ANTHEMS

posted by James Reel

Alex Marshall of The Guardian girded his loins and listened to the national anthem of every country represented at the Olympics right now. He detests most of ’em, and with good reason (musical reasons, which he explains; he doesn’t comment much on the lyrics). Marshall doesn’t mention the anthem of his own land (somehow simultaneously stirring and stuffy), nor that of American (a truly horrid abomination, derived from an old English drinking song and suitable for singing only when one is drunk). But he does list some that meet his approval, with links to YouTube performances. These don’t always present the anthems to their best advantage—a couple are synthesizer jobs, and several are played by pop bands in concert—but they’ll give you an idea of what’s possible when a composer thinks outside the box step. Of those listed, my favorites are the anthems of Nepal and Bangladesh.