Your children, and grandchildren, and therapists.
May 16, 2016 11:04 AM   Subscribe

 
(As an aside, if you are from Jersey, you will catch the error in Miranda's speech. The Battle of Monmouth took place in New Jersey, not Pennsylvania.)
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:05 AM on May 16, 2016


My name is Alexander Hamilton Lin-Manuel Miranda
And there’s a million things I haven’t done
But just you wait, just you wait...

posted by Fizz at 11:07 AM on May 16, 2016 [7 favorites]


i read that as "lin-manuel miranda delivers your children and grandchildren" and i was like really? does he really have the time and energy to dedicate himself to another career?
posted by poffin boffin at 11:10 AM on May 16, 2016 [23 favorites]


Why does he deliver children like he's running out of time?
posted by drezdn at 12:12 PM on May 16, 2016 [7 favorites]


"Class of 2016, let me ask you this: if you stand for nothing, what will you fall for?"
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:17 PM on May 16, 2016 [7 favorites]


Sometimes I lose faith in the importance of theater and storytelling, and sometimes I get it back. Thanks for sharing.
posted by fast ein Maedchen at 12:26 PM on May 16, 2016 [4 favorites]


Great article from FastCompany today too.
He has just returned from the White House, and tells me about a moment he will never forget. "It will be the thing I tell my great-grandkids, if I get to live that long," he says. Miranda watched Christopher Jackson, the show’s George Washington, deliver the first president’s farewell address as the sitting president looked on, tears rolling down Obama’s face. After the performance—Miranda had intentionally staged the number under Washington’s portrait—Obama gave some impromptu remarks. "He looked over at me," Miranda says, getting misty. "And he said, ‘Thanks for showing us how to say goodbye.’ "
Goddamn I really hope that's in the Hamildoc.
posted by kmz at 12:30 PM on May 16, 2016 [51 favorites]


He also did Wesleyan's commencement last year, where I heard lyrics from beyond the opening song for the first time!
posted by kmz at 12:44 PM on May 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


I just wanted to hop in here and say, that, like, I mean, it's nothing personal, but I was never really a musical guy? My mom made me see Wicked, like 8 years ago? But as far as that goes, my only real experience with musicals is that I still know most of the words to Aladdin and the Little Mermaid... and... I have been, for months and months and months, rolling my eyes at every little thing having to do with Hamilton, because I am a contrary sort, and I would say things like, "That sounds stupid. I bet that's stupid."

And then, for some reason, when I was doing yard work last weekend I saw it in Spotify and I was like, "Fine, whatever."

And my wife found me in the back yard two hours later standing under a tree with tears streaming down my face, literally, like, sobbing, going, "I never knew. It's so beautiful. I never knew."

And now it's the only thing I've listened to for the last week and I spent $400 I don't have on tickets to go see it in January and I AM VERY VERY VERY EXCITED.

So, uh, Hamilton.
posted by kbanas at 12:49 PM on May 16, 2016 [144 favorites]


Hee, I love this bit from the Fast Company article:

"...tonight, he tells me with a grin, he is headed to the town of Montclair on a matter of family justice: He needs to settle a score among some fourth graders. One of them has been going around telling his classmates that his uncle is the Hamilton in Hamilton, creator of the cultural juggernaut that recently won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. This is true. But 10-year-olds are skeptics; they require physical proof. So Miranda is making a special appearance in the auditorium of the stately Montclair Kimberley Academy, where he will, as he puts it delicately, "rub it in all those kids’ faces. This is in my job description as cool uncle. And if I can’t use my powers for that, what am I even doing?"
posted by tavella at 12:57 PM on May 16, 2016 [69 favorites]


the commencement speech is so good! and i'm betting he's inspired more than a couple graduation party breakups with it.
posted by nadawi at 1:26 PM on May 16, 2016


And my wife found me in the back yard two hours later standing under a tree with tears streaming down my face, literally, like, sobbing, going, "I never knew. It's so beautiful. I never knew."

:-) You have reminded me of when we brought my father, who was a similarly I-don't-get-musicals kind of guy, to the Broadway adaptation of Tommy. He was like a kid on Christmas.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:27 PM on May 16, 2016 [5 favorites]


transcript?
posted by mrgrimm at 1:46 PM on May 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


It's worth watching, actually, mrgrimm (if you can). The provost actually raps the introduction for LMM, and Lin drops references to everything from Tina Fey to cheesesteaks to The Office.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:15 PM on May 16, 2016


Aww, this is lovely. The back doctor story is perfect.
posted by lunasol at 3:12 PM on May 16, 2016


Well, I know what my roommate will be listening to when I get home this evening. (Yesterday it was Leslie Odom Jr on Ask Me Another.)
posted by maryr at 3:29 PM on May 16, 2016


Here's a UPenn YT link that just features Miranda's speech (but yeah, probably worth watching it from the top to get MC Provost).

