"... in which will.i.am set Mr. Obama’s 'Yes We Can' speech to a melody. But it didn’t appeal to liberal audiences alone. Lynne and Dick Cheney praised it as much as Hillary Clinton. In the 2016 documentary 'Hamilton’s America,' Paul Ryan and George W. Bush shared their appreciation alongside Elizabeth Warren and Mr. Obama.... It was seen to represent the promise and limitations of the Obama era, a celebration of America as the land of immigrant achievement, expanding and fulfilling the founders’ imperfectly realized plan. ... Ezekiel Kweku called it 'the Hamilton consensus': a vision of 'an America whole but unfinished, waves of progress bringing it closer and closer to its founding ideals' as 'a meritocracy wrung clean of bias, whose creed is both a promise and invitation to anyone talented and hardworking enough to lay claim to it.'... Ten years on, 'Hamilton' feels less like a fantasy than a warning: This is how quickly America’s promise could curdle...."
I've never seen "Hamilton," but I've always thought will.i.am's video, "Yes We Can," was fantastic. Perhaps it still calls to mind the feeling of 17 years ago, when it expressed a wan, sad hope. Now, looking back on the Obama administration, there's no hope about what is in the past, but the wan sadness remains. What that has to do with rapping in 18th century costumes and stomping about and pointing at the ceiling, I do not know. I've never seen "Hamilton," but I hear that it used to express hope and now it's supposed to be regarded as warning us about Trump. I'm still not going to watch it. Too pushy. I'm fine with whatever subtle feeling there is in "Yes We Can," as the Obama presidency fades into the distance.
I really enjoyed Hamilton. It was political but not partisan. Anyone who believes in the American vision can appreciate it.
My only compliant relates to this "immigrants get it done" theme. Not one of the people used as an example of an immigrant getting it done was an immigrant.
"'the Hamilton consensus': a vision of 'an America whole but unfinished, waves of progress bringing it closer and closer to its founding ideals' as 'a meritocracy wrung clean of bias, whose creed is both a promise and invitation to anyone talented and hardworking enough to lay claim to it.'"
The left actually think Trump is going to round up all of the homosexuals and kill them. The left collectively buy every lie, distortion, and hoax sold to them . The Soviet Goal - to keep the D-base fear, loathing and hatred of Trump at peak-charred max intensity. Rage has replaced hope. The rage of the left give way to the mob corruption rot - eating away at the foundations.
I'm happy with any promotion the Founding Fathers can get from this culture, even if it's set music that the Uniparty can dance to. Interest in the genius of the FF should be promoted and I'm glad LMM had a good run with it. God bless him.
…amazing how the left’s ‘bipartisan’ ’ applies to all the Republicans who supported policies ordinary Americans resoundingly rejected in the last election…it is reassuring they are writing all these pieces about the dreams if the horrible America they wanted is dying. I understand they’re writing them with the hope it will convince people to support them but I don’t think it's going to work. Well, at least they can later make the Althousian declaration that they saw it coming and wrote about it…
Hamilton isn't just rap/hip-hop. Kind of like Andrew Lloyd Webber, Miranda brings in all kinds of genres, including standard Broadway, 18th-century styles (cf King George's harpsichord-backed recitative), and other pop categories. Musically it is quite well done.
The original point of Hamilton, in those golden days before Trump Ruined It All, was to show the Framers were Just Like Us, as a way of getting young people interested in history.
Of course, after the Escalator Ride That Destroyed Democracy, the point of the exact same musical was to show that the Framers were gangsters and thugs, worthy of history's ashcan.
Of course there was the incident when Pence went to see it and the cast decided they needed to make a statement against him at curtain call. As if the entire message of the work had just passed right over their heads, despite the 8 performances per week.
Pence of course lacked the intestinal fortitude to take the opportunity to engage and debate. Trump would have had a conversation with them, at least until the audience shouted him down.
Yesterday's political rhetoric usually curdles. Reality never measures up to the promises. Celebrity "cause" videos usually curdle as well. We know that it's all showbiz. Singing a line from a song costs the celebs flown in nothing and imposes no obligations on them.
I can see how the musical about the outsider Hamilton written by the outsider Miranda resonates with outsider Obama's election, but that's about it. Obama's America and Biden's America were just politics as usual. Not much in the way of hope or promise there.
What says it all is the focus on cosmetic DEI, rather than on whether the bridges and supply chains and the energy grid actually work and whether the border is secure and the forests aren't burning.
Hamilton is fantastic. And it really does follow Hamilton's biography fairly closely, considering it's a Broadway musical. The "immigrants get it done" bit is a little cringey, but it's just one line in a non-stop rush of them. It's an astounding achievement on an artistic level, accomplishing things I wouldn't have thought were possible. It's also entertaining: you'll laugh, you'll cry, and it's absolutely better than Cats. There's lots of "rap" but plenty of flat out Broadway singing as well. It's a regular 4th of July watch for me, along with the similarly brilliant 1776.
"they were some expensive tickets, not what average folks could ever afford" I've kicked myself for years for not seeing it Off Broadway when Terry Teachout first recommended it. It's on Disney+ now, so it's not so expensive.
If you could stand that Obama foolishness, you'll love "Hamilton." I'm not a fan of Broadway in general, but "Hamilton" seemed to me to be woke melodrama without a real plot. Also--lots of non-rhythmic speeches sung up and down scales. Is that music?
"Also lots of non-rhythmic speeches sung up and down scales"
I have no doubt it's awful but the genre might be recitativ. Note that the chorus parts rhyme in German and the bass sort of wanders. The Chorus part is a poem by Martin Luther.
Chorus Er ist auf Erden kommen arm, He is come on earth poor,
Bass Wer will die Liebe recht erhöhn, die unser Heiland vor uns hegt? Who would rightly extol the love that our Saviour feels for us?
