halftime

[T-MOST]

I thought the game sucked, the halftime show wasn't bad and Gaga was actually good. She's certainly capable of more than the stuff she "chooses" to record.

 

[georgiagoodie]

I liked Lady Gaga. I may be wrong, but she appeared to be lip-syncing...

 

[DwaynieAD]

Total crap. As usual.

Lady gaga nailed the anthem tho

 

[morgansterne]

I like coldplay. "Clocks" is one of my favorite tunes complete with joy division style bass melody. But I don't care about football, and even of I did I don't have any tv at all-- just netflix. I live in cleveland and we're all pretty jaded about football right now!

 

[Chico Ruger]

I didn't care for her drawn out Anthem either, but every single comment I read about it was overwhelmingly positive. I think you and I are the only two negatives.

I'm with you two. I feel it is disrespectful to mess around with any country's anthem. Anthems should be played and sung in a traditional way.

These pop stars make it "all about me", when in reality it has nothing to do with them.

I pay attention to the rare pop star that "plays it as written" rather thabn trying to call attention to themselves.

 

[ak56]

Just something to toss out there.... NOBODY EVER SINGS THE NATIONAL ANTHEM AS IT WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN. ...

Here is the song the melody was derived from.


And here is the way that Joseph Nicholson took Francis Scott Key's poem and stuck it in the same melody..... kind of..... back in the early 1800s.


Never mind that the second through fourth verses are never, ever performed.

...
I think she did great. When she first hit it big, she tried everything in her power to make a spectacle of herself. At the game, she mostly stood still and let her pipes do the talking, wearing a (for her) subdued red suit and heels.

The offense in question.....


Not here to lecture anyone. Just tossing my opinions out like everyone else. Like what you like. Hate what you hate.

I just watched the video again. I think she was sincere. But, the pace was way too slow. The slower versions have become more popular, but it once was notated the temp was to be Con Spirito.
And she did make up her own version of the melody in places. The most impressive spot, to me, was the octave jump on the word Free. That is skill.

Did 'The Anacreontic Song' in concert last year, along with the 1814 original version, all 4 verses (never say never), and the more modern 'Standard' version.

As far as Lady Gaga, whatever. Heard better, heard worse. As far as the octave jump, it's becoming rather cliche' (and no I can't do it).

 

[hrodbert696]

Just something to toss out there.... NOBODY EVER SINGS THE NATIONAL ANTHEM AS IT WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN. So, even you traditionalists who may think embellishing is out of the question should be aware, you have probably never in your life heard it done like this or sang it yourself like this. It was written as an upbeat waltz kind of thing. No, you didn't sing it that way in your Boy Scout meetings. No, you didn't sing it this way at your school growing up. No, you didn't hear it this way at any baseball game you have ever attended. No, Sister Matilda never sang it this way at the church homecoming.

Here is the song the melody was derived from.


And here is the way that Joseph Nicholson took Francis Scott Key's poem and stuck it in the same melody..... kind of..... back in the early 1800s.


Never mind that the second through fourth verses are never, ever performed.

My question is this. Why is it that some opera singer singing it "straight" nowhere near the original tempo, or the way your Baptist Church sings it, or the way your Boy Scout troop sang it, etc. and adding only a few embellishments is somehow "traditional" when it sounds very dissimilar to the original? Francis Scott Key would probably hate the way you sang it when you were growing up.

Show the song some respect. That's all I ask. Sing it or play it "as it was originally written"? Meh. None of you have ever done that....unless you sing in the only group anywhere with a harpsichord and orchestra clipping along at a pretty fast pace. Why hold them to the same standard?

I think she did great. When she first hit it big, she tried everything in her power to make a spectacle of herself. At the game, she mostly stood still and let her pipes do the talking, wearing a (for her) subdued red suit and heels.

The offense in question.....


Not here to lecture anyone. Just tossing my opinions out like everyone else. Like what you like. Hate what you hate.

Thanks for the vids of the historic versions! I agree that the song need not be reproduced like a museum piece exactly as it was performed in 1814. Tempo changes, arrangement and orchestration, etc., all are fair game. But at the same time, of course, I don't think that means anything goes and any random way any given performer chooses to "embellish" it is a good idea. There are a lot of soul and gospel singers who take it as an occasion to show off their ability to go off on crazy vocal runs with no regard whatsoever for the meaning or mood of the song. Hendrix' version was brilliant - once, at the time he did it. To do it that way again would just be derivative and self-indulgent wankery.

