Sunday, January 10, 2016

Sunday Squee: Hamilton

The Sunday Squee is about things that make me happy and excited. From books to movies to television shows to podcasts, I'll highlight less commonly known things as a way to share what I love. If you want to join in the Sunday Squee, please link back to me, magnifying both of our joy.

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

"I’ve been reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine
So men say that I’m intense or I’m insane
You want a revolution? I want a revelation
So listen to my declaration:

'We hold these truths to be self-evident
That all men are created equal'
And when I meet Thomas Jefferson
I’m ‘a compel him to include women in the sequel!"

I've been obsessed with a musical for the past few months, sharing it with tons of people, and I just realized I never shared it with you!

Hamilton!

 "Dying is easy, young man. Living is harder"


A musical about the 10$ Founding Father without a Father, Hamilton is the creation of Lin-Manuel Miranda based off of the biography of the short life of Alexander Hamilton written by Ron Chernow. It began as a mixed tape of sorts, melding together the language of the 18th century and modern hip hop sensibilities and idioms. It also manages to be clear enough that I could play it for my parents and they followed along, delighting in the turns of phrase as much as I did despite being almost entirely unfamiliar with the genre - no mean feat! It debuted February last year off-Broadway and made it on in August, has crashed neighborhoods and computer systems all under the weight of growing enthusiasm of it's fans, created a whole secondary series of artistic expression through the free Ham4Ham shows, and while the entire experience requires a significant investment of either time or money the music is available for free on Spotify, while the annotated lyrics are on Genius.

Death Doesn't Discriminate Between the Sinners and the Saints

"Love doesn't discriminate
Between the sinners
And the saints
It takes and it takes and it takes
And we keep loving anyway
We laugh and we cry
And we break
And we make our mistakes"

I'm obsessed with this musical - as much because of the clever language and catchy music as the engaging and layered story about imperfect people and their struggles and triumphs. Each time I listen through, I cheer and weep, and each time I listen through there's a different song which catches my attention. Right now it's Satisfied, a song for Angelica Church - Hamilton's sister-in-law. Another time it's Wait For It, a song for Aaron Burr, the man who murdered Hamilton but whose story is so much more complicated than that. It's a reminder of how everyone is a person, with their positive and negative sides. The glory of Hamilton is that even antagonists have their own songs and their own stories.

"Legacy. What is a legacy?
It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see
I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone will sing for me
America, you great unfinished symphony, you sent for me
You let me make a difference
A place where even orphan immigrants
Can leave their fingerprints and rise up"

Winning was Easy; Governing’s Harder

Credits:

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Hair: Exile, Lady Versailles

Eyes: .:Soul:., Roomee
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Ears: .:Soul:., High Elf
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands & Feet: SLink, Hands & High Feet
Nails: ZOZ, Urban Gold

Outfit: Junbug, Principessa

Poses: various


Location: Angel Manor

Windlight Settings: Phototools, Absinthe Light

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping

No comments:

Post a Comment