Congratulations to the (Immigrant) Class of 2016!
posted by Chichibio at 3:34 PM on May 16, 2016


Interestingly, I was coming in here to snark on the incessant hype of all things Hamilton and LMM. Without having experienced any Hamilton and very little LMM.

And then I read kbanas' comment.

And now I'm just gonna shut up and go listen to some of the songs. And watch this commencement address. And remind myself next time not to judge that of which I do not know. So, I guess this is a thank you, kbanas!
posted by bologna on wry at 3:39 PM on May 16, 2016 [31 favorites]


My little brother graduated and commissioned this weekend. He will be an officer in the field artillery. It turns out that Hamilton is a field artillery hero ("Yo - let's steal their cannons") and he and his roommate have been listening to the soundtrack Nonstop. I've passed this on to him for inspirational listening while he waits to head off to Fort Sill for Field Artillery officer training.
posted by ChuraChura at 3:39 PM on May 16, 2016 [28 favorites]


I loved the high five between the president and provost after the provost finished his intro.
posted by mogget at 4:21 PM on May 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


I didn't want to cry - but of course I never want to cry and always do - because this man is just too good to be true. How lucky we are to be alive right now.

(I could have done without President Triestoohard in the background, though.)
posted by Sweetie Darling at 5:01 PM on May 16, 2016 [5 favorites]


THIS IS SO GOOD. There are so few good graduation speeches; this one is actually funny and moving.

(I'm giving an Ignite talk -- 5 minutes, 20 slides -- on Wednesday. I'm so excited.)
posted by epersonae at 5:40 PM on May 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


Miranda is outstanding as usual but OH MY LORD THE PROVOST
posted by magstheaxe at 6:22 PM on May 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


does he really have the time and energy to dedicate himself to another career?

Somewhat frighteningly, he might.
posted by schmod at 8:30 PM on May 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


You know how everyone talks about how we're each unintentionally creating this limited environment on social media and surrounding ourselves with people that share our views to the point that it may actually be detrimental to our ability to comprehend that society is more diverse than our daily experiences would lead us to believe?

Even with this particular influence directly in mind I had come to the conclusion recently that I was the absolute last human on earth who had not listened to the first note of this whole Hamilton thing. There is probably literally not a day that goes by that I don't see mention of some facet of this craze on Twitter. It's uncanny.

My experience with listening to musical theater output has a sample size of 1: my parents' obsessive replaying of the Phantom soundtrack in the car. If the car was running, the Webber was pumping. To this day my mother will still occasionally break out in song, something about the music of the night. At this point it's been what, 25 years? I've done well at blocking it out. I should probably have seen a therapist, honestly, but I'm a stubborn man.

Today? Today I finally gave up. I pushed aside the childhood plague-horror that was (is?) Phantom and I read some article on LMM and Hamilton. Not whichever the subject of this post is. I don't remember what I read. I'd go to Twitter to find out which article it was but I don't have time to sort through the dozens that have popped up since I started writing this comment. Suffice to say I grudgingly gave it my interest, and I hopped on to my library's web site and placed my request. Figured I'd do it all legit instead of trying to catch it on whatever the kids are using these days, with their spotifies and yousetoubs and whatever.

And then what happens? I come back to MetaFilter and I see in the sidebar that my dear friend kbanas has a comment with 90-some-odd favorites. "Huh," I think, "wonder what that was about."

Oh, nothing. Just another person in my social circles commenting on Hamilton, how he finally listened to it and it changed his life. Of course. Of course.

One of the reasons I like kbanas is he keeps me from looking like as much of a grumpy old man by comparison. If this is the day that he publicly professed his love for this force of nature ... maybe that's what I felt, you know? A cosmic disturbance. I'm not going to check the timestamp on his comment but instead I will just assume that it's the exact moment that I finally broke down, gave in, and clicked, "please hold this item for me at my preferred library branch". You all need to mark your calendars because this is apparently Peak Hamilton day. Now that I have succumbed I don't believe there's anyone else left.

In a week or two I can go find my friend who changed her Twitter username to 'Here Comes the Jana-ral' and tell her that hey, I finally get whatever it is you're talking about.
posted by komara at 9:06 PM on May 16, 2016 [17 favorites]


.Now that I have succumbed I don't believe there's anyone else left.


