A BRIEF THREAD FOR SCHMUCKS:
the internet is full of musically illiterate takes on Lady Gaga’s rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner.

Many of you don’t know this, but I’m the biggest Whitney Houston fan on the planet.

To understand why @ladygaga sang the anthem in 4/4...

...you need to understand why Whitney Houston also sang it in 4/4 in 1991 for the Super Bowl, and why those who gave her flak some 3 decades ago were, indeed, also schmucks.

And you need to understand that 4/4 is, amongst other things, the basic metre for the black spiritual.

You can come to your own hot takes, but what @ladygaga did tonight was an embedded provocation and indeed embedded tribute to the complex nature of the American Experiment. So stop saying nonsense.

And meanwhile, the late great Whitney Houston:

And in Gaga’s last cadence, we heard a tribute to Whitney’s take on the Star-Spangled Banner.

Ever Whitney Houston fan on the planet heard this tribute. All the crucial elements of that 1991 arrangement were there.

So, again, check yourselves and educate yourselves. Peace.

Also the only people who are bigger schmucks are those who just tweet about her damned dress. Listen to the musical message here — and if you can’t, then just stop tweeting.

Doubtless I’m missing certain things and over-simplifying but FFS just read the experts and study the database of spirituals and the available research: http://spirituals-database.com/the-negro-spiritual/