Super Bowl XLII Star Spangled Banner

[paultools]

Maybe it's just a Tampa thing

[Shadow_7]

I guess when it comes to the national stuff I'm a bit of a purist. Having been in the Army Band and playing that stuff almost every day. And along side some much older soldiers who were even more purists.. There's the DOD version of TAPS and then there's the one you hear in movies and mini-series. Nothing quite like a 40yo+ soldier (bandsmen) going off on the new recruit at their AIT graduation in front of their parents because they opted to sing the national anthem and couldn't be bothered to know the words.

[henryrobinett]

Originally Posted by paultools

No, I think you are overlooking MY point:
Let her go Aretha Franklin (if she can) and let's hear the soul-providing "mistakes" and hear her go for the money notes and take some chances...
BUT if that is too much of a challenge artistically or technically and you are gonna pre-record it, then make it right! Obviously, that performance was not a first-take vocal, and there were certainly other things that were repaired. I didn't intentionally nit-pick it. The mistakes were apparent to me since this is my profession. I'm sure most people didn't notice. But if that rendition was spectacular, taking 60 seconds to fix those notes among the others that were fixed would not have detracted from the "performance" one bit.

I don't understand why ALL performances like this can't be live.
Marvin Gaye did it 25 years ago. What makes it so impossible now?


Using your words, let's have REAL LIVE "really spectacular human performances", and if that's not possible with today's talent and state-of-the-art technology, and we are thus regulated to playing pre-recorded performances, let's just keep playing Marvin's.

I think we're misfiring. Doing a performance over and over to get it basically right is not an error to me. I'm sure she did. My ears are very good. I haven't listened to it since Sunday, but her pitch was fine. Tiny fluctuations are wonderful to me. It indicates a human did it.

I think you see pre-recorded means "fix it." I don't see that as necessarily the case, and certainly not this case. She DID sing and they DID let her sing, to her satisfaction, I would guess, without the benefit of corrective technology. The corrective technology was hers and the producers, I would assume -- meaning she used her ears and native sense of pitch, rather than some engineer and a digital program. This is fine as far as I'm concerned. Much like Sinatra and Nat King Cole had in the studio.

[paultools]

I see "punching-in" and comping as old-school corrective technology.
I agree that it it a somewhat more true, "artistic" form of correction, and too her credit, did not hear any Melodyne, Antares or Waves Tune artifacts anywhere.

I still would have done another pass on the bridge to bring it up to the the level of the ending, but more over....

JUST DO IT LIVE!!!!

[mrufino1]

The Marvin Gaye clip is a little confusing- what is the drum beat that is playing? I hope that was in whatever this clip came from, not actually in the performance? But I LOVE Marvin Gaye, and I still stand by my statement- just sing the Start Spangled Banner, no need to reinvent it. If the star is supposed to be the star and not the national anthem itself be the center of attention, then have the star sing one of their own tunes later- after singing the national anthem the way it is supposed to go. I would have loved to hear plenty more of Marvin, Jennifer Hudson, Whitney Houston, whoever, taking liberties on any song they wanted other than the Star Spangled Banner. No need to be robotic, but sing the song. Just my view, but I stand by it. For the record, I do not have a problem with prerecording it if done for technical reasons. If it is done for the reason that the person needs ridiculous correction just to get through, that's what practice is for and someone that really can do it should be used, regardless if they are famous or not. And from the little bit I know of Jennifer Hudson, I bet she can do it, and I bet she can do it live.

[paultools]

Originally Posted by mrufino1

The Marvin Gaye clip is a little confusing- what is the drum beat that is playing? I hope that was in whatever this clip came from, not actually in the performance? But I LOVE Marvin Gaye, and I still stand by my statement- just sing the Start Spangled Banner, no need to reinvent it. If the star is supposed to be the star and not the national anthem itself be the center of attention, then have the star sing one of their own tunes later- after singing the national anthem the way it is supposed to go. I would have loved to hear plenty more of Marvin, Jennifer Hudson, Whitney Houston, whoever, taking liberties on any song they wanted other than the Star Spangled Banner. No need to be robotic, but sing the song. Just my view, but I stand by it. For the record, I do not have a problem with prerecording it if done for technical reasons. If it is done for the reason that the person needs ridiculous correction just to get through, that's what practice is for and someone that really can do it should be used, regardless if they are famous or not. And from the little bit I know of Jennifer Hudson, I bet she can do it, and I bet she can do it live.

the beat is a Linn Drum. It was a part of this performance.

Could an expert please explain the monumental technical challenge of broadcasting the playback of a track with two live microphones? Is it more of a challenge than broadcasting the frikkin GAME with who knows how many live mics and cameras and playback devices?

