If I were Prez I would do away with brass bands and Sousa.

[Whovian]

Really. That music sucks for me and 90 percent of the American public.

[NoOneMan]

1. And risk as civil war?!?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2231673

[WinkyDink]

2. I find both your taste regrettable and your claim ridiculous. Your preference would be...?

[Whovian]

8. LOL. Sorry, Brass bands have one intention: Be loud.

That'a the only reason the only other instrument in their ranks is a drum.

[WinkyDink]

13. Did you play a brass instrument? I did: the trombone. And I played Sousa. And no, the sole intent

is not to "Be loud."

[MadrasT]

30. Trumpet here.

And I also find the OP to be... regrettable.

All hail Sousa, and long live the military bands.

[WinkyDink]

41. You have my envy! I love the trumpet above all! "Cherry Pink and

Apple Blossom White" was the first song I can remember playing over and over!

But my father played trombone (taught by Dorsey pere!).

[sdfernando]

52. Not a brass player

Woodwinds here, but I play Piccolo on occasion in several groups and most marches give us quite a workout, which I love.

[dhill926]

37. um......nope......

[KittyWampus]

45. I'd say an electric guitar amplified is pretty fucking loud, wouldn't you?

[Bake]

58. A double-stack Marshall cranked up to ELEVENTY!!!!!!!!!!

We scoff at your puny instruments of tin!

Mwaaaaaa haaaaaa haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!



Bake

[erinlough]

70. Try this on for size!

I work for the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps every summer. The Boston Crusaders marched in the inaugural parade today, another wonderful musical "brass band" who compete with the Cavaliers. From looking at the stands in the video a lot of people like this brass music.

[stopbush]

87. Er. one needs to be "loud" to be heard in an open-air setting

where one doesn't have the help of an enclosed acoustic.

[dballance]

92. You are offensive to every one of us ...

Who worked hard to learn to play all those "loud" instruments. Then practiced for hours with the band to produce music. You obviously need to get out more and listen to brass bands not in a parade. You might find that soft is just is good as loud for them.

[1983law]

16. More than regrettable

It's that traditional stuff I find appealing.

[HappyMe]

3. I don't mind it.

Not something I listen to, but sometimes it's okay.

90%?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. 90%? Really?

I didn't know anyone had done polling to determine what percentage of the American public hates Sousa. But I don't think it's 90%, otherwise we'd never hear it. It's pretty standard marching band stuff. Not crazy about Souza marches myself, but what else would you choose? Beethoven's Fifth? It's tough to play the cello and march at the same time. There's not a lot of music out there that you can play while walking.

[RKP5637]

14. Do The Stroll?

[WinkyDink]

24. OMG, AWESOME! "Strolllllllll-in, strol-ol-ol-ol-ol-in,...."!

[Whovian]

15. So tell me, You sit around listening to band music in your leisure time?

That would be odd. We put up with it because it's expected.

[WinkyDink]

27. Look, you need to get off the ego trip of "we" and "90%." Not many people

"sit around listening to" opera or hymns, I'll bet (in this nation), either, but that doesn't detract one iota from the music's merits; quite the contrary.

[Paladin]

34. 1st and 2nd Suites For Military Band, by Gustav Holst.

Both are available for listening, online. Check them out and see how much you have to learn about band music......

[KittyWampus]

47. I do listen to big band music. Oh, and there's some great dj's mixing with it too.

[TwilightGardener]

5. I love it. Love tradition.

[sad-cafe]

12. me too

I love tradition

[RKP5637]

6. Where did the 90% estimate come from?

[Whovian]

17. Because in 60 years I have never heard "Cool! There's a Sousa Fest Nearby!"

[RKP5637]

19. Yep! Quite true! Have to go waaaayyyy back before you and I were here! n/t

[WinkyDink]

39. I'm 63, and this is a crock.

[RKP5637]

46. I'm beyond that age. When Sousa was alive I believe there were many very popular

Sousa concerts. I've played sooo many Sousa marches in bands, orchestras, parade grounds athletic events, there's been a ton of them. I've always have enjoyed them from a performer's point of view. I also enjoy the Canadian Brass ensemble.

[NYC Liberal]

21. Yet I've known plenty of people who like it in that context...

aka a march or a parade.

[bayareamike]

35. Fallacy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_ignorance

[WinkyDink]

38. You live in a narrowed world, one which doesn't grasp our musical heritage. Where I live,

there are Sousa concerts, drum corps competitions, and the like:

http://www.enter.net/~brandar/

http://www.cityband.org/about-us.html

http://www.eastonband.com/concerts/ (Note the first concert listed.)

The U.S. also has a tradition of American high school marching bands (you DID see some in the parade, no?).

Finally, there are our FAMOUS Armed Services anthems.

Too bad Obama didn't have a parade composed of nothing but the Dave Matthews Band, is that it? Or Justin Bieber?

