national anthem was Re: [Shotimes] New Mustang commercial

[Donald Mallinson]

Ian,

Thanks for the information and history.

I fully understand that some people will be less offended or 
may not be offended at all by Ford's use of the Banner.  I 
think most would say it wasn't a proper use, but what they 
did isn't illegal, just not what I would call good 
advertising morals, and I have an advertising background, 
but obviously, not every "ad" exec agrees.

As for the way the banner is performed.  I remember when 
Jose Feliciano's version of the banner was scandalous!  I 
saw him perform it live once, and the crowd (Southern 
Illinois, adult crowd) gave him a cool reception after his 
Football/TV version shocked people, but his performance of 
the banner was so stirring and sincere that he won over the 
crowd almost instantly and was a big hit.

Roseann Barr of course is an example of someone that should 
never have been singing on TV and it was highly disrespectful.

But for the most part, I love the inventiveness shown by 
stars in doing the banner, and if done with skill and 
respect, I see nothing wrong with it.  I think it is a prime 
example of how the USA is a varied and tolerant society, 
that celebrates diversity (not always so).

The music for the banner is the exact same as a patriotic 
song in england (It might also be an old drinking song, but 
if so, it is also a patriotic song in england).  And I have 
heard it used by other countries!

Kind of like you hear several schools using the same 
football fight song.

Don Mallinson

Ian Fisher wrote:

> While I tend to agree that a country's national anthem
> should not be used for commercialization (in this
> instance, an ad for a new Mustang) I do feel that the
> ad was very creative and it did get the point across
> very well that the Mustang is "America's car".
> 
> One point I wanted to address after discussing it with
> a list member privately was how the Star Spangled
> Banner has been performed over the years. Although I
> may not like every single rendition that I have heard,
> I feel that a national anthem first starts off as a
> song (in this case a poem) and therefore is art. Art
> in my mind is always open to interpretation. Art that
> is performed is always open to the interpretation of
> the performer. We may not always like the
> interpretation but that is an aside. As a musician I
> know how many different ways a single song can be sung
> or performed. As a child, I competed in many piano
> competitions against other people my age. In most
> cases, we all performed the same song; most of the
> students were taught by different teachers. It was
> amazing how different each song sounded; I always
> thought that my rendition was the most correct but
> that was only because that was the rendition that I
> was used to hearing. 
> 
> After doing some research on the Star Spangled Banner
> itself, I found some interesting facts. Most of us
> know that it was written by Francis Scott Key after
> the attack on Fort McHenry in the war of 1812.
> Obviously Key did not have an orchestra with him when
> he jotted his poem down so it wasn't immediately put
> to music. When he had come close to finalizing it, his
> brother in law suggested that he put the lyrics to the
> tune of a popular English drinking song called "To
> Anacreon in Heaven". I also saw a reference that "To
> Anacreon in Heaven" was somehow related to the
> national anthem of Luxembourg but I don't yet
> understand that connection. 
> 
> I also found it interesting that the entire anthem is
> usually not performed as it was originally written. 
> 
> All of these wonderful factoids can be viewed at:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner
> 
> My point is that the Star Spangled Banner as we know
> it now as evolved through time and isn't even the same
> song that Key envisioned (if he even envisioned one)
> when he wrote it. There is nothing that says that the
> national anthem is set in stone and can only be
> performed a certain way. As a musician and a self
> proclaimed artist of sorts, I find this concept
> important to the advancement of culture and society.
> If we become stagnant and close our minds to other
> forms of expression (I'm not saying that anyone here
> said that) than what are we to become?
> 
> Ian