Shouldn't this thread be moved to Hangout and have a bunch of pictures of Beyonce and Aguilera posted in it?
I long for the days when you turned on a sporting event in anticipation of seeing just a sporting event.
You all suck. I've learned the real and full Star Spangled Banner ever since middle school. Talking about respecting history: nobody has done it right. Only the Boston boy's choir and other groups like that don't chop it up. EVERYBODY sings "O'er the land of the free----eeeeeeee(octave higher), and the home of the brave" THAT'S WRONG!!! Only the last verse of the national anthem goes like that. We have grown up in a society of lazy-ass non-history respecting bastards that none of us know the full national anthem (only the 1st verse is known amongst you crappers) and it's sung wrong. And to top that off, you bunch of national anthem ignorant bastads feel disrespected when a young person or person of the non old conformist group puts a twist to the anthem you comonly know. And all along, you've been hacking it in the first place. You should know your stuff before you have pride over it. And a lot of people don't even say "O'er" right. It's OE'R, not over and not or. In my opinion, the last verse is the best anyways: Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved home and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust." And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! Also, i'm not trying to offend anyone...just ranting Dennis Miller style.
Kim is right. He's better than all of us because he knows the National Anthem correctly. Let's all just stop posting now.
Christina Aguilera has a horrid voice to go along with her awful "Cheetara" skin tone. Ugggh!!!! That was definitely the worst rendention of our national anthem I've heard in a long time. As for Beyonce, she looked like a fool out there shaking that bootilicious booty for all she's got. Anyone who says that Michael MacDonald doesn't have soul is a flat-out idiot. I betcha you'd say Justin Timberlake does have soul, right? Ha! MacDonald is legend. At least we had three good performers at the All-Star Game. Several observations: 1. After flipping through the channels and landing on the most brain-dead show on TV, TRL, I saw Christina and I have to say one thing to her: YOU ARE NOT BLACK!!!! Quit trying to talk in your mind's eye stereotype of what you think black people talk like and be yourself, for crying out loud. You are white. You are not latin, but you are WHITE!!!!!! 2. I was praying that Beyonce's boob popped out. What I would have given for that......
I guess you are trying to be pithy, but I'm amused at comments such as these. I'm not picking on you, but is it simply because he is white? Be intellectually honest for a minute here....if Michael McDonald were black, would it change your opinion? Would he be, umm, in your words, a 'dorky, unfunky *black* guy trying to be soulful'? Is it the fact you don't like the way he sings, his tone, or the inflections in his voice? Or, is it that you view him as trying to be something that you percieve he cannot possibly be -- namely, 'soulful' because of his skin color? And, if this is true, does that mean that no white singer can ever be considered 'soulful'? Again, I'm not trying to pick on you. I'm not even a Michael McDonald fan. But I do have respect for what he has accomplished musically, and I'm not so quick to dismiss his accomplishments because he doesn't fit my preconcieved mold of what we consider 'soulful'. I think we become derelict in our social duty when we stereotype *any* group and put them in some box that causes us to dismiss any accomplishment that doesn't fit within the confines of our preconcieved parameters. This holds true for *all* groups. People can and will suprise us. Let's deal with them and appreciate them as individuals, not as labels. (that sound you heard is me jumping off the soapbox.)
You guys should watch yourselves, DoD went ballistic in the chat room and started kicking people left and right for dissing that awful fat stay-puft Kenny Rogers dude at the keyboard who caused me to dive for my remote control out of sheer horror.
this thread is still alive? okay i didn't post anything before but i was going to say that i actually found christina aquilera's rendition of the national anthem pretty good, i mean it was CERTAINLY not the worst. i see nothing wrong with a modern redition, it is the 21st century after all. i could tell the armed forces guys were a little annoyed though. but for an entertainment venue like the NBA all star game i think it's pretty acceptable. meanwhile, nelly furtado didn't really do a good job singing the canadian anthem... her voice wasn't that gread. why is she famous in the first place? but anyway i remember back when christina aguilera was huge, she needs to stop dressing so weirdly or else she'll be washed up in no time.
Yo, yipeng, news flash: SHE'S ALREADY WASHED UP! Her trying to connect with the minorities by changing her hair color and whole style is like a reverse Shakira...and that was one of the worst renditions I've heard, rivaled only by Nelly Furtado's horrible wailing of Oh Canada. I was ashamed to live in North America after hearing those anthems...at least no one butchered the Mexican anthem...
really? haven't paid much attention. i just remember when she came out with dirrrty or something like that she was bigger than britaney, or maybe britaney was just between albums.
When? I never hear anybody do that. I sometimes hear people take that note up a P4 back to tonic but never up an octave. The note sung on "free" if the 5th of the I chord." It just feels natural, if you're going to take it up, to take it to the root.
No. If he was black, he would be exactly as you describe. If he neither white or black, he would be a 'dorky, unfunky (*insert ethnicity here*) guy.' Anyone who sings a Marvin Gaye (a good example of soul) song with a fakely strained, through-the nose voice on top of a Muzak background is dorky, unfunky and unsoulful (if that's a word). And they suck, too. I 'view' him (or hear him, to be more accurate) as lacking soul because it sounds like he's trying. I can turn on KTSU and hear black singers who suffer from the same problem. I can turn on MTV and hear people of all ethnicities lacking soul (actually that's not true, because MTV doesn't play music anymore). As for whether white singers can be soulful, I think its possible when they don't try to use their sinuses to make their voice sound deeper. Hell, I think the the Doobie Brothers had more soul before Michael McDonald joined (and that's the only DB music I can listen to) because they avoided that ridiculously effected vocal sound (some people describe it as 'trying to sound black,' but that's unfair because most black people don't sing that way). I'm relieved. I won't dismiss his accomplishments, but it doesn't change my opinion of him (that he's a 70s Michael Bolton). Fair enough, and I probably shouldn't use terms like "dorky, unfunky white guy." It's a loaded statement and I set myself for the piling I received. To use a favorite expression of mine, 'if you step in a manhole, you will end up in the sewer.' No, I think Justin Timberlake's contribution to the 911 version of 'What's Going On' is equally wretched, though it is still miles better than anything he's done with NSync or as a solo artist. Yours Truly, Flat-Out Idiot
I can agree with this post, except for the part about Aguilera's voice; in my opinion, she has the best voice out of any female performer that's out right now. She utterly butchered the Anthem, though.
im no fan of x-tina aguillara, but i thought her rendition was pretty cool. you could tell that she started off shaky and hit a few bad notes, but after a couple verses she was feeling it. and that drummer was powerfully awesome. creativity counts in my book and i enjoyed the different take on the anthem. i dont know anything about nelly furtado, but i was embarrased for her. she seemed nervous and it sounded like it too. that cheeseball michael mcdonald single handledly killed the doobie brothers-before he joined the group they were soulful and funky and put out great music (check out the captian and me). by the time he joined the group there were only a couple original members, so maybe its not all his fault. what a fool believes is a catchy tune though...i think he did takin it to the streets too-i like that one. i like his beard too! however, i think they could have done better for the halftime show. if they wanted soft rock they could have gotten lionel richie.
My anthem pet peeve: Everyone sings "...through the per-oh-liss night..." The word is perilous! Best live version ever: Marvin Gaye, 1983 NBA All-Star Game Second best: Whitney Houston, 1991 Super Bowl Christina has a set of pipes, but needs to learn that real singers don't need to show off on every friggin' syllable.
The whole halftime show sucked, except Michael McDonald, who can sing pretty good for an old guy. I think he's signed with Motown records, so obviously some people must admire his work. Raven