[RKP5637]

48. K&R !!! n/t

[Sekhmets Daughter]

51. Does a concert qualify?

http://www.thecenterfortheperformingarts.org/tickets/production.aspx?PID=1779

[Siwsan]

7. I respectfully disagree

Sousa is great marching music. And, it's like Auld Lang Syne - a little corny but always expected.

[hollysmom]

9. its good marching music,

if we didn't have it, we would have to do sea shanties and that would make some blush.

[alarimer]

10. Doesn't suck as much as Kelly Clarkson or Beyonce.

Do away with piece of shit pop acts at these events, please.

[Bucky]

49. You do know what the work "pop" is an abbreviation of, don't you?

Think about it.

[bettyellen]

55. poop?

[Bucky]

60. *mirror*

now it'll stick to you

[bettyellen]

61. I'm rubber, see.....

[Bucky]

67. .

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FFbIIl8iP_8/T04lbJZdBXI/AAAAAAAAARk/tBUxpo3hhqQ/s1600/Paul+Yip+DarthMacGoogle+RubberGlue01.jpg

[bettyellen]

83. HA!

well played, my friend!

[Igel]

82. Wouldn't that mean hip-hop is pop?

My subject line strikes me as anomalous. Not all music that is popular, as opposed to fine arts, is "pop."

Argument from ignorance is a fallacy. But so is the etymological fallacy.

It's rather like "alternative rock." Once it was mainstream, it wasn't alternative. Kept the name. Just consider the phrase "alternative rock" to be lexicalized and the problem's solved.

In the case of the truncated "pop", the semantic range was markedly narrowed. Rather like "Democratic" with a capital D doesn't mean "one who advocates a democratic form of government" but "of or pertaining to the Democratic Party in the United States of America."

[duffyduff]

75. +1,000

They were absolutely terrible.

[tpsbmam]

81. I didn't mind Beyonce so much Clarkson screeching at the top of her lungs......

ugh!!! I was out of the room when they announced who she was and came back in just to hear the god awful screech! WTF??!!

[dmr]

11. It's tradition. I respect it.

[dipsydoodle]

18. Dependent on measure

The Presidents Military Band is one of the best in the world. Its what they do and play.

[cali]

20. wow. YOU speak for 90% of the American Public? Amazing.

The hubris that is.

[Brother Buzz]

22. Tell that to the The Palm Springs High School marching band

They play some damn tight Sousa music and they are jazzed they were picked to participate in the presidential inaugural parade, the only HS band from California.

They played Sousa's 'Stars and Stripes Forever'.

[narnian60]

23. How can you have a parade without marching bands??

[Brother Buzz]

42. Same could be said for the Shriners

No parade is complete without marching bands and at least on Shriner group. That's a fact, Jack.

[LeftofObama]

25. I love Sousa music!

I was with a friend one time at a county fair. They had a battle of the marching bands and we were both thrilled because we didn't know they were having it that day.

I guess I'm a big ole nerd, but I don't care. I like it!

[kwassa]

26. Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" is my favorite patriotic song.

I absolutely love it, as well as several other Sousa marches. The other standard national anthems do nothing for me.

Sousa rocks.

[duffyduff]

74. Yep. I like the King Cotton March and the Liberty Bell the best. n/t

[Art_from_Ark]

79. The Liberty Bell

Also known as the "Monty Python theme song"

[kentauros]

28. I know!

Karl King marches are so much better!

[jberryhill]

29. Well, okay

Can you tell us about the rest of your platform?

[gblady]

31. I love Sousa and brass bands....

always makes me cry! Love the pomp and circumstance...the tradition.
Good stuff, IMHO.

[bayareamike]

32. I love the tradition of it.

And I really don't mind big band music. It's not exactly the same, I know, but classical music/symphonies are one of my favorite types of music.

[MadrasT]

33. Noooooooooooo!!!

Love it. Love it. Love it.

[Whovian]

36. Wow. I guess I stand corrected.

[msongs]

40. it's war music, you lose :-) nt

[Igel]

85. Souza wrote marches.

And operettas.

But the marches were mostly concert and marching music, performed in a lot of concerts that didn't involve anything military. He served in the military. But most of his life, apart from his initial stint in the Marine Band and then during WWI was directing a band that toured. Not as part of an invasion force, but just as a touring music group.

It's music suitable for marching, for keeping a group of people walking in pace and in time. Hence it's used by militaries. But more groups than just the military marches, and they use it to. It's also fairly loud, so it's suitable for outside concerts. Just try having an outdoor concert in the absence of electronic amplification. You wind up with a lot of brass and woodwinds--rackets and shawms for a while, then brass when the guild's power was broken, then mixed bands.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

43. I would much prefer the music of John Baptiste Philouza:

[CTyankee]

44. Aww, I love Sousa! It's so perfect for our American Inaugural.

A cultural artifact that is nice. Makes us feel UP on Inauguration day! We can forget for one day our troubles and just listen and watch...