Chorus dass er unser sich erbarm, that he is to us merciful
Bass Ja, wer vermag es einzusehen, wie ihn der Menschen Leid bewegt? Indeed, who is able to appreciate how man’s suffering moves him?
Chorus und in dem Himmel mache reich and in heaven make us rich
Bass Des Höchsten Sohn kömmt in die Welt, weil ihm ihr Heil so wohl gefällt, The Highest’s Son comes into the world because its salvation pleases him so well
Chorus und seinen lieben Engeln gleich. and and his beloved angels like.
Bass so will er selbst als Mensch geboren werden. that he himself would be born as man.
1. Ann and Meade should certainly see "Hamilton" as there is at least one touring company. I consider it right up there with "Westside Story" and "Oklahoma." An American classic.
2. "Ten years on, 'Hamilton' feels less like a fantasy than a warning: This is how quickly America’s promise could curdle...."
This is, of course, more whining about Trump and the fact that the Dems are out of power. If the Founders of Hamilton's era could see what the Dems have done to America, they'd puke.
"Hamilton" could be performed entirely with a White cast. The minority cast was a gimmick. Race has nothing to do with the substance of the show.
I made peach with recitativ with Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, which I played over and over while doing high school homework. Krebs version. Now listening to it on YouTube I find I know every note, in particular where any ornamentation was changed from the Krebs version.
"Now, looking back on the Obama administration, there's no hope about what is in the past, but the wan sadness remains." Jesus, Lady. It's too bad Lincoln freed the slaves. Otherwise, you could buy yourself a magic Negro and burn incense in front of it.
That Dick Cheney and George Bush aren't conservatives. Both of them dislike Trump and have never voted for him. Both are globalists and uniparty supporters of mass immigration. Bush is always joining with his "great Friends" Clinton and Obama to push some Anti-racist, Pro immigration, or Globalist agenda item.
According to George Bush, his father thought of Clinton as "a son" and the George and Laura are big buddies with Hillary. That was kept hidden until recently.
So, that Bush and Cheney would love a mediocre Broadway play beloved by the liberal/left establishment isn't shocking or surprising.
I tried to listen to some of "Hamilton" both on CD and on Youtube and had to give up. Not my kind of music. Plus, I don't need feel the need to be "with it" and like "the new generations music" or like what everyone else likes.
I don't like West Side Story either. Or "Hair". Or "Funny Lady" Or a lot of other musicals.
What Dave Begley says at 1:06. Hamilton is just excellent. And it’s a rap musical the way The Music Man is a rap musical, i.e. hardly. It’s a wonderful show with an essentially conservative and admiring presentation of the founding of America, which is why IIRC Miranda has in some part repudiated it. I saw it on live and then on Disney plus, where it may still be available. Everyone should see it.
"I took the Prof's "wan sadness" remark as anti-Obama, like his administration was a sad episode in our history." Fair enough. YMMV. I took it to mean that she still hasn't figured out that she and all her AWFL buddies in the faculty lounge got scammed by a race-hustling grifter.
You know who else liked "Hamilton"? Mike Pence. Did the NYTs mention that? Funny how love of "High culture" has disappeared from our power elite. Remember when Jackie was praised for bringing back classical music and art back to the White House? Unlike "Golfer" Eisenhower and his love of movies and Cowboy stories.
Now, watching a broadway musical with some goofy rapper is the height of culture.
I mean, I fell for the War on Iraq, HL&S. I'm not proud of it. But at least I'm not sitting around waxing nostalgic over Dick Cheney and Condaleeza Rice.
I've never seen "Hamilton," but I hear that it used to express hope and now it's supposed to be regarded as warning us about Trump.
AI Mode: "A well-known example of something that means hope but turns into a warning is the story of Pandora's Box from Greek mythology. Pandora's box Hope: When Pandora opened the box (or jar, in the original myth) and unleashed all the evils upon the world, the only thing remaining was hope. This suggests that even in the face of despair and suffering, hope perseveres. Warning: The act of opening the box itself was a warning about the dangers of unchecked curiosity and the unforeseen consequences of actions. It highlights the idea that sometimes knowledge or pursuing certain things can lead to hardship and misfortune. In this case, while hope is an essential element of the story, the overall narrative serves as a cautionary tale about the potential for a seemingly innocuous act to lead to significant suffering."
I never saw "Hamilton". I do, however, remember that the original cast took the time to shout and preach at then Vice President Pence and his wife when they attended the play. One of thousands of instances of our 'betters' telling us what they think we think and what they think we should think. I was done with "Hamilton" before then, because I could smell the preaching from hundreds of miles away. But after that Pence incident, I was sure to be done with it.
I have seen both the original play "1776" when it appeared on Broadway. I was 16. I drove with a friend from Michigan to New York to see two plays. That was one of them. I loved it. And I have seen the movie version which is not a great movie, but faithful to the play. And in both instances they teach- for those who would listen- about the struggle with slavery at that beginning. It was a choice- leave it for future generations or not have independence at all.
I suspect the play "Hamilton" has less actual impact on America than anyone in NYC might think. It had its day, but it was never going to change the direction of the country- in any way.
Lynne and Dick Cheney praised it as much as Hillary Clinton. In the 2016 documentary 'Hamilton’s America,' Paul Ryan and George W. Bush shared their appreciation alongside Elizabeth Warren and Mr. Obama.
The consolidation of the Uniparty was taking place behind the scenes at that time.
Interesting. I've never seen that "Yes, We Can" video. Never saw "Hamilton" either, although I could have seen it for free. Not a big rap fan. Oh well, I have done some reading about the Hamilton-Burr duel, though.
I have not seen "Hamilton." Tried to watch it one evening on Disney+ when my wife got a free subscription with her phone package. I could only take about 5 minutes of it before I had to turn it off. I did enjoy watching Disney's "Encanto" one time with my grandchildren. Miranda wrote some nice catchy tunes for that.
