time. I actually have to work during the day now, at least until I lull all my new coworkers into thinking that I'm productive and on the ball.
to counterbalance the socialist anthems we could have Tupac Shakur's "Fuck 'em All"--the ultimate hymn to rugged individualism:
Fuck 'em all!
Let 'em die!
That's my slogan.
Fuck 'em all!
or a Bjork song, and then everyone could kind of mumble along.
Political Science, Randy Newman.
And no, of course (American) liberals don't hate America. Love the sinner, hate the sin.
Sleater Kinney's You're no rock and roll fun is a great song. But probably not anthem ish.
I think Old Man River kind of fits us right now.
And of course there is my own personal anthem - Bring Tha Noize. (With or without Anthrax)
"Goat's pretty good."
"Curried, at least."
I prefer mine lubricated.
I've always thought our national anthem should be Aerosmith's "Amazing", with all instances of the word "Amazing" changed to "America". Hopefully that would inspire at least 10 million people to move to Canada.
On the other hand, "Atomic Dog" would be an awesome choice. It might single-handedly revive baseball in the inner cities.