Wednesday, March 25, 2009

MARYLAND STATE ANTHEM

I didn't know if you knew about this, but the official anthem of Maryland is all about murdering Abraham Lincoln and how rad it is to have slaves. Now, a lot has changed in the last 150 years (700 cultural-years), and good old Maryland is now one of the last states that would expect to embody those sorts of sentiments. We're solidly Democratic, have the highest rate of African-Americans with postgraduate degrees (especially when you count DC, which everyone here does, this is also v. imp. to note), and none of our citizens have killed Lincoln--or even abetted the murderer/s!--since 1865. So it's past time we got a new official song, and I have some suggestions:

The Blackbyrds--Rock Creek Park



Yes, this is about DC, but as I said before, DC is pretty much MD. Also, it is about doin' it (in the park), which everyone can relate to. Most importantly, this song is SUPA-FONKY!

Bad Brains--any



Because Bad Brains, that's why.

Animal Collective--Merriwether Post Pavillion (2009)



The indisputably Maryland Animal Collective released the CRABULOUS Merriwether Post Pavillion earlier this year (psst also sort of last year when it leaked shh don't tell mom or the riaa). Therefore I am nominating the whole 55-minute album to be Maryland's anthem, and I hope it gets played before every O's/Nats/Caps/Redskins/United/Ravens game.

Billie Holiday--any



Because Billie Holiday, that's why.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Gene Weingarten told me this weekend. The funniest part is it was adopted in the 1920s, way past the civil war. harhar. Oh, Maryland.

Your selections are good. Thank you for avoiding Hootie and The Blowfish.