The HBO series, “John Adams”, was one I appreciated. No interest in the preachy, condescending, rapping doggerel of “Hamilton”. Or anything else by Lin-Miranda.
The idea of becoming/morphing what is ‘needed’ at the time has a religious flourish to it.
From Got Questions Ministries: “Part of Paul’s calling was to preach to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:8), and that required him to change elements of his approach when needed: “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:19–23).”
Exactly zero White Americans should watch, much less celebrate, a musical about the founders where they are explicitly played by people who had no role in it. Stop pissing away your history and culture to people who hate you. It's embarrassing.
DEIst (e.g. racist, sexist, ageist, classicist, etc) productions are a progressive "burden" that should have no viable market in civilized societies. Abort.
No American should pay attention to handmade tales brayed in cacophonious consensus. The truth is more admirable than the critical racists' theory of what they would prefer had been recycled from their authentic roots of blacks enslaving blacks and reselling them for profit in transoceanic deals to secure redistributive change in native fiefdom lucre of ethnic Springs.
Have never seen Hamilton or the "Yes We Can" video. But although I did not vote for Obama, I have to admit I had such great hopes for him. Biracial. Moderate on many things like "same sex marriage". Incredibly articulate and often relatable. And the bastard pissed all away. In waves of social engineering and racial grievance.
A second Iraq war and regional progression. Obama can.
World ethnic Springs. Obama can.
Imprisoning and taxing political opponents. Obama can.
Diversity, Equivocation, and Indoctrination with politically congruent ("=") colors of albinophobic disposition. Grooming, too. Obama can.
40 trillion dollars in redistributive change schemes to simulate affordable medical care with traces of health care. Obama can.
The "burden" of evidence Planned in sanctuary states. Obama, too. Democrats bray for authoritarian solutions and religious consensus in secular sanctimony.
Oh my goodness. "If it was a blanket, it would've slapped me in the face.
Lin-Manuel Miranda's first name is derived from a poem titled "Nana roja para mi hijo Lin Manuel" by Puerto Rican poet José Manuel Torres Santiago. The poem, which is a lullaby about the Vietnam War, inspired Miranda's parents to name him Lin-Manuel. The "Lin" portion has Chinese origins, meaning "forest," while "Manuel" is a Spanish and Portuguese form of Emmanuel, meaning "God is with us".
Never saw it. Never wanted to see it. Call me a Philistine if you will, but it struck me as completely ahistorical. Not my thing, but I don't care if others want to enjoy it.
"The left actually think Trump is going to round up all of the homosexuals and kill them."
They know better, but if he thought it would guarantee more supporters staying in the (shrinking) fold, and if he could find a way to do it without being prosecuted, he would do it.
If everybody is just interested in performing, watching performance, and collecting a check, this place can turn into a real broken mess, a regular skid row.
"Yes Obama did....divide America and tried his damnest to Fundamentally transform us into a Progressive ghetto. He almost succeeded."
Obama was essentially a smooth-progressive talker but a middle of the road, moderate Republican in practice, policy, and thought. If he were white, the Republicans would have embraced him happily.
"I mean, I fell for the War on Iraq, HL&S. I'm not proud of it. But at least I'm not sitting around waxing nostalgic over Dick Cheney and Condaleeza Rice."
A moderate republican who wanted to 'fundamentally transform' our country, pull my other finger, a protege of stalinist frank marshall davis and would be guerilla bill ayers,
Those who confuse Obama as an actual leftism are simply taken in by his intelligence and ability to express himself in articulate rhetoric, traits lacking in our recent Republican presidents.
he's an America hating piece of garbage, he couldn't really help it, thats who raised him, the sock puppet he put forth for four years, wrought great damage through the auto pen, prompted the wars in ukraine and gaza,
Exactly, hugh - no bias, no humanity. I would pay to see a musical that mocks white feminist women, blacks, illegal immigrants, geeenies, and Hamas supporters. Call it “Something to Cry About.” Pepper it with revitalized Stephen Foster songs.
The original point of Hamilton, … was to show the Framersj were Just Like Us, as a way of getting young people interested in history.
Except they weren’t. To be college-educated in those days meant hat you could — and had! — read Homer, Herodotus, and Sophocles in the original Greek, and Cicero and Ovid in the original Latin. When James Madison explained to his fellow delegates why the democracy of Athens and the original republic of Rome had been bound to fail, the college-educated delegates had the educational basis to understand what he was saying.
Hamilton brilliantly captures the push and pull of idealism vs. pragramatism in the early founding of the country, and a sense that at the start of a new venture, everything was up for grabs. People took risks and thought deeply about their future. Opposing sides wanted America to be successful, even in spite of disagreements, scheming, alliances, betrayal, and feuds. I think the play's overall impact on politics will be a positive one, not least for making a distant part of history come alive for a modern generation.
The guy fit the suit the alinskys laid out for him. From weed smokin’ teen to no grades at Harvard to a quick stand in summer league Chicago political ball. They knew Hillary! was not going to win and needed to bring him up to the big leagues quick. It worked…
I've got this musical--complete--book, music, choreography, everything written, blocked, and scored. All I need is a producer with the juice. It's called MLK Behind Bars.
What's zat? You say, it's been done. Shit, man--it's never been done like this. My show is fantastic! It's lucious! It's revolutionary! My Martin Luther King will be a white guy with a Swedish accent...
I've never seen Hamilton either. I felt like too many people went to see it only to say they had seen it, to pass some kind of litmus test or establish liberal bonafides. That's a fatal recommendation.
It's kind of like owning a Hillary Clinton book -- but never buying the download. There it sits in your bookshelf though, proclaiming how righteous you are as a Democrat. Pass.
Peachy said... @8/6/25, 11:45 AM "...The left collectively buy every lie, distortion, and hoax sold to them . The Soviet Goal - to keep the D-base fear, loathing and hatred of Trump at peak-charred max intensity..."
