"There's Another National Anthem..."
One paper left in the term, and it’s due at 3pm tomorrow. Can he do it? For once, the answer is an unequivocal yes, and that feels good. But enough about me—I mean, it’s not like this is a Live Journal. I’m just here for a quick post to re-charge my batteries before I hit the books one last time.
My two favorite things in the world (music and politics) have come to an intersection as of late. Specifically, the national anthem has been under the spotlight, as Hispanics across the country have popularized a Spanish language anthem for themselves, much to the ire of the Bush administration, who feels there’s one anthem, and it should be sung in English.
Let me get this out of the way first. I’m not a huge fan of the national anthem. I could go into the social effects of having what’s arguably our most visible piece of national poetry being about strength and perseverance through armed conflict, but in the end, it’s really just that there’s a lot of patriotic songs I like a good deal more—song like America The Beautiful (especially the version Ray Charles did), and This Land is Your Land (whoo boy, imagine that as our national anthem).
In any case, this whole Spanish anthem thing really is nothing new. There’s been a Black National Anthem for years now (“Lift Every Voice and Sing”—another really good song), and it’s not as if people haven’t all put a little of themselves into the song anyways over the years (Hendrix, anyone?). In trying to avoid an Social Relations rant, I’m just going to wrap this up by saying that “Nuestro Himno (Our Anthem),” as it’s being called, features the line “Somos hermanos, es nuestro himno” (We are brothers, it is our anthem), and that—in whatever language—is what’s most important of all.
Anyhow, I’ve name dropped a ton of songs in this post, most of which I’ll probably save for July 4th, when I’ll be celebrating Independence Day in glorious Washington DC for the first time in my life. For now, here’s a variation on the old tune that I’ve really been digging over the past few days by indie-rock icon Sufjan Stevens. It’s a little edgy, so I’d be interested to hear what you all think.
Sufjan Stevens- The Star Spangled Banner
My two favorite things in the world (music and politics) have come to an intersection as of late. Specifically, the national anthem has been under the spotlight, as Hispanics across the country have popularized a Spanish language anthem for themselves, much to the ire of the Bush administration, who feels there’s one anthem, and it should be sung in English.
Let me get this out of the way first. I’m not a huge fan of the national anthem. I could go into the social effects of having what’s arguably our most visible piece of national poetry being about strength and perseverance through armed conflict, but in the end, it’s really just that there’s a lot of patriotic songs I like a good deal more—song like America The Beautiful (especially the version Ray Charles did), and This Land is Your Land (whoo boy, imagine that as our national anthem).
In any case, this whole Spanish anthem thing really is nothing new. There’s been a Black National Anthem for years now (“Lift Every Voice and Sing”—another really good song), and it’s not as if people haven’t all put a little of themselves into the song anyways over the years (Hendrix, anyone?). In trying to avoid an Social Relations rant, I’m just going to wrap this up by saying that “Nuestro Himno (Our Anthem),” as it’s being called, features the line “Somos hermanos, es nuestro himno” (We are brothers, it is our anthem), and that—in whatever language—is what’s most important of all.
Anyhow, I’ve name dropped a ton of songs in this post, most of which I’ll probably save for July 4th, when I’ll be celebrating Independence Day in glorious Washington DC for the first time in my life. For now, here’s a variation on the old tune that I’ve really been digging over the past few days by indie-rock icon Sufjan Stevens. It’s a little edgy, so I’d be interested to hear what you all think.
Sufjan Stevens- The Star Spangled Banner
posted by Jeff Lakin at 11:00 AM
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