It's impressive to me to hear a drinking song dedicated to Anacreon. Not a reference you expect to hear come up in modern party music... At any rate, writing new lyrics to old tunes has been standard procedure for about as long as we can track written music. Medieval troubadours did it, and a number of traditional hymns like A Mighty Fortress and And Can It Be originated as tavern songs.

Like I said before, I was glad to see LG do a tasteful version. To be honest, I had a bit of a mental disconnect watching her. I know she's into reinventing oneself and all that and is now supposedly an old-school diva who sings duets with Tony Bennett. But I don't really believe in reinvention, I think your present self has to take responsibility for your past self; reinvention is a poor substitute for actual growth.

 

[PikeoftheLake]

My favourite this year was at one of the games at Wembly stadium. The American anthem was so-so and then the British vocalist for God Save the Queen was amazing.

 

[Chico Ruger]

My favourite this year was at one of the games at Wembly stadium. The American anthem was so-so and then the British vocalist for God Save the Queen was amazing.

Yes, saw that. That's the way it should be done, IMHO.

 

[Plectrum72]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it in the preceding 4 pages, but for live sporting events with a military flyover, it is up to the singer to stretch or compress the anthem to match the flyover. The director (or whoever) will signal them to do so. The pilots don't accelerate or decelerate. They have a specific time on target to the second. It's up to the live show to figure it out. Soooo, Lady Gaga (although not my favorite performer) actually had to stretch the anthem 9 seconds because the super bowl was 9 seconds ahead of schedule. Given that, I think she did well.

 

[lustersilk]

It was on, but I wasn't watching. I knew going in I wouldn't like it. To me, the most outrageous spectacle of the night was Lady Gag Me totally destroying the national anthem. Even when she wasn't warbling through the scale trying to impress us with her vocal gymnastics, she was making up her own melody. Maybe that's okay for some mindless pop tunes, but I don't like it at all for the national anthem.
Show a little respect, *** (word edited so I don't get banned.)

Totally disagree - she did a great job and her choice of piano accompaniment was very classy.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

Totally disagree - she did a great job and her choice of piano accompaniment was very classy.

I agree on the piano accompaniment.

 

[NJSouth]

No, you're alright!

I AM ALRIGHT!!!

NO I thought YOU said, "You're alright Spider."

 

[BearCave]

I understand that the Super Bowl uses current artists that are relevant for the pre-game and halftime performances, but for my money, this is the BEST version of the Star-Spangled Banner I have ever heard. Would've been cool to hear this version done at such a high-profile event.

 

[nutdog]

Lady Gaga did it very nicely.

Coldplay is boring. Always. I don't get it. 3 chords over and over. Same 3 chords at lower volume over and over. Same 3 chords louder over and over. OH OH OH OH OH OH OH... Why is this band a big deal?

Bruno...I love watching his group perform. They outdanced the ladies.

Beyonce...She's a piece of work. But the music was lame and the dancing too herky jerky spready leggy for my tastes.

The stage was the most impressive thing.

 

[macmanlou]

Hendrix' version was brilliant - once, at the time he did it. To do it that way again would just be derivative and self-indulgent wankery.

I heard Rob Wasserman of RatDog do it "Hendrix" style, on an electric 6-string upright bass, at a presidential inaugural concert at the National Mall in 1997. He had it down, including the embellishments at "rockets red glare" and "bombs bursting in air". The already standing audience continued to stand and applaud for quite some time after he was finished.

I may be an old hippie veteran, but I still enjoy hearing Jimi's version once in a while.

 

[Sixpack324]

........To me it is like throwing the flag on the ground and stomping on it............

That's a bit heavy....... No?

You've obviously never seen the Flag stomped out of hate and anger up close and in-person.



And......

Am I the only one who sees the irony in people getting upset about artists applying a little bit of 'Artistic Freedom' to the Nation Anthem of the United States? Land of The Free??

 

[PortlandBass77]

It should have been The Who, it was the 50th Super Bowl and they are on their 50th anniversary tour.....

 

[macmanlou]

As far as halftime shows go, I thought it was well choreographed. I thought they went overboard with the jumbotron stage.

I thought the Rolling Stones had the best Super Bowl show ever.

 

[jmattis]

The best part of it was that Jerry Seinfeld's ex-girlfriend (who agreed to lip-read for George) was the one doing the sign language. She's in the above clip at 1:00.