[Bucky]

50. I think when you celebrate democracy, you have to celebrate all the parts of it

By nature a few people are going to run across music they don't like in the process. One misanthrope upthread dissed both Beyonce and Kelly Clarkson. The OP was down on Sousa. I'm sure a few folks were annoyed at that all-drum band with the free-form dancing teenagers from Iowa. I personally am bothered by anyone from Wisconsin.

Being briefly annoyed by your neighbors is part of a great American tradition. I'm with you on this. We deserve an inauguration day that draws from all of our cultural roots. Unless, you're from Wisconsin, that is.

[CTyankee]

71. My husband is from Wisconsin! We have a vacation home there, in Door County, which we

both love.

As for Clarkson and Beyonce, it's not my music but so what? I can't expect everyone to like the music I listen to...so...live and let live...a good motto and so much more helpful in your life...

[southernyankeebelle]

53. Thank god the president isn't you. I like John Philip Souza music. Great marching

band music. Thanks for tradition.

[ReRe]

54. Whew... boy did you peg this wrong...

Whovian, I love 'ya. You know we all love 'ya. But to take our John Phillip Sousa away from us? I won the John Phillip Sousa Award in music when I was a Senior in High School. I played everything in the percussion section, trumpet, AND french horn...(no, not all at the same time!) This is the only time I get to hear this stuff. Maybe you should turn down the volume just a bit? I have an idea...we do it all the time when we listen to basketball games of our local University. We nuke the sound on the TV and listen to the radio announcers as they call the game. Maybe you can nuke the sound on the TV and play your favorite music on your CD player? Just an idea. Here come some bagpipes!

[Whovian]

56. But I'm one of the rare who loves Bagpipes!

[bettyellen]

63. I know a lot of people who love bagpipes, accordians too.

[Bake]

76. Some people even like -- gasp -- BANJOS!!!!!

Oh, the humanity!!



Bake

[ReRe]

69. Hey... I love bagpipes too!

... I'm British Isles descended from way way back...1620 and forward. England, Ireland and Scotland. Why don't you get a training bagpipe and take a few lessons to get the hang of it. Practice it at home. After you have driven everyone at your home out of their minds with practicing, sign up for some long-term lessons and get the real McCoy..real bagpipes, i.e. No?

[duffyduff]

73. Bagpipes are one of my favorite musical instruments n/t

[demosincebirth]

57. I love it. The 90% is your wishfull thinking.

[onenote]

59. And this would be just one of many reasons that you would never be President, I think.

[GoneOffShore]

62. Is today the day you decided to just be miserable?

Or are you working out some other issues?

[whistler162]

64. Oh boy another person with no musical

taste!

Probably a fan of Vanilla Ice!

[Bake]

65. You must not go to many football games.

Just a guess ...



Bake

[Hekate]

66. What next? Bagpipes?

No, no, no. Parades gotta have noisy instruments that the whole crowd can hear.

I think 90% of the American public actually likes it.

[ellie]

68. I love the marches.

My brother was in the service and when he was commissioned as an officer in the Marines, the Marine Corps Band entertained the crowd for about 45 minutes before the ceremony started. That was over 30 years ago and my mom and I still talk about how great the band was.

[duffyduff]

72. Speak for yourself

I LOVE Sousa and marching bands.

[LeftInTX]

77. Sousa was head of the Marine Band

He wrote a bunch of music for the military bands.
That is why we hear so much of his music at traditional events.

[0rganism]

78. i rather enjoyed tuning in to the inauguration and hearing the Monty Python theme

so i'll have to disagree with you there.

[grasswire]

80. OMG noooooooo!! Boooo!!

Heresy!

I adore Sousa. I adore brass bands.

My grandfather, who started small-town bands along the Canadian prairie, sat in with the Sousa band on tour in Saskatchewan.

The Sousa marches are national treasures.

[pangaia]

84. I could play Sousa marches all day.

Well, Sousa and a few others...

[stopbush]

86. Too bad for you. As a musician myself, I find Sousa to be great.

[SayWut]

88. 90%

I guess you've never been to, heard of, or seen about the Boston Pops 4th of July Celebration on the Esplanade.
Only about 1,000,000 fucking people show up, and "The Stars and Stripes" is #1, or a close tie with the "1812 Overture" as a crowd favorite.

Make that #1. Unless it's AC/DC, you really can't sing along to church bells and cannon discharges.

[Canuckistanian]

89. I thought Sousa was in the Preamble

Silly me.

[Sancho]

90. You are so wrong...

[dballance]

91. Please do not speak for me because

You have no right to. I like the bands and the parade. So get over it and just change the channel or go do a hobby of yours.