I've always really, really hated Journey's music, but that scene made me so fucking happy.
10,000 miles away and 18 hours later, a Seattle ex-pat in Denmark is dancing and cheering along to this video. Thanks for posting this! Fired up and ready to go!
And here I thought that I was done crying
There is nothing - not a TV show, not an election, not the eradication of hunger and arrival of world peace - that justifies the playing of that motherfucking song. Ever.
Please make a note of it.
Doubly appropriate since Obama is a White Sox fan!
I suggest they play Ignoreland from R.E.M
"Capital collateral. Brooding duplicitous, wicked and able, media-ready,
Heartless, and labeled. Super US citizen, super achiever,
Mega ultra power doesn't relax.
Defense, defense, defense, defense. Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, ignoreland. Yeah, yeah, yeah, ignoreland
Yeah, yeah, yeah, ignoreland. Yeah, yeah, yeah
I did not do the revolution"
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Ignoreland-lyrics-R-E-M/000542FA2D8CE77B48256894001F6DDB
@3, I was tearing up, too, till I realized it was the HiNRG version, which is execrable. I quietly turned off the audio and just loved the happy faces.
I teared up seeing it all on film. It was surreal moment that I suspect can never happen again and will live on in my memory forever.
To those who could not be there with us, just know that it felt like you were all there in spirit; It felt like the world danced with us, and dawn had finally broken after an impossibly long night.
I was in the middle of that crowd. It was awesome. So awesome.
A couple minutes later, a drag queen spontaneously led the crowd in the national anthem. Amazing. I wish there was video of that. But video can't come close to the rush of actually being there.
It brings tears to my eyes to see this. Being in the thick of that crowd, surrounded by friends, while Journey implored everyone to keep the faith, was one of the highlights of my life.
I seriously cannot get over how amazing last night was. It reaffirmed my faith in humanity.
Anyone have video of the crowd singing the National Anthem? That would be pretty amazing (although this was great, in and of itself!!)
I just broke down. What sweet release. I am still sorta sobbing a bit.
That might be the most glorious thing I've ever seen.
Thank you SO much for sharing that!!!
i had to leave seattle last year due to illness and move back to the east coast with my family. in 2004 i worked hard to oust bush and it didn't happen. seeing everyone dance in the streets like that - makes me feel like the hard work done in 2004 had paid off. i just wish i had been there to dance in the streets with you all.
i'm so glad there was a video of this moment, not that i could forget it.
Okay...what video hosting service is the stranger using? Is there a reason that I can NEVER see these things when they're posted, regardless of whether I'm at home/work or using firefox, IE Explorer or Safari?
Still...sounds like an awesome moment that I once again am unable to view.
@10 - That first paragraph of yours pretty much destroyed what little faith I had left in humanity. So, hey, thanks for that.
The Seattle Times has a video up on their site, and towards the end they show the National Anthem sing-along.
Last night was something I'll never forget, for the rest of my life. It was generation defining. Christopher's post below summed it all up incredibly well.
Amid our giant group grope, Bailo actually has a point.
The Seattle Times has a video up on their site, and towards the end they show the National Anthem sing-along.
Last night was something I'll never forget, for the rest of my life. It was generation defining. Christopher's post below summed it all up incredibly well.
This video makes me so proud to be an American, and happy to be from Seattle.
It really was the most horrible version of that song, but man was it awesome to be a part of that crowd - music blasting, singing, drinking, dancing. Truely one of the best nights ever.
No. There is nothing -- NOTHING -- that justifies the playing of this song. This is doubly true when the audience is large, drunk, and prone to singing along.
For a celebration ostensibly about peace and compassion, the use of this musical holocaust as a soundtrack is simply unacceptable.
Jesse Jackson and now this... Today has really been hell on my mascara.
@22 your name is apt.
You obviously weren't there or else you might have been swept up in the experience and unclenched your butthole just a tad.
When they played the original at the showbox, everyone broke into song too. It was a truly amazing time. I get teary just thinking about it.
Even a cynical shit such as myself loves that video and every other party I looked on upon. I have a young one and wasn't able to participate in any of it but am so optimistic right now I even hugged my republican friends and told them no mater how much they thought last night was shit I told them it would be alright. Despite all the bad that might be heading our way better times are ahead. We all got a truly wonderful side of humanity that has been denied to us for so long.
Thank you to everyone who made this happen and letting me ramble.
If there was ever a time and place for a HINRG version of "Don't Stop Believing," this has to be it.
Jesus Christ, #22. You're one of those insufferable pricks who takes mortal offense when Coldplay or Jason Mraz comes on the radio, aren't you?
So, THAT'S what unbridled joy and hope for the future looks like! I'd almost forgotten...
Thank You! :-D
@28, I was, until I stopped listening to radio stations with the potential to play that sort of crap.
For a city that flaunts its musical prowess frequently (and rightfully), this is a travesty. This song deserves to be banished to shitty karaoke bars in midwestern college towns. The people that sang along to this crap last night disgust me, and should consider leaving my city immediately.
You're a right ray of sunshine, eh?
No one will ever get you or your music or your girl jeans. No one understands, man. It's okay. Let it all out in your journal and your MySpace page. Shake your head sadly with your friends. Company will make that great weight of artistic integrity that sits on your head easier to bear.
@30: It's about the singer and not the song, son.
That is the best thing ever, I wish I was there. I would have preferred the original though (shudders at HiNRG version). Journey is the best.
@11
I have video I took of the national anthem on my camera. No idea how to upload the video to Slog though. Advice?
@34 Put it on youtube, link from here
OH I MISS SEATTLE! I found out in my bed on my boyfriend's laptop at 5 am in Geneva, Switzerland which was great... but not like this scene!
neverless, i admire at neighbors made the call to put those speakers on the roof and blast music to the street.
its the thought that counts.
I took a video of the anthem (it's on my website, www.do-greater.com), which was an amazing moment to experience.
This was one of the best moments of my life. Everyone was dancing because our joy could not be contained.