[henryrobinett]

I disagree personally. I love it when people come up with arrangements of the star spangled banner. I just don't believe it's so sacred as to disallow people to make their own interpretation of it.

I used to have a teacher, many moons ago, who went apoplectic when Jose Feliciano did his version, one of the first stylized versions. It was a tirade of misplaced patriotism as far as I could tell. And she was a dear friend of mine who played a very important role in my life. But after that the class had to learn three verses of the SSB. She didn't care for one verse. There are 4 verses as I remember.

But this being a multicultural nation, I think there's plenty of room to interpret this anthem. Personally I don't think it's a very good song. But when alternate chord changes are dropped in, and when the last note is sung high, not in the original version, I can get goose bumps. But I never get goose bumps with the regular, white bread version.

[paultools]

Originally Posted by henryrobinett

But I never get goose bumps with the regular, white bread version.

You need the f-16's.
Trust me, they make all the difference!
Tomcats or f-15's if you need more bottom!

y'all!

[henryrobinett]

Yeah, I've heard it with the F-16s too. Eeh.

[mrufino1]

Originally Posted by paultools

the beat is a Linn Drum. It was a part of this performance.

Could an expert please explain the monumental technical challenge of broadcasting the playback of a track with two live microphones? Is it more of a challenge than broadcasting the frikkin GAME with who knows how many live mics and cameras and playback devices?

Wow, sounded like he wasn't paying attention to it. I'll have to listen again. I don't know what the challenge is regarding broadcasting the national anthem. I understand why running a full band mix with 3 minutes of setup time and all wireless could be an issue, although if it is really an issue that can't be done, then maybe it shouldn't be. I think I actually would be okay with a regular halftime, but then again I am a huge football fan and actually watch the Super Bowl as a championship game, not a mega-event. At the Giants playoff game last month, the Rutger's marching band did their tribute to Journey...that was an experience! Nothing like the tuba section pumping away at Separate Ways!

[Sounds Great]

I think it is sad, to take an event like that where you could connect with an audience of millions, and really perform for them..

I suppose she may have been imagining the millions as they comped the best of her 83 heart felt performances.

[tenor39]

Originally Posted by Sounds Great

I think it is sad, to take an event like that where you could connect with an audience of millions, and really perform for them..

I suppose she may have been imagining the millions as they comped the best of her 83 heart felt performances.

Bwahahahaha! My apologies to you sensitive types, but the sarcasm is right on the money. Sing the damn thing, for crying out loud!

[Studio Addict]

While Jennifer Hudson obviously has a great set of pipes, the one word that is NOT in her vocabulary is "nuance". Her volume is either on or off. Check out Whitney Houston's version and you will hear the difference. Jennifer was also on the "NAACP Salute to Patti LaBelle" last week and sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". OUCH! It was balls to the wall from the first note. Oh well, hopefully she'll learn.

[AdamJay]

i'm wondering what "tells" other folks picked up on to see that it was sync'd...

was it the lack of an audible plosive when her cheeks went all satchmo on "WWWwwwwere so gallantly streaming ? No windscreen could have survived that!
or the several vibratos not sync'ing ? Singers need to learn how to vibrato sync now, eh?



and yea, a little dynamics would have been nice. dunno how much of that was the broadcast, or the singer though.

[tnsngwtr]

just because someone lip syncs a performance, doesn't make them any less talented... there are plenty of reasons why not to sing the anthem live in the stadium. ask yo-yo ma about the inauguration.

[BlackestEyes]

Originally Posted by tnsngwtr

just because someone lip syncs a performance, doesn't make them any less talented... there are plenty of reasons why not to sing the anthem live in the stadium. ask yo-yo ma about the inauguration.

um...The football game was outside in 60 degree weather, perfectly fine for a vocalist imo. Not to mention that you are trying to compare apples and oranges. Freezing temperatures and expensive wooden instruments to a vocalist singing in a 60 degree environment.

I honestly cannot think of one good reason for her lip syncing the national anthem, unless she lost her voice at the last minute

[Shadow_7]

The tells I noticed were A/V sync. And at points it didn't appear like she was breathing where / when she would have had she performed it live. Like the parts where the track is belting out loud and she looks like she's about to take a nap. Great singer yes, great actor, not so much. At least not in the world of HD and zoomed close ups. She was good about the lips and facial things, but the other body language tells were noticeable.

-----

As far as changing the arrangement of the national anthem. If you do that, why not change the words too? Same thing, right? Do you think that'd fly at the olympics? O'Canada in German. Star Spangled Banner in French? Oath of office in Spanish anyone?