I haven't seen Hamilton . . . or any other B-way product since . . . Amadeus with Langella (which I enjoyed more than I thought I would).
On my trip to NYC after my father died, so I was ten or eleven, we saw (IIRC) the Gypsy Rose Lee movie(?), The Sound of Music (movie?), and Butterfly at the Met.
There are still some operas that I would exert myself to see live, but otherwise I lack all desire.
Sorry, the Obamas are high-rent liars, and what they lied about cost us dearly. They lied about their constant involvement for 8 years with avowed communist, terrorist murderers Ayers and Dohrn. Their racist hatreds and his extremist views, expressed first on the campaign trail against Obama's grandmother, because she was white and afraid of being mugged as she waited at the bus to go to work so the young Obama could enjoy all the best things in life led to eight years of deadly scapgoating of police and warping our justice and educational systems. He drove us apart intentionally. The media was his companion in crime: in doing so, they destroyed (revealed) their own institution, and now he's just another beach-roving millionaire. He got away with it through this equally dishonest Yes We Can crap. The media got stuck holding the bag, the only bright part of this sordid chapter of America.
I don't think you've seen the last of the Obama administration. It seems to be coming back for an encore in the form of indictments and, hopefully, convictions.
I saw Hamilton in Seattle years ago. The dinner at Ruth's Chris beforehand was much more satisfying. A lot of the words were incomprehensible to me, especially by the actor playing Lafayette. The accent he was using made all of his words incomprehensible.
I would take any Gilbert and Sullivan show over Hamilton.
Well... "War on Iraq" covers quite a bit of territory. Whacking Saddam? Sure, though really we should have done it after he invaded Kuwait. Same with Afghanistan: 'Hand over OBL or you're toast!"
But the preposterous, arrogant motion of "nation building"? No, never in a billion years.
"Yes we can" run guns into Mexico in a conspiracy to smear gun rights. "Yes we can" weaponize the government against our political opponents. "Yes we can" jail whistleblowers and leakers. "Yes we can" create racial unrest for political gain. "Yes we can" unwind 200 years of Bankruptcy law with an Executive Order. "Yes we can" use the media as useful idiots.
It is strange seeing a black Jefferson and a black Lafayette. But if it allows people to appreciate the ideas, I'm all for it. This respect for the founders is way superior to all the lies of the NYT and its 1619 project, designed to portray the USA as the birthplace of slavery.
I asked Google if Hamilton was biracial, and the A.I. said, "No, Alexander Hamilton was not biracial. While his mother, Rachel Faucette, had mixed race ancestry, she was classified as white."
That gave me the giggles. I don't know think A.I. knows what a "mother" is. And "biracial" confuses it.
A.I.: "He might be a quadroon."
You stupid robot! Give us a 1000-word essay on the 1-drop rule.
If a white guy played Obama in the movie, that would make some heads spin.
Actually, if you're doing a movie where Obama is this duplicitous asshole who used the FBI and the CIA to sabotage the people's choice for president, I would definitely cast a white guy.
Politicians are pretty fluid characters. Biden was a mainstream Democrat, but in his dotage he pursued some radically destructive policies. Schumer isn't any sort of radical, but he plays the partisan role to the hilt. Brandon Johnson, mayor of Chicago, talks a radical game. Would he impose a radical program on the country if he were president?
I don't think Obama had a deep-laid plan to bring socialism to the country. He was more of a Chicago politician-grifter. His administration, though, was shaped by the fact that he lost Congress early on. Had Pelosi and Reid or Schumer had control of Congress, the Obama years would have been very different. Also, what was going on behind the scenes during the Obama years makes his administration look very different from what it appeared to be at the time.
Please use the comments forum to respond to the post. Don't fight with each other. Be substantive... or interesting... or funny. Comments should go up immediately... unless you're commenting on a post older than 2 days. Then you have to wait for us to moderate you through. It's also possible to get shunted into spam by the machine. We try to keep an eye on that and release the miscaught good stuff. We do delete some comments, but not for viewpoint... for bad faith.
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Encourage Althouse by making a donation:
Make a 1-time donation or set up a monthly donation of any amount you choose:
Mga Post
108 komento:
I really enjoyed Hamilton. It was political but not partisan. Anyone who believes in the American vision can appreciate it.
My only compliant relates to this "immigrants get it done" theme. Not one of the people used as an example of an immigrant getting it done was an immigrant.
I remember Lin Miranda when he was celebrating the Terrorist who bombed Frances Tavern, and the theatre he would perform in, years later,
I like founders who don’t lose duels
"'the Hamilton consensus': a vision of 'an America whole but unfinished, waves of progress bringing it closer and closer to its founding ideals' as 'a meritocracy wrung clean of bias, whose creed is both a promise and invitation to anyone talented and hardworking enough to lay claim to it.'"
I thought meritocracy was racist.
The left actually think Trump is going to round up all of the homosexuals and kill them.
The left collectively buy every lie, distortion, and hoax sold to them . The Soviet Goal - to keep the D-base fear, loathing and hatred of Trump at peak-charred max intensity. Rage has replaced hope.
The rage of the left give way to the mob corruption rot - eating away at the foundations.
"it didn’t appeal to liberal audiences alone.
Lynne and Dick Cheney praised it as much as Hillary Clinton.."
wow! there you GO!
can't argue with That (without committing suicide)
let's try paraphrasing:
Dick Cheney praised it as much as Hillary Clinton
hmm.
Adolf Hitler praised it as much as Joseph Stalin??
I'm happy with any promotion the Founding Fathers can get from this culture, even if it's set music that the Uniparty can dance to. Interest in the genius of the FF should be promoted and I'm glad LMM had a good run with it. God bless him.
