# Military music gift advice needed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 5, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-music-gift-advice-needed/382979 "2006-12-05T20:35:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sycorax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@Sycorax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sycorax)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-music-gift-advice-needed/382979/1 "2006-12-05T20:35:15Z")
I want to get my hubby a CD featuring military symphonics, singing, and marches. He’s a WWII re-enactor, and frequents a site dealing with all aspects of that hobby where he found and downloaded the Soviet Union national anthem; he plays it several times in the evening really loud (and occasionally conducts the orchestra). Here’s the link, if you’d like to get an idea. Click on “English MP3” at the top of the lyrics (only the music is played). [http://www.marxists.org/history/ussr/sounds/lyrics/anthem.htm](http://www.marxists.org/history/ussr/sounds/lyrics/anthem.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-music-gift-advice-needed/382979/2 "2006-12-05T21:05:29Z")
The U.S. Marine Band has several (four, by now?) albums of J.P. Sousa music. Good stuff, if you’re so inclined. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-music-gift-advice-needed/382979/3 "2006-12-06T02:00:34Z")
I also have in my CD collection a Melodiya disc, "The Parade: Marches Performed by Brass Bands, which has 20 instrumental-only marches from the Soviet era. It doesn’t have an ISBN code anywhere on it, but the UPC numbers are 4 600317 005 192, and there’s also the code MEL CD 60 00519. Lots of stirring martial music on it. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-music-gift-advice-needed/382979/4 "2006-12-06T02:18:16Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] The U.S. Marine Band has several (four, by now?) albums of J.P. Sousa music. Good stuff, if you’re so inclined. [/QUOTE] I came in here to recommend these as well. Don’t tell my punk-rock friends, but I’m a sucker for a good Sousa march; these are pretty good recordings of them. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-music-gift-advice-needed/382979/5 "2006-12-06T02:33:18Z")
[QUOTE=Sycorax] “…he found and downloaded the Soviet Union national anthem; he plays it several times in the evening really loud (and occasionally conducts the orchestra.)” > **[Lyrics: The Soviet National Anthem](https://www.marxists.org/history/ussr/sounds/lyrics/anthem.htm)** [/QUOTE] Skip the CD, get him one of those Brezhnev furry caps! ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-music-gift-advice-needed/382979/6 "2006-12-06T03:08:38Z")
Rob Carriker’s [Over There](http://www.amazon.com/There-Marlborough-Singers-Chamber-Players/dp/B00006BCBU) has some GREAT selections, from the Revolutionary War thru WWII. I particularly like _The Battle Cry of Freedom_. The soundtrack to [The Great War](http://www.amazon.com/Great-War-Various-Artists/dp/B000000WTV/sr=1-3/qid=1165373713/ref=sr_1_3/002-1988947-0288824?ie=UTF8&s=music) has a number of period recordings of WWI hits. (Like _“It’s a Long Way to Tipparary,” “Pack up Your Troubles,” “Over There,”_ etc.) I’d reccomend [The Longest Day: Music from the Classic War Films](http://www.amazon.com/Longest-Day-Classic-Soundtrack-Anthology/dp/B000004BPO), but there’s a good chance you already have it. [Sovmusic.ru](http://english.sovmusic.ru/index.php) has a LOT of commie songs, WWII vintage and otherwise, and says it offers a CD (well, CD-ROM with MP3s, at least) for sale. You can also just download the songs for free (heh. Gotta love Red economics.) I reccomend several of their tank songs, such as [March of the Soviet Tankists](http://www.sovmusic.ru/english/download.php?fname=martank), or my personal favorite, [Across the Field Tanks Thundered](http://www.sovmusic.ru/english/text.php?fname=bolvanka) And I’m sure I could dig up a decent playlist of fascist WWII songs—Panzerlied, etc.—that he’d like, too, if you give me the time. (I’ve got the links saved around here, somewhere…) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-music-gift-advice-needed/382979/7 "2006-12-06T15:29:21Z")
Forgot to mention, the soundtrack album of Ken Burns’s PBS documentary _The Civil War_ has a lot of great period music. I’m particularly fond of “Hail, Columbia,” “The Bonnie Blue Flag” and one simply called “Parade.” ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-music-gift-advice-needed/382979/8 "2006-12-07T04:34:35Z")
The Marine Corps Band has at least one area where they permit you to copy recordings of their performances: [http://www.usmc.mil/band/m\_bandcd.nsf/MorningColorsMusic?OpenView](http://www.usmc.mil/band/m_bandcd.nsf/MorningColorsMusic?OpenView) ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/military-music-gift-advice-needed/382979/9 "2006-12-07T04:37:53Z")
The Marine Corps Band permits you to copy recordings of their performances: [http://www.usmc.mil/band/m\_bandcd.nsf/](http://www.usmc.mil/band/m_bandcd.nsf/) There are a number of marches by Sousa and others.