Eh, I'll probably hear it some day. It sounds like it's good.
posted by the agents of KAOS at 9:33 PM on May 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


The commencement speech, guys. It is good. As a scholarship holder from a middle-low income family, man; Lin-manuel knows how to construct a story.
posted by tirta-yana at 9:34 PM on May 16, 2016 [4 favorites]


Every fucking one of the people I usually nerd out with about music is an incredibly stubborn holdout and refuses to listen to Hamilton. "It's too much of a musical," they say. "Two WHOLE HOURS?" they say. I've given up.
posted by valrus at 9:40 PM on May 16, 2016


Hey, komara, you left me here! We agreed to hold out forever -- like brothers! Now it's all Malheur up in here. *sniffle*
posted by wenestvedt at 3:35 AM on May 17, 2016 [2 favorites]


I have a friend who refuses to listen to musical soundtracks. "You miss the context when you aren't seeing it live, on stage." She won't listen to Hamilton because of this opinion.

And I suppose she has a point, but it's hard for me to wrap my head around it. Yes, the context is different when you see it on stage, but what I love about Hamilton is it's a musical that's mostly sung-through. That means it's so easy to picture what's going on while you're listening, and it becomes a complete story--an audiobook with a catchy beat, and there's so much nuance that's lost, and that I've only gotten on my x-teenth relisten. You can create your own context.
posted by PearlRose at 6:21 AM on May 17, 2016 [4 favorites]


My experience with listening to musical theater output has a sample size of 1: my parents' obsessive replaying of the Phantom soundtrack in the car. If the car was running, the Webber was pumping. To this day my mother will still occasionally break out in song, something about the music of the night. At this point it's been what, 25 years? I've done well at blocking it out. I should probably have seen a therapist, honestly, but I'm a stubborn man.

I'm so...sorry.

You might appreciate these lines from Roger Waters' "It's a Miracle" from his Amused to Death album, delivered in a bit of a stage whisper:

We cower in our shelters, hands over our ears.
Lloyd Webber's awful stuff runs for years, and years, and years
Then an earthquake hits the theatre
And the operetta lingers
The piano lid comes down
And breaks his fuckin' fingers

It's a miracle.


But in all seriousness, I live with a delirious Broadway fanboy. When the hype around Hamilton started hitting, it was all I could do to not to roll my eyes and say "Yes, dear, ANOTHER amazing original Broadway cast soundtrack. They're ALL amazing, aren't they?"

But fuck me if Hamilton didn't knock my socks off. We're going to be seeing it in a couple weeks and I must confess to being on the verge of losing my shit at the prospect of doing so.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:50 AM on May 17, 2016 [6 favorites]


Last Friday I was having drinks with the member of my work team who is NOT obsessed with Hamilton, and he finally asked, "so: why?" My answer ended up giving me the structure for the talk I'm giving tomorrow: inescapably catchy, a crazy true story, and really, really clever.

My sweetie who is very meh about musicals likes it; he compares it to Schoolhouse Rock. ;) Like, I'll be about to turn it off and he'll want to hear "just the rest of that song" or "maybe one more?"
posted by epersonae at 9:16 AM on May 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


BTW, my presentation slides. (I'm so glad I made a screen cap of the time that Wikipedia's entry for Alexander Hamilton got edited to be the opening line of the musical.)
posted by epersonae at 9:27 AM on May 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


epersonae, I hope you sent those to Lin.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:47 AM on May 17, 2016


Now it's all Malheur up in here. *sniffle*

Sounds like a bad time. You should probably go listen for the, how you say? ANARCHY.
posted by maryr at 9:58 AM on May 17, 2016


epersonae, Eliza's wikipedia page got changed at one point as well.
posted by maryr at 10:06 AM on May 17, 2016


Yes! Please tweet it at him if you use tumblr. That looks like a really fun talk.
posted by lunasol at 10:07 AM on May 17, 2016


NYC locals: Hamilton Fridays
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:32 AM on May 17, 2016


Thanks for the post, OP. I, too, have been oblivious to Hamilton but after watching the speech (I, too, was the first in my immediate family to go to college) I must go listen to this thing called Hamilton.
posted by Bella Donna at 10:56 AM on May 17, 2016


I really need to do an In The Heights post one of these days. Do not sleep on In The Heights if you like Hamilton!
posted by kmz at 10:58 AM on May 17, 2016 [2 favorites]




I think it's going to be taped, so I was going to tweet after. :D

maryr, that's some remarkably subtle editing. I dig it.
posted by epersonae at 12:41 PM on May 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


Ugh, of course I meant, tweet if you use twitter. Not tumblr. Long day.
posted by lunasol at 1:03 PM on May 17, 2016


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