What is Your Personal Anthem?

Today, National Anthem Day, American’s celebrate the moment when the poem, “Defense of Fort McHenry” by Francis Scott Key combined with a popular British drinking song to create what is now known as the Star Spangled Banner. In honor of the national anthem, we at BeatCrave have come up with a list of anthems of a different sort. America is full of a bargain bin combination of people and, as an individualistic nation, it seems appropriate that different categories of persona should have their own anthem.

While not everyone is honored with an anthem here, we’ve tried to cover a broad spectrum of people. From your emo kid to your drug addict, from the gay guy next door to the drunk girl in the gutter, we’ve provided an appropriate anthem for them all. So, sing along and celebrate the diversity of American dysfunction with each of these awesome songs!

Emo Anthem

Dashboard Confessional, “Screaming Infidelities”

There are plenty of emo songs to pull from for this particular category but the golden rule is: the original always wins.  Try as they may to deny they do not still love the original brooding of  the oh-so-sad Chris Carrabba from Dashboard Confessional, it is a fact that any emo kid has this track in their white ipod with black skull stickers. Besides, who cares if Dashboard “sold-out,” you’re not punk rock, emo kid! Such things shouldn’t matter to you. Why this particular song? That’s easy, the infidelities are screaming: it doesn’t get any more emo than that.

Every Gay Man’s Anthem

Gloria Gaynor, “I Will Survive”

There are six types of gay men in the world: The Judy Garland Gay, The Barbara Streisand Gay, The Cher Gay, The Madonna Gay, The Kylie Minogue Gay and the newest member to the team, The Britney Spears Gay. A gay man can pretend that he does not fall under one of these categories but, deep down to his very gay core, he does. I am a Madonna-Gay born in the generation of Kylie Minogue-Queers, it’s a fact. The strange thing however, is that the gay anthem that crosses over all generations of gays does not belong to a single one of these singers. The gay anthem, “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor is a song, to all gay boys, men, girls and zes about being able to live happily and without regret after coming out of the closet and cutting the umbilical chord still attached to the straight agenda: “as long as I know how to love, I know I will stay alive.” Sorry breeders this song, and the rainbow, will always be ours.

Anthem for the Addict

Amy Winehouse, “Rehab”

In one of the most classic cases of life imitating art, Amy Winehouse has shown that, sometimes, it’s best to just sing the songs and not live through them. Winehouse’s “Rehab” has her going on and on about how she’s not going to rehab. Then, as she gained more and more notoriety, the world began to realize that she should be singing yes, yes, yes instead of no, no, no.  This song is an anthem to all those addicts still in the denial stage of their addiction.  Get on the phone and call Dr. Drew already, Amy, I’m sure there’s room for you at sober house.

Anthem for the Jaded Angeleno

Rufus Wainwright, “California”

Sure, Los Angeles is the city of dreams, they said so in Pretty Woman, so it must be true. For those who have lived in the land of sunshine and movie stars for an extended period of time, it’s easy to forget the dream that brought them here and feel as though they’re dredging through some silicone nightmare. LA, for all it’s glamor, is the place so many of its residents love to hate. Whether it’s the fakeness and flakiness often associated with the people who inhabit the palm tree-lined streets or the strange mantra that you have to be in the business of show business or else your entire existence is futile, LA can be a tough place. For that reason, an anthem for the jaded Angeleno is a much needed antidote sometimes. Rufus Wainwright provides that anthem in his appropriately titled, “California.”

Drunk Girl Anthem

Katy Perry, “I Kissed a Girl”

There were many drunk anthems before it and there will be many more to come. But, at this moment, the drunk girl anthem is Katy Perry’s annoying sexual-identity crisis rant. This song is sung by drunk girls every night across the nation both in a dive bar dancing on tables or alone in their apartments, dancing on tables. In addition, Perry’s song also sounds like a drunk girl: it’s pointless, kinda perky but not in a good way and so repetitive: “I kissed a girl and I liked it, the taste of her cherry chap stick,” “I kissed a girl and I liked it, the taste of her cherry chap stick,” “I kissed a girl and I…” Ok, drunk girl, we get it! Now, please, go pass out somewhere.

What’s your favorite anthem? Think of another American sub-culture  and their corresponding anthem? Let us know!