I always root for King George…
…amazing how the left’s ‘bipartisan’
’ applies to all the Republicans who supported policies ordinary Americans resoundingly rejected in the last election…it is reassuring they are writing all these pieces about the dreams if the horrible America they wanted is dying. I understand they’re writing them with the hope it will convince people to support them but I don’t think it's going to work. Well, at least they can later make the Althousian declaration that they saw it coming and wrote about it…
Hamilton isn't just rap/hip-hop. Kind of like Andrew Lloyd Webber, Miranda brings in all kinds of genres, including standard Broadway, 18th-century styles (cf King George's harpsichord-backed recitative), and other pop categories. Musically it is quite well done.
The original point of Hamilton, in those golden days before Trump Ruined It All, was to show the Framers were Just Like Us, as a way of getting young people interested in history.
Of course, after the Escalator Ride That Destroyed Democracy, the point of the exact same musical was to show that the Framers were gangsters and thugs, worthy of history's ashcan.
RR
JSM
"Yes We Can" is crap. The outstanding Obama video is Dave Stewart's American Prayer, owing to musical excellence.
Only the chorus is in the root key, the rest is on a fourth, which makes it float.
he was also a party to the sham of cancelling that comedian, who pointed out a hard truth about the ruling party,
Of course there was the incident when Pence went to see it and the cast decided they needed to make a statement against him at curtain call. As if the entire message of the work had just passed right over their heads, despite the 8 performances per week.
Pence of course lacked the intestinal fortitude to take the opportunity to engage and debate. Trump would have had a conversation with them, at least until the audience shouted him down.
RR
JSM
Yesterday's political rhetoric usually curdles. Reality never measures up to the promises. Celebrity "cause" videos usually curdle as well. We know that it's all showbiz. Singing a line from a song costs the celebs flown in nothing and imposes no obligations on them.
I can see how the musical about the outsider Hamilton written by the outsider Miranda resonates with outsider Obama's election, but that's about it. Obama's America and Biden's America were just politics as usual. Not much in the way of hope or promise there.
What says it all is the focus on cosmetic DEI, rather than on whether the bridges and supply chains and the energy grid actually work and whether the border is secure and the forests aren't burning.
i liked how the down low tweaker who ran for governor was bribed with Hamilton tickets
much like avatar, which had a brief revival some years ago,
The democrats are like Hamas now. threats and lies if you expose them.
they were some expensive tickets, not what average folks could ever afford,
Many Americans see Trump as an antidote to the legacy of Obama.
I can respect and appreciate Miranda's genuine creative talent even while I think his political sensibilities are juvenile.
Hamilton is fantastic. And it really does follow Hamilton's biography fairly closely, considering it's a Broadway musical. The "immigrants get it done" bit is a little cringey, but it's just one line in a non-stop rush of them. It's an astounding achievement on an artistic level, accomplishing things I wouldn't have thought were possible. It's also entertaining: you'll laugh, you'll cry, and it's absolutely better than Cats. There's lots of "rap" but plenty of flat out Broadway singing as well. It's a regular 4th of July watch for me, along with the similarly brilliant 1776.
As far as Obama is concerned, it's looking more and more like 'Yes, we can' has to do with 'getting away with really filthy, dirty political tricks'.
There's no longer much doubt about 'putting party and politics before the national good' - now that the evidence is finally being declassified.
"they were some expensive tickets, not what average folks could ever afford"
I've kicked myself for years for not seeing it Off Broadway when Terry Teachout first recommended it. It's on Disney+ now, so it's not so expensive.
If you could stand that Obama foolishness, you'll love "Hamilton."
I'm not a fan of Broadway in general, but "Hamilton" seemed to me to be woke melodrama without a real plot. Also--lots of non-rhythmic speeches sung up and down scales. Is that music?
YouTube: Have You Seen Hamilton?
"Also lots of non-rhythmic speeches sung up and down scales"
I have no doubt it's awful but the genre might be recitativ. Note that the chorus parts rhyme in German and the bass sort of wanders. The Chorus part is a poem by Martin Luther.
Er ist auf Erden kommen arm
7. Choral und Rezitativ
Chorus
Er ist auf Erden kommen arm,
He is come on earth poor,
Bass
Wer will die Liebe recht erhöhn,
die unser Heiland vor uns hegt?
Who would rightly extol the love
that our Saviour feels for us?
Chorus
dass er unser sich erbarm,
that he is to us merciful
Bass
Ja, wer vermag es einzusehen,
wie ihn der Menschen Leid bewegt?
Indeed, who is able to appreciate
how man’s suffering moves him?
Chorus
und in dem Himmel mache reich
and in heaven make us rich
Bass
Des Höchsten Sohn kömmt in die Welt,
weil ihm ihr Heil so wohl gefällt,
The Highest’s Son comes into the world
because its salvation pleases him so well
Chorus
und seinen lieben Engeln gleich.
and and his beloved angels like.
Bass
so will er selbst als Mensch geboren werden.
that he himself would be born as man.
1. Ann and Meade should certainly see "Hamilton" as there is at least one touring company. I consider it right up there with "Westside Story" and "Oklahoma." An American classic.
2. "Ten years on, 'Hamilton' feels less like a fantasy than a warning: This is how quickly America’s promise could curdle...."
This is, of course, more whining about Trump and the fact that the Dems are out of power. If the Founders of Hamilton's era could see what the Dems have done to America, they'd puke.
"Hamilton" could be performed entirely with a White cast. The minority cast was a gimmick. Race has nothing to do with the substance of the show.
LMM is a real genius.
I made peach with recitativ with Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, which I played over and over while doing high school homework. Krebs version. Now listening to it on YouTube I find I know every note, in particular where any ornamentation was changed from the Krebs version.
peace not peach. who knows that the hands are doing when touch typing.
I was sucked in Orfeo's the musical parts, sinfonias in particular, and the resulting repetitions of recitativs sort of burned them in as musical.
"Now, looking back on the Obama administration, there's no hope about what is in the past, but the wan sadness remains."
