Star Spangled Clamor....

I have Carly Carioli from yesterday's Globe to thank for reminding me that Igor Stravinsky once came within an ace of being fined in Boston for imposing an "illegal" arrangement on the National Anthem back in the 1940's. Apparently it is STILL a law on the books in the commonwealth criminalizing any bid to play "The Star-Spangled Banner" as part of medley, as dance music or with any undue embellishments. Stravinsky was gonna debut his own arrangement of the "Star Spangled Banner" in Boston during WW II, one he THOUGHT was easier to sing til' the local rollers leaned on him hard, Igor elected to conduct the traditional BSO version no doubt with some understandable ruffled feathers. Now as it happens I've heard the Stravinsky arrangement and it's perfectly fine a few high notes are rationalized and or dropped thats all....but poor Igor misunderstood one important and unique thing about the USA, we derive something unique and powerful from our inherently unsingable National Anthem. Other countries have national anthems far more bombastic and tuneful, veritable hymns to Power Glory and Eternal National Greatness, if you listen to any of them, you get a distinct "whistling past the graveyard vibe" if not outright National Reaction-Formation. "We Must Be Great, Our National Anthem Attests to It With A Mighty Booming Chorus!" in other words. Not the USA, we didn't even have one until 1931 and we picked the most discordant unsingable musical mishaugas on the list....yay for us, we don't need to act out in patriotic song. However, the current statute as described Citizen Carioli in yesteday's Globe is superfluous cultural overreach on the part of the Commonwealth's criminal code. It must be defied via civil disobedience...Therefore I intend to hold auditions in the near future for a band I like to call "The Bangtail Yap Orchestra" which will be planted on a traffic island in Davis Square Somerville to play a little ditty I call "The Star Spangled Shimmy", something I hope will be the Dance Craze of the Age! Happy Fourth of July....anyone out there who is virtuoso with a tin bucket and big ass spoon, drop me a little note....