Friday lols. Fave anthems?

[airiefairie.livejournal.com]

So which are your top 3 most favourite national anthems? Why?

Mine:

Japan

It sounds very Zen, very ancient, almost legendary. You imagine trees in rose blossom, tiny lakes and a gorgeous geisha dressed in kimono arranging flowers in the garden...

Russia

It is the old Soviet anthem with new words, but with the same epicness. No matter what you think about Russia, this tune really gives you a sense of something enormous. Maybe the proverbial "broad Slavic soul"?

Italy

I like classical music! Opera too! This anthem is in the best traditions of that music.

Your turn!

Comments

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

[dv8nation.livejournal.com]

Never liked the Japanese one. Sounds like a funeral dirge.

[airiefairie.livejournal.com]

Which one do you like?

[dv8nation.livejournal.com]

Italy's is pretty good. France too. Oh, and Poland.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

Because it sounds... Mongolian! :-)


Pretty non-conventional and... Celtic.


Come on, this is epic!

[luvdovz.livejournal.com]

Maamme, performed by Tarja.

[eracerhead.livejournal.com]

On the bottom. The US national anthem. Impossible to sing and most sing it wrong, and about as inspiring as watching paint dry. As a bonus we also have one of the most unaesthetic flags in the world.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I see your US national anthem and flag and raise you New Zealand's.

Battle for the Rhein

[essentialsaltes.livejournal.com]

Always loved the Japanese and then-USSR anthems when they popped up in whiny synthesized form on the ancient Apple //e olympics game.

And, of course...

[yelena-r0ssini.livejournal.com]

I played that same game. IIRC they used "Waltzing Matilda" for Australia's national anthem in that game even though "Advance Australia Fair" had been officially adopted a few years beforehand?

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

And, of course..

Mais oui. A great scene albeit in a movie that consists of nothing else but great scenes.

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

Cool scene you described there. Something like this?

[airiefairie.livejournal.com]

Very much!

[devil-ad-vocate.livejournal.com]

Finland, Russian (with the new lyrics), and Germany

[yelena-r0ssini.livejournal.com]

How a nation of such sissies wound up with the most bad-ass lyrics for a national anthem EVER is a matter worth pondering.

[airiefairie.livejournal.com]

Maybe they weren't such sissies back then! =)

[yelena-r0ssini.livejournal.com]

Well they were mostly murdering the shit out of other French people so I don't really know if that counts. It's when they have to fight OTHER countries that the problems seem to arise.

[lai-choi-san.livejournal.com]

You speak like an expert. You surely have a profound knowledge of French History.

[yelena-r0ssini.livejournal.com]

I'm not an expert in anything. I have a little more French history than I do the rest of Europe, but certainly not as much as, say, a French kid or anything. But if we can't make fun of the French, what's left to us? AMERICA FUCK YEAH

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

Napoleon begs to differ :P

[telemann.livejournal.com]

I love the official Anthem of the Olympic Games, composed in 1896 Olympiakós Ýmnos. Composed by Spyridon Samaras, with lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palama. Even though the video quality is ho-hum at best, I have to say this is the best version of the Olympic Anthem, since the original was for only four voice mens' choir and piano.

[sandwichwarrior.livejournal.com]

I was actually going to post the old Soviet Anthem until I looked under the cut.

They may have been the closest thing the world has seen to a no-shit evil empire but damn its a good song. I agree with your opinion on the "epicness" of music entirely.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

The Russian anthem really gives you the goosebumps.

[sandwichwarrior.livejournal.com]

Da tovarich

[lai-choi-san.livejournal.com]

I agree with you about the Japanese anthem. It's beautiful and really sounds... Japanese.
In terms of epicness, I think you may like this performance of the Russian anthem (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5DR6yejGio&feature=artist).

Other ones I like :

Scotland


Germany (written by Haydn)


and from the Napoleonic times :

because, come on, the lyrics ! "Tyrants go down in coffins" !

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

Italy and the USSR are two of my faves too :)