“But it’s an abomination. First it ranges two octaves most people can only do kind of one octave. I mean when you think about it, it’s bombs bursting in air rocket’s red glare it all kinds of, you know a lot of national anthems are that way, all kinds of military jargon and the land there’s only one phrase ‘the land of the free’ which is kind of nice and ‘the home of the brave?’ I don’t know.” Bill Press
Liberal talk show host Bill Press, perhaps best known for comparing Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally to “allowing Al Qaeda to hold a rally on September 11 at Ground Zero” while simultaneously bemoaning the “toxic” nature of talk radio and its destructive effects on civility, has let loose another doozy.
This time, Press’s target is nothing less than the United States national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner,” which Press dislikes for several reasons, according to this clip from his show:
Press begins with a few semi-reasonable criticisms of the anthem for being musically difficult (or as he puts it, “un-singable”) because it employs a wider range of notes than most people can sing. However, as the transcript provided by the Radio Equalizer shows, he quickly descends from strictly musical complaints into a nasty dig at the lyrical content of the song, and especially its positive attitude towards Americans.
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