Obama Inauguration concert

[GrayMouser]

Emotional highlight- Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen singing "This Land is Your Land"- with all the radical verses included.

(Bonus irony- you can't watch this public event on YouTube because it's the private property of HBO)

2nd place- The D.C Gay Men's Chorus reprising Marian Anderson's 1939 performance of "My Country 'Tis of Thee".

Anderson had been banned from performing in the Daughters of the American Revolution's Concert Hall because of the color of her skin; Eleanor Roosevelt then invited her to sing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, watched by an integrated crowd of 75,000. Bigotry dies slow and hard- but it does die.

Musical highlight: Garth Brooks kicking out the jams on the Isley Brothers' "Shout" - what can I say, the man's got soul :)

[GrayMouser]

Musical low-point: Bono's shameless "look-at-me" preening.

Emotional low-point- Tom Hank's meandering tribute to Abe Lincoln set against some bizarre musical blattings that sounded like the intro for a high-school football game.

[GrayMouser]

Joe Biden's tribute to the working people of America was pretty awful too.

[Mari]

Those two highlights you mentioned I liked a lot too. :)
My mum is a huge fan of Pete Seeger.
There were lots of things with a chorus. Either as background or as main.
That is THE way to go of course! :D

[The Gaffer]

Didn't watch it, but the inauguration was great. Seeing Bush and Cheney having to sit and listen to President Obama tell the world what a worthless shower they are was pure gold.

[GrayMouser]

Alright, I'll withdraw my nasty remarks about Copland's music backing Tom Hanks after reading this:

In January 1953, Copland's "Lincoln Portrait" was scheduled to be performed at Dwight Eisenhower's inaugural concert but was banned at the last minute when an Illinois congressman complained about Copland's liberal politics. Later that year, Copland became a target of Joe McCarthy's Communist witch-hunt.

In time, Copland was "completely rehabilitated," Williams noted, performing at the White House and eventually receiving the Congressional Gold Medal. The performance at this inauguration of "Simple Gifts," a piece widely associated with Copland, "describes a completed circle of events that is nice to think about," the composer said.

Still not a fan, though.

Though I have no idea who these people are, Shakira and Usher did a great job playing with Stevie Wonder on "Higher Ground"