Not OT: More about the HAT

I may be standing alone here but I still think that hat is hideous.

Lucille

Nope, me too.l Way too too, if you know what I mean

Linda

I did too, and I may also be standing alone, but I thought her singing was horrid, too. Now the Sea Chanters, as always, did a great job with the National Anthem. I saw them many a time when we lived in MD, and I was associated with the Navy League.

Gill

I'm probably going to be called old fashioned, but I think the patriotic songs should be left alone. A little modernizing is fine, but don't make them unrecognizable. I want to know which song is going to be played after hearing the first few notes. The way she did it, it wasn't until the middle of the song that I recognized it.

That's probably why Gillian likes the Sea Chanters. In our house, we always prefer patriotic songs sung by service soloists or choirs. They sing them as they were written, and don't try to "put their own stamp" on them. I was horrified, when I first came over here, and heard the National Anthem being "sung" at public events by pop singers.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans

I dunno - though I can't say I like the hat itself, I think she carried it off as they used to say. Personally, I think M. Obama would have done well to wear a hat with the yellow outfit, something perky and saucy would have been nice.

Some are better then others. It's when they try to jazz it up so it's nowhere near what I'm used to hearing that I object.

Then the comparison to Jackie O would have been even more so. I think she's trying to get away from that, plus she wouldn't want to be mistaken for royalty. She prefers to be one of the "people" few of whom wear hats anymore.

She probably would have felt a little warmer with her head covered. Even I, who NEVER wears hats anymore, had a denim one I wore last week for our yard sale; it was in the very low 30s, and it is amazing how much warmer I felt.

For me the hat isn't the important thing. I need to wear gloves. If my hands and feet are warm, I'm warm.

I agree. I wasn't crazy about the hat, either, but for her, it worked. I also have to agree with the assessment of her singing.I love Aretha, but that version didn't work for me. I also spent some time in a military band, and jazzed-up versions of ANY anthem just sound wrong. Even DD agrees, and she's not yet four. We were at DS's school one day last week for some PTA stuff as they were doing the opening exercises, and O Canada started. The school has a CD with about a dozen different versions of the anthem, and the one that was playing that day was essentially the Hendrix version. DD asked me what song was playing, and I said "It's O Canada, so we need to stand up straight and be quiet." She looked at me, very confused, and said, very flatly, "Mummy, that's not O Canada." O Canada does not lend itself to the Hendrix treatment. :)

Louisa

GMTA! Someone mentioned it sounded like she had a cold. I thought she sounded like her age is showing in her voice...she just doesn't have the strength anymore. I'm also with Lucille....the warbling (or whatever that all-over-the-scale addition is called) can be left out!

Or maybe I'm just being a GOW today! LOL

Joan (tired of this 2-week-old cold!)

You're probably right, I really haven't followed anything about her, only saw a bit of the Pennsylvania walk and noticed the lack of a hat. To me, the outfit looked unfinished.

I think part of the reason women are hatless now is the cost of a hat. Ever looked at prices on hats recently ? I was stunned. Not that I wear hats and didn't ever with one exception, to large garden parties, I loved doing the thing with elbow length gloves and biiiiiig hat lol

In low temps they always say cover the head, major blood vessels are close to the skin and a hat gives great warmth.

Good for her !

Oh gow on, you so seldom do it !

True. But, maybe it would've brought up too much Jackie comparison. That outfit was stunning, IMHO. Didn't really like her gown - for her - thought it was matronly, but, what the heck.

ellice

That was me with the cold comment, I think. We just thought that after the first line she changed keys, and was trying to sing in a key that was a bit high. OTOH, it was cold and windy out there, and she had sung at the concert on the weekend, so I'll give her a break. I just felt badly about it, as she's so talented, and that was not so good.

Did you hear that the acknowledged the quartet music piped out was a recorded version they had done earlier, although they were playing live, it wasn't amplified. Too cold for the instruments to keep tune.

There was an interview with someone from the Marine Corps Band, the President's Own, last week, and she explained that they would be using plastic, not metal, mouthpieces for all the brass, and that if it got too cold, then they wouldn't be able to play as it would damage the valves, etc on the horns. However, she laughed - no excuse for the drummers -they can play no matter what. IIRC it was probably on NPR - the American University station - which doesn't mean it was syndicated all over.

Sorry about the cold. I'm still really head-achey for about 3 days. My highlight of the day, week, month - I spent 2 hours cleaning the master bath (yes, in my privileged state, this house has a big bath with soaking tub). It hadn't been done for a while, as the steps are a great place for the regular first aid my sports playing DH requires. Anyhow, after cleaning, all the windows, both vanities, the shower, and of course the tub - which sadly had dust 'cause it's been a while since we used it - I felt so virtuous that I actually used it. Wow - a mid-day relaxation soak -with the whirlpool for a few moments. Complete w/ lavendar scented bath salts, and a good book. And, the dog didn't even try to climb in (the more usual). So, I'm actually in a good mood for a change. But, I did do a bunch of more job seeking in the morning, and bill paying, etc. Yuck.

Go rest somewhere - or do a compress on your eyes if that will make your head feel better with the cold.

Ellice

Since I didn't watch any of the "festivities", I can't comment on Aretha's rendition of the National Anthem. I can *imagine* what it was like but that's about it! CiaoMeow >^;;^<

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