Christina Ag. and the Anthem... just one man's opinion

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 6 Feb 2011 3:38 pm

The girl has singing chops for pop and rock music, no lie. And she's hot, okay. But the National Anthem is a composition, not a folk song. And in this writer's opinion, not to be trifled with.

I refer to the adding of trills and melismas to notes that should be hit spont on, a technique most prominently used in country by Reba Mac. Pretty much every country diva called upon to Anthem-up hits their 15 seconds of fame on the word "brave."

Christina managed to muck up every 4th measure. I still love this country and the anthem, regardless.

Old man out.

Archie Nicol · Post by **Archie Nicol** » 6 Feb 2011 3:51 pm

I'm not watching, but friends on Facebook are saying it was pretty rough. This is my favourite. Performed before they became the baddies.

click here

Arch.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 6 Feb 2011 3:56 pm

I tend to agree, Herb. Too many "8-syllable words", too much pop-soul styling for our National Anthem. Unfortunately this is all too common nowadays. $:\$

Ben Lawson · Post by **Ben Lawson** » 6 Feb 2011 4:00 pm

I was listening in the car and Herbster I agree. This song should not be used to display ones vocal acrobatics. It would have been nice if she got the words right also even though I may have not understood them through to warbelling.

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 6 Feb 2011 5:01 pm

I heard Pedal Steel on the Super Bowl ad that used Elton Johns Tiny Dancer.

Jim Peters · Post by **Jim Peters** » 6 Feb 2011 5:44 pm

Archie, thanks for that, beautiful! jp

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 6 Feb 2011 5:45 pm

Yup, pretty bad. Apparently, she also screwed up the words. From Yahoo News:

ARLINGTON, Texas – Christina Aguilera flubbed a line as she belted out the national anthem at the start of the Super Bowl Sunday night.
When she was supposed to sing the line "O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming," she instead repeated an earlier line, with a slight variation.
She sang "What so proudly we watched at the twilight's last gleaming," which is the same line from earlier in the song but with the word `watched' instead of the word `hailed.'

Mark van Allen · Post by **Mark van Allen** » 6 Feb 2011 5:45 pm

I'm with you, Herb. I was listening after my pre-Superbowl Dobro gig... and had to just get in the car and go home.
There seems to be an increasing perception that female vocals need to be overblown, overdone, and overly syllabic. And yes, Reba's been getting away with it for years.

Eddie D.Bollinger · Post by **Eddie D.Bollinger** » 6 Feb 2011 6:17 pm

Well put, Herb. Our Anthem deserves better treatment.

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 6 Feb 2011 6:43 pm

Mark van Allen wrote: There seems to be an increasing perception that female vocals need to be overblown, overdone, and overly syllabic.

Can't stand it. It strikes me as a desperate "LOOK AT ME!! LOOK AT ME!!" cry for attention with no respect whatsoever for the music they're there to perform.

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 6 Feb 2011 7:31 pm

My observation as well Herb. But it's not just pop, it's the sort of stuff that permeates the entire music nation. What's really sad is that so many people think that's the standard everyone has to pursue.

Just listen to the crowd cheer her on. They think it's great.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 6 Feb 2011 7:42 pm

Agreed, Herb. This is not a pop song - this is our NATIONAL ANTHEM. It will ALWAYS be more important than whoever sings it, a fact obviously lost on the last couple of generations …...

Ken Lang · Post by **Ken Lang** » 6 Feb 2011 7:53 pm

It seems to me that over the last maybe 10 years, each singer has added their own -isms- to the song and each rendition gets worse and worse. The singers are trying to outdo each other with what changes they can make. This will lead to someone singing an entirely unrecognizable version and some critics calling it the best ever.

Just sing the damn song as it was written.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 6 Feb 2011 7:56 pm

Christina,Hated it!Hated the Black Eyed Peas,I would've paid ten bucks for an in tune note...Bring back Janet Jackson's mishap!