Jesus, Lady. It's too bad Lincoln freed the slaves. Otherwise, you could buy yourself a magic Negro and burn incense in front of it.
That Dick Cheney and George Bush aren't conservatives. Both of them dislike Trump and have never voted for him. Both are globalists and uniparty supporters of mass immigration. Bush is always joining with his "great Friends" Clinton and Obama to push some Anti-racist, Pro immigration, or Globalist agenda item.
According to George Bush, his father thought of Clinton as "a son" and the George and Laura are big buddies with Hillary. That was kept hidden until recently.
So, that Bush and Cheney would love a mediocre Broadway play beloved by the liberal/left establishment isn't shocking or surprising.
I tried to listen to some of "Hamilton" both on CD and on Youtube and had to give up. Not my kind of music. Plus, I don't need feel the need to be "with it" and like "the new generations music" or like what everyone else likes.
I don't like West Side Story either. Or "Hair". Or "Funny Lady" Or a lot of other musicals.
Jupiter, I took the Prof's "wan sadness" remark as anti-Obama, like his administration was a sad episode in our history.
RR
JSM
Look at the bright side. At least he stopped the oceans' rising. That's worth a stick or two of Jasmine Delight.
What Dave Begley says at 1:06. Hamilton is just excellent. And it’s a rap musical the way The Music Man is a rap musical, i.e. hardly. It’s a wonderful show with an essentially conservative and admiring presentation of the founding of America, which is why IIRC Miranda has in some part repudiated it. I saw it on live and then on Disney plus, where it may still be available. Everyone should see it.
"I took the Prof's "wan sadness" remark as anti-Obama, like his administration was a sad episode in our history."
Fair enough. YMMV. I took it to mean that she still hasn't figured out that she and all her AWFL buddies in the faculty lounge got scammed by a race-hustling grifter.
You know who else liked "Hamilton"? Mike Pence. Did the NYTs mention that? Funny how love of "High culture" has disappeared from our power elite. Remember when Jackie was praised for bringing back classical music and art back to the White House? Unlike "Golfer" Eisenhower and his love of movies and Cowboy stories.
Now, watching a broadway musical with some goofy rapper is the height of culture.
I find the music in these political videos overproduced. Voices are mediocre and background music too loud.
Obama's popularity is why Dems cling to the idea that they just need better messaging.
ps here’s something fun from LLM’s wedding. Clearly, he just loves musical theater wedding toast
I mean, I fell for the War on Iraq, HL&S. I'm not proud of it. But at least I'm not sitting around waxing nostalgic over Dick Cheney and Condaleeza Rice.
I've never seen "Hamilton," but I hear that it used to express hope and now it's supposed to be regarded as warning us about Trump.
AI Mode: "A well-known example of something that means hope but turns into a warning is the story of Pandora's Box from Greek mythology.
Pandora's box
Hope: When Pandora opened the box (or jar, in the original myth) and unleashed all the evils upon the world, the only thing remaining was hope. This suggests that even in the face of despair and suffering, hope perseveres.
Warning: The act of opening the box itself was a warning about the dangers of unchecked curiosity and the unforeseen consequences of actions. It highlights the idea that sometimes knowledge or pursuing certain things can lead to hardship and misfortune.
In this case, while hope is an essential element of the story, the overall narrative serves as a cautionary tale about the potential for a seemingly innocuous act to lead to significant suffering."
I never saw "Hamilton". I do, however, remember that the original cast took the time to shout and preach at then Vice President Pence and his wife when they attended the play. One of thousands of instances of our 'betters' telling us what they think we think and what they think we should think.
I was done with "Hamilton" before then, because I could smell the preaching from hundreds of miles away. But after that Pence incident, I was sure to be done with it.
I have seen both the original play "1776" when it appeared on Broadway. I was 16. I drove with a friend from Michigan to New York to see two plays. That was one of them. I loved it. And I have seen the movie version which is not a great movie, but faithful to the play. And in both instances they teach- for those who would listen- about the struggle with slavery at that beginning. It was a choice- leave it for future generations or not have independence at all.
I suspect the play "Hamilton" has less actual impact on America than anyone in NYC might think. It had its day, but it was never going to change the direction of the country- in any way.
Lynne and Dick Cheney praised it as much as Hillary Clinton. In the 2016 documentary 'Hamilton’s America,' Paul Ryan and George W. Bush shared their appreciation alongside Elizabeth Warren and Mr. Obama.
The consolidation of the Uniparty was taking place behind the scenes at that time.
"Daniel Pollack-Pelzner" definitely sits down to pee.
I live in Illinois. If you can fake sincerity, you have it made.
Interesting. I've never seen that "Yes, We Can" video. Never saw "Hamilton" either, although I could have seen it for free. Not a big rap fan. Oh well, I have done some reading about the Hamilton-Burr duel, though.
Yes Obama did....divide America and tried his damnest to Fundamentally transform us into a Progressive ghetto. He almost succeeded.
A decade after opening, "Hamilton" STILL feels like cultural appropriation...
I have not seen "Hamilton." Tried to watch it one evening on Disney+ when my wife got a free subscription with her phone package. I could only take about 5 minutes of it before I had to turn it off. I did enjoy watching Disney's "Encanto" one time with my grandchildren. Miranda wrote some nice catchy tunes for that.
“What I miss most about the 0bama administration is all the racial healing”
—— Jon Gabriel
The HBO series, “John Adams”, was one I appreciated. No interest in the preachy, condescending, rapping doggerel of “Hamilton”. Or anything else by Lin-Miranda.
yes he tore open wounds and poured salt into them,
Great quote Iman @2:40 pm 👆🏽
he incited violence in 2014 and 2016 and throughout the summer of 2020, so I'm not nostalgic, to say the least,
The idea of becoming/morphing what is ‘needed’ at the time has a religious flourish to it.
From Got Questions Ministries: “Part of Paul’s calling was to preach to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:8), and that required him to change elements of his approach when needed: “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:19–23).”
