quak1234:
I agree that perhaps the lyrics should be removed from the bill. The video that is linked has the lyrics in the description; it is enough.
Sure, perhaps it wouldn't get much practical use, but it would a) Be a better anthem for representing our regional culture and identity, and b) Would at least be more well known from having it written into the law than having people just happen to stumble upon a poll from two years ago. And if we end up coming up with a better anthem later, we can always just change the anthem again.
I agree with quak1234 above, and I'll take the Lyrics out of the bill so it provides more flexibility.
There is one purpose that anthems achieve that is being neglected:
anthems foster esprit de corps(a feeling of pride, fellowship, and common loyalty shared by the members of a particular group). Music can speak better than words at times. Especially in periods of crisis. I have done a poll and most do like the song that is in the bill(
whether it should be legalized is the issue at dispute).
Guy did point out something valid, about it not appealing to a majority of the residents, but a well-crafted poll and a vote on the issue can fix this issue. As for sounding Generic, if the song's good enough it should circumvent that to some degree(look at how many times God Save the Queen has been used, yet many still rate the song fairly high). At the moment no other region uses Hoist the Colours. We'd be the first Feeder, to my knowledge, to adopt an official anthem into their legal documents and
it would make our region unique among the GCRs. It may not be necessary, but it certainly adds flavor to our region that's absent in other regions.
We
could link it on the WFE giving it some ready exposure for residents to check out(TWP has almost done precisely this but instead of an anthem it's a library of regional songs). Easy way to promote it. Other regions have used anthems and promoted it in such a manner.(The Communist Bloc promotes theirs on their Youtube channel).
To Flemingovia: This bill would alter the Legal code, not the constitution.
The poll served two purposes: One to find which song is the least despised by the ranking method(which I think worked pretty well), and 2: Experiment with a different method of voting than the majority take all system. I used two methods, one where you have two votes you can use so if you want to pick more than one song you can, and the ranking system. Both polls, Hoist the Colours won.
With regards to Delegate choosing anthem: Its Pro is that it is easy and simple to accomplish. Cons is 1:
likely to be forgotten about as soon as the new delegate comes into office(Syrixia, quack1234, and others didn't even know we had one since June of 2 years ago) and 2:
may not appeal to the residents of the region(it's a bit arbitrary method of decision).. Basically less consistent over time.
As for it not being composed by a TNP citizen, that issue has been discussed and I'm open to someone composing an anthem, but so far no one has produced anything as of yet. I tried to compromise with this by writing TNP lyrics to several songs(which didn't win my poll).
I suppose a way to compose a unique anthem for TNP easily(given that our region doesn't have any musicians from the look of it but plenty of lyricists) would be to take a well known song then rearrange the notes; cutting part of it and inserting parts of another song that will easily flow with it(say change a chorus), write Lyrics for that and promote the new song. Perhaps change an octave on various themes in the music. That way the song sounds a little unique, but a little similar to established anthems of the Past. Tchaikovsky did that alot in his music. The problem there would be syncing it so it sounds right and being confident of one's own abilities to accomplish this task. Yugoslavia did this with Poland's anthem. Hawaii used their own musical system to modify God Save the Queen for one of their anthems.
All that being said,
I think a resolution by the Regional Assembly is good way to go and I'm open to seeing that done. However I also like the idea of a formal vote on the issue as it seems less arbitrary. If the RA wants to do a 3rd poll then I would recommend allowing the ability to vote for more than one song(some people can't decide which song is better). In addition allow an option in the poll that says "no anthem".
One way to settle this is the Delegate authorizes a competition on the NS mainpage and invites people from across Nationstates to Compose the music for our region.