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 6 Feb 2011 8:14 pm

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/peopl ... Super-Bowl

Jeff Garden · Post by **Jeff Garden** » 6 Feb 2011 8:34 pm

Hey Herb, your post got me to thinking about my WWII vet Dad who sadly passed away last year. He was a real easy going guy but there were two things you didn't do (1) wear your ballcap backwards unless you're a major league catcher and (2) mess with the national anthem. Think he might have had some sound advice

John Macy · Post by **John Macy** » 6 Feb 2011 10:03 pm

One of my friends refers to this as having a vowel movement....

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 6 Feb 2011 10:09 pm

Very unhappy with this performance, but honestly I didn't expect much from her. There have been several notable performances of the anthem, but I prefer a heartfelt plain vanilla reading.

If you've ever seen American Idol auditions, even the absolute worst singers auditioning default to melisma abuse, whether they can hit the pitch or not.

Stevie Wonder, as great as he is, some time in the late 80s succumbed to the over-melismatization (is that even a word?) of the people he influenced (Boyz 2 Men) and went on a campaign of trying to outdo them. It was painful.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 6 Feb 2011 10:31 pm

I'm glad this topic came up. "Melisma abuse" has been annoying me for several years, and now I know I'm not the only one who feels this way! The sad part is.... this style has become accepted, even admired, by the listening public. If a steel guitarist played like that he'd get fired.

having a vowel movement...

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 6 Feb 2011 11:39 pm

I'm not sure this even deserves a (dis)Honorable Mention in the long history of extra special Star Spangled Banners. (ref YouTube etc)

Leslie Ehrlich · Post by **Leslie Ehrlich** » 7 Feb 2011 12:02 am

The only people I've heard who can get that 'melisma' vocal technique right are good old-fashioned black gospel singers.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 7 Feb 2011 1:51 am

the good news, for me, we timed it perfectly, we didn't turn the game on until the kick-off, !

From the previous weekend of playoffs we just got so burned out with the analysis we decided to not listen to or watch an pre-game activities. Including Christina..

So, when we turned the game on, it was right at the coin toss so we missed everything leading up to the kickoff

on purpose...

sorry for Christina's dilemma oh..also didn't watch any half time show...blah blah blah...

Singing the NA at the SB is an immediate HERO
or ZERO . I read on the net that she muffed the words as well

One day these performers will get it...that it's about the song..not them... Oh well, next year we can only hope for the return of Tiny Tim..

t

Jack Stanton · Post by **Jack Stanton** » 7 Feb 2011 4:37 am

Herbster,
Right on the money, as usual.
It's bad enough they muck with it, but it particularly drives me bug crap when they don't even end on the correct last note!

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 7 Feb 2011 5:01 am

Melisma has become the rankest form of affectation. It’s just another indicator of the state of pop music—along with deafening sound levels, high-tech gizmos, the nearly complete disappearance of diction, and general histrionics.

Proving yet again that having no talent is not enough. It’s a pity so many are drawn to the “entertainment” bidness, you should pardon the expression.

I have this weird idea that taste and discretion will make a comeback—as a fad. Kinda quaint, but I’m still looking forward to it.

Older man out.

Jeff Agnew · Post by **Jeff Agnew** » 7 Feb 2011 5:05 am

As a former military musician, I found this deeply offensive. I can handle botched lyrics; stuff happens. But this was the aural equivalent of dragging our flag on the ground. We have flag etiquette, perhaps we need anthem etiquette.

As Tony above and thousands on the 'net have pointed out, it's about the anthem. It's not about the singer. It's not about drawing attention to yourself or showing off your vocal prowess. More to the point: Do not ever, <i>EVER</i>, say "Thank You!" after you finish, as Christina did. Proof positive that she thought it really was all about her and her performance. Apparently she believed the thunderous ovation after the anthem was for her, and not trivial things like honoring our country, our history, or God forbid the actual events those lyrics described.

I don't know who started this trend of turning a sober, respectful activity into a self-centered, celebrity-driven event, but I'd pay to have them drawn and quartered.