The constant buzzing of flies in the background of John Adams was a uuuge distraction
There is no American president so obscure that he lacks a biography, at least through the senior Bush.
Exactly zero White Americans should watch, much less celebrate, a musical about the founders where they are explicitly played by people who had no role in it. Stop pissing away your history and culture to people who hate you. It's embarrassing.
DEIst (e.g. racist, sexist, ageist, classicist, etc) productions are a progressive "burden" that should have no viable market in civilized societies. Abort.
No American should pay attention to handmade tales brayed in cacophonious consensus. The truth is more admirable than the critical racists' theory of what they would prefer had been recycled from their authentic roots of blacks enslaving blacks and reselling them for profit in transoceanic deals to secure redistributive change in native fiefdom lucre of ethnic Springs.
Have never seen Hamilton or the "Yes We Can" video. But although I did not vote for Obama, I have to admit I had such great hopes for him. Biracial. Moderate on many things like "same sex marriage". Incredibly articulate and often relatable. And the bastard pissed all away. In waves of social engineering and racial grievance.
A second Iraq war and regional progression. Obama can.
World ethnic Springs. Obama can.
Imprisoning and taxing political opponents. Obama can.
Diversity, Equivocation, and Indoctrination with politically congruent ("=") colors of albinophobic disposition. Grooming, too. Obama can.
40 trillion dollars in redistributive change schemes to simulate affordable medical care with traces of health care. Obama can.
The "burden" of evidence Planned in sanctuary states. Obama, too. Democrats bray for authoritarian solutions and religious consensus in secular sanctimony.
Oh my goodness. "If it was a blanket, it would've slapped me in the face.
Lin-Manuel Miranda's first name is derived from a poem titled "Nana roja para mi hijo Lin Manuel" by Puerto Rican poet José Manuel Torres Santiago. The poem, which is a lullaby about the Vietnam War, inspired Miranda's parents to name him Lin-Manuel. The "Lin" portion has Chinese origins, meaning "forest," while "Manuel" is a Spanish and Portuguese form of Emmanuel, meaning "God is with us".
Never saw it. Never wanted to see it. Call me a Philistine if you will, but it struck me as completely ahistorical. Not my thing, but I don't care if others want to enjoy it.
Then again... it appears that Lin-Manuel is a one miracle wonder. 2015 was 20 years ago. Just saying.
"The left actually think Trump is going to round up all of the homosexuals and kill them."
They know better, but if he thought it would guarantee more supporters staying in the (shrinking) fold, and if he could find a way to do it without being prosecuted, he would do it.
"The original point of Hamilton, in those golden days before Trump Ruined It All, was to show the Framers were Just Like Us...."
As they were. Human nature is fixed and endures through the eons.
If everybody is just interested in performing, watching performance, and collecting a check, this place can turn into a real broken mess, a regular skid row.
"Yes Obama did....divide America and tried his damnest to Fundamentally transform us into a Progressive ghetto. He almost succeeded."
Obama was essentially a smooth-progressive talker but a middle of the road, moderate Republican in practice, policy, and thought. If he were white, the Republicans would have embraced him happily.
"I mean, I fell for the War on Iraq, HL&S. I'm not proud of it. But at least I'm not sitting around waxing nostalgic over Dick Cheney and Condaleeza Rice."
Exactly.
Robert Cook brings the evidence the left lost touch with reality.
Thanks.
A moderate republican who wanted to 'fundamentally transform' our country, pull my other finger, a protege of stalinist frank marshall davis and would be guerilla bill ayers,
Those who confuse Obama as an actual leftism are simply taken in by his intelligence and ability to express himself in articulate rhetoric, traits lacking in our recent Republican presidents.
he's an America hating piece of garbage, he couldn't really help it, thats who raised him, the sock puppet he put forth for four years, wrought great damage through the auto pen, prompted the wars in ukraine and gaza,
PJ57: "I had such great hopes for him...the bastard pissed all away. In waves of social engineering and racial grievance."
Yes, that's the wan sadness.
RR
JSM
If you don't know me by now
You will never never never know me
Oooo OooOooOooOooo - Barack Obama
his record in the illinois legislature was anything but moderate,
How can it be "wrung clean of bias"? What a miracle, the immaculate conception?
Exactly, hugh - no bias, no humanity. I would pay to see a musical that mocks white feminist women, blacks, illegal immigrants, geeenies, and Hamas supporters. Call it “Something to Cry About.” Pepper it with revitalized Stephen Foster songs.
john mosby said…
The original point of Hamilton, … was to show the Framersj were Just Like Us, as a way of getting young people interested in history.
Except they weren’t. To be college-educated in those days meant hat you could — and had! — read Homer, Herodotus, and Sophocles in the original Greek, and Cicero and Ovid in the original Latin. When James Madison explained to his fellow delegates why the democracy of Athens and the original republic of Rome had been bound to fail, the college-educated delegates had the educational basis to understand what he was saying.
We were lucky. Amazingly lucky.
@Peachy, Cookie at 5:29 puts sort of an exclamation point to your comment at 5:09. Pretty good.
Hamilton brilliantly captures the push and pull of idealism vs. pragramatism in the early founding of the country, and a sense that at the start of a new venture, everything was up for grabs. People took risks and thought deeply about their future. Opposing sides wanted America to be successful, even in spite of disagreements, scheming, alliances, betrayal, and feuds. I think the play's overall impact on politics will be a positive one, not least for making a distant part of history come alive for a modern generation.
The guy fit the suit the alinskys laid out for him. From weed smokin’ teen to no grades at Harvard to a quick stand in summer league Chicago political ball. They knew Hillary! was not going to win and needed to bring him up to the big leagues quick. It worked…
…I was turned off when the call sheet said no whities. What happened to trying to get rid of racism?
Robert Cook would piss in my glass and tell me it's Mountain Dew.
