May 17 - The National Anthem

I really had a hard time deciding today. For those of you not Norwegian, May 17th is Norway's National Holiday. I have always seen it somewhat paradoxical, because although we are celebrating May 17, 1814, which is the birthday of the Norwegian Constitution, we were still not independent as a nation. No... We went straight from a union with Denmark to a union with Sweden, which lasted until 1905. So we did have a constitution, but not independence.

May 17th is a day of parades. In just about every community there is a children's parade in the morning. Every elementary school in the country participates, as far as I know. In bigger cities, like my hometown, that means that the parades get fairly long. Following the children's parades, we also typically have a citizen's parade - and then we have a parade of the russ, the graduating high schoolers. Very often this last parade is filled with more or less awake - and more or less sober - apathetic youth in what in theory is a display of hope for the future, but if we're honest, that really happens in the children's parade...

And I used to be in marching band. That meant that for me, I would get up early and walk to my elementary school (about 1 kilometer) in uniform. I think we had to be there at 5:30 or 6, but I might be wrong about that. Then we'd march around the neighborhoods of my school, about a mile and a half to two before gathering back at the elementary school for breakfast. Then we marched with the elementary school to line up for the parade downtown, and that was another two miles or so - before we did the parade itself, which I think was another half mile. After time for lunch with our families, we met up again and marched one last time to gather business for the fair-like activities that were held at the elementary school, which really serve as a center for the community. I think that adds another mile or so to the marching. And yes, I always slept soundly those nights...

So back to the debate for today's song. I could look for a Norwegian song with somewhat nationalistic content, beaming with national pride, but that isn't quite me. I could also look for a more subdued song celebrating some aspects of Norway - and there are some good contenders there. But I ended up at Radiohead's The National Anthem from Kid A, an album so radically different from OK Computer that it completely changed their trajectory. I mean, there are watershed moments, and then there are watershed moments, and Kid A is a watershed album. It is a great album, but they also went completely away from the guitar based music of previous albums into way more experimental territories, and on Kid A, it really paid off. It is my favorite post-OK Computer Radiohead album - by far (although their new album, A Moon Shaped Pool is really, really, really good). And to me, Kid A can be distilled down to the song The National Anthem (which is at least a fitting title for a national holiday).

The National Anthem hit me unsuspectingly while watching SNL on October 14, 2000. Kate Hudson was the host, but I had to look it up to remember, because all I remember is the power of The National Anthem. It completely blew me away. Completely. This was a band firing on all cylinders, and I don't think they ever had one song more completely distill the essence of who they were. There are songs that are prettier, and there are songs that are grittier, but none is more perfect than The National Anthem. Hurra for 17. mai!

It does help when I remember to include the video...