What happened to trying to get rid of racism?
It is now known under its philosophy umbrella as: DEIsm (i.e. color and class bigotry) or class-disordered ideologies.
I've got this musical--complete--book, music, choreography, everything written, blocked, and scored. All I need is a producer with the juice. It's called MLK Behind Bars.
What's zat? You say, it's been done. Shit, man--it's never been done like this. My show is fantastic! It's lucious! It's revolutionary! My Martin Luther King will be a white guy with a Swedish accent...
I've never seen Hamilton either. I felt like too many people went to see it only to say they had seen it, to pass some kind of litmus test or establish liberal bonafides. That's a fatal recommendation.
It's kind of like owning a Hillary Clinton book -- but never buying the download. There it sits in your bookshelf though, proclaiming how righteous you are as a Democrat. Pass.
Oso - oo yes. - If someone builds it - it's a hit.
Peachy said... @8/6/25, 11:45 AM
"...The left collectively buy every lie, distortion, and hoax sold to them . The Soviet Goal - to keep the D-base fear, loathing and hatred of Trump at peak-charred max intensity..."
The left really enjoys their 2 minute hates.
I haven't seen Hamilton . . . or any other B-way product since . . . Amadeus with Langella (which I enjoyed more than I thought I would).
On my trip to NYC after my father died, so I was ten or eleven, we saw (IIRC) the Gypsy Rose Lee movie(?), The Sound of Music (movie?), and Butterfly at the Met.
There are still some operas that I would exert myself to see live, but otherwise I lack all desire.
Sorry, the Obamas are high-rent liars, and what they lied about cost us dearly. They lied about their constant involvement for 8 years with avowed communist, terrorist murderers Ayers and Dohrn. Their racist hatreds and his extremist views, expressed first on the campaign trail against Obama's grandmother, because she was white and afraid of being mugged as she waited at the bus to go to work so the young Obama could enjoy all the best things in life led to eight years of deadly scapgoating of police and warping our justice and educational systems. He drove us apart intentionally. The media was his companion in crime: in doing so, they destroyed (revealed) their own institution, and now he's just another beach-roving millionaire. He got away with it through this equally dishonest Yes We Can crap. The media got stuck holding the bag, the only bright part of this sordid chapter of America.
I don't think you've seen the last of the Obama administration. It seems to be coming back for an encore in the form of indictments and, hopefully, convictions.
I saw Hamilton in Seattle years ago. The dinner at Ruth's Chris beforehand was much more satisfying. A lot of the words were incomprehensible to me, especially by the actor playing Lafayette. The accent he was using made all of his words incomprehensible.
I would take any Gilbert and Sullivan show over Hamilton.
“LMM is a real genius.”
The word “genius” has been much overused. In my opinion, it has been cheapened and lost its meaning.
Jupiter,
> I fell for the War on Iraq, HL&S
Well... "War on Iraq" covers quite a bit of territory. Whacking Saddam? Sure, though really we should have done it after he invaded Kuwait. Same with Afghanistan: 'Hand over OBL or you're toast!"
But the preposterous, arrogant motion of "nation building"? No, never in a billion years.
"Yes we can" run guns into Mexico in a conspiracy to smear gun rights.
"Yes we can" weaponize the government against our political opponents.
"Yes we can" jail whistleblowers and leakers.
"Yes we can" create racial unrest for political gain.
"Yes we can" unwind 200 years of Bankruptcy law with an Executive Order.
"Yes we can" use the media as useful idiots.
I haven't seen Hamilton but I've enjoyed some of the clips.
The guy playing King George is really good. Watch out for the spit!
It is strange seeing a black Jefferson and a black Lafayette. But if it allows people to appreciate the ideas, I'm all for it. This respect for the founders is way superior to all the lies of the NYT and its 1619 project, designed to portray the USA as the birthplace of slavery.
Here's black Lafayette.
I asked Google if Hamilton was biracial, and the A.I. said, "No, Alexander Hamilton was not biracial. While his mother, Rachel Faucette, had mixed race ancestry, she was classified as white."
That gave me the giggles. I don't know think A.I. knows what a "mother" is. And "biracial" confuses it.
A.I.: "He might be a quadroon."
You stupid robot! Give us a 1000-word essay on the 1-drop rule.
A.I.: "But I don't have any blood at all."
If a white guy played Obama in the movie, that would make some heads spin.
Actually, if you're doing a movie where Obama is this duplicitous asshole who used the FBI and the CIA to sabotage the people's choice for president, I would definitely cast a white guy.
And Ice-T could play Kash Patel.
Fred Armisen, are you listening?
I don't spend money on people that hate me.
If you won't do Hamilton, try Cats. Means just as much and can be sung along to, with gusto and enjoyment.
Politicians are pretty fluid characters. Biden was a mainstream Democrat, but in his dotage he pursued some radically destructive policies. Schumer isn't any sort of radical, but he plays the partisan role to the hilt. Brandon Johnson, mayor of Chicago, talks a radical game. Would he impose a radical program on the country if he were president?
I don't think Obama had a deep-laid plan to bring socialism to the country. He was more of a Chicago politician-grifter. His administration, though, was shaped by the fact that he lost Congress early on. Had Pelosi and Reid or Schumer had control of Congress, the Obama years would have been very different. Also, what was going on behind the scenes during the Obama years makes his administration look very different from what it appeared to be at the time.
He will forever hold the distinction of being America's most impossibly self-satisfied President.
I fell asleep during Cats. I only went because of the woman that was with me.
Mag-post ng isang Komento
Please use the comments forum to respond to the post. Don't fight with each other. Be substantive... or interesting... or funny. Comments should go up immediately... unless you're commenting on a post older than 2 days. Then you have to wait for us to moderate you through. It's also possible to get shunted into spam by the machine. We try to keep an eye on that and release the miscaught good stuff. We do delete some comments, but not for viewpoint... for bad faith.