Rise Up Remix
November 4, 2016 8:09 AM   Subscribe

 
Dessa Dessa Dessa! I'm so excited. When we saw the show, I kept thinking "which role would I cast Dessa in?" I concluded "Hamilton".
posted by crush-onastick at 8:13 AM on November 4, 2016 [11 favorites]


Grab a tissue before you hit play on that Kelly Clarkson one. For real, ya'll.
posted by DigDoug at 8:14 AM on November 4, 2016 [4 favorites]


Ehhhhh right, I forgot that Busta turned into DMX at some point. Yikes.

Neither of these do a thing for me, but I am probably not the target audience.
posted by selfnoise at 8:20 AM on November 4, 2016


You can also listen in Apple Music: https://itun.es/us/3nj0fb
posted by mikepop at 8:22 AM on November 4, 2016


Not a big fan of Quiet Uptown; I like the arrangement but it's just kind of boring. It lacks teeth... the original is heartbreaking, but this one is just kinda bog-standard pop sad.

Luckily My Shot is good enough for the both of them. Fun fact for anyone who hasn't read the book: the "rise up" bit was originally supposed to be the exact piece that Busta Rhymes raps, but Lin couldn't clear the rights so he rejiggered it in to what's in the original song. Having Busta himself do the original lyrics in this version is wonderfully full-circle.
posted by Itaxpica at 8:28 AM on November 4, 2016 [11 favorites]


well Quiet Uptown still made me cry, though I agree this isn't as good as the one in the show.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 8:30 AM on November 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


Ah, see, this is the first time I've ever been able to listen to Quiet Uptown without choking up. It was a weird experience.
posted by Itaxpica at 8:32 AM on November 4, 2016 [6 favorites]


Yeah, I was hoping for something a lot rawer for Quiet Uptown. I think Clarkson can really unload some emotion, but that was too poppy. Loved My Shot, though.
posted by Mavri at 8:34 AM on November 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


I'm fairly certain that there is none more raw than the original cast album version of It's Quiet Uptown. On first listen, yes, Clarkson's interpretation is too...produced, or something like that. I'll try to withhold final judgement until I've heard the entire album, though.
posted by rtha at 8:44 AM on November 4, 2016 [2 favorites]


My Shot is so good! And agreed, I was really excited for Clarkson to take on Quiet Uptown, but the arrangement lacks bite. Honestly, Renee Elise in the OBC recording is so amazing, especially on that number.
posted by Zephyrial at 8:50 AM on November 4, 2016 [2 favorites]


Man, I was so ready to be wrecked by Kelly Clarkson's version based on twitter reactions, but it was just a weird karaoke version. But My Shot was SO GOOD thank god not everything on this mixtape will just be covers!
posted by c'mon sea legs at 9:00 AM on November 4, 2016 [3 favorites]


Seriously, I can't imagine a better lineup. Dessa is the single best person on earth to do Congratulations; Helpless was more or less literally written for Ashanti and Ja Rule (another book tidbit), Sia is gonna kill Satisfied, everything Watsky does is golden so there's no reason the new piece he's doing should be any different. There literally isn't a single track that I'm not stoked for (aside from maybe Jimmy Fallon as King George; hopefully the Roots can save that one).
posted by Itaxpica at 9:14 AM on November 4, 2016 [2 favorites]


I am here for My Shot and not for Quiet Uptown, which sort of genericked away everything special about the OBC version. But just a month until I can get ALL the songs.
posted by jeather at 9:30 AM on November 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


Yeah, I'm looking forward to this mixtape, but I agree with the criticism of Quiet Uptown - it may feel different in the flow of mix, because it's a strange stand-alone song. For me, it's part of the narrative, not a (hit) single. It's like picking up a book and flipping to a random chapter late in the story and wondering why it doesn't grab you - you lack the context for it to have impact.

(Also, I dislike the guitars in My Shot, but I generally dislike what I consider wanky guitars that claim my attention from otherwise enjoyable songs.)
posted by filthy light thief at 9:35 AM on November 4, 2016 [2 favorites]


really an all country music remake is called for
posted by thelonius at 9:53 AM on November 4, 2016 [4 favorites]


The problem with Quiet Uptown is that the "sadness" is all in the key of the music. There's none of the heart-rending sadness in Kelly Clarkson's voice that was in Renée Elise Goldsberry's. Extracted from the music, the vocals sound almost triumphant.
posted by explosion at 10:07 AM on November 4, 2016 [11 favorites]


Normally It's Quiet Uptown has me ugly crying from the start, partly from the context of the song, partly because the line "The moments when you're in so deep it feels easier to just swim down" rings painfully true to me. This version doesn't do that, but I did find myself choking up at "Forgiveness... can you imagine?" I realized that it was because the overproduced background finally gave way at that point (but then came right back).

So, yeah, it seems obviously produced for radio, and that's fine. But it's kind of weird as a solo song - the switching back and forth from third to first person doesn't work as well for me as having two people plus a chorus telling the story.

I do think I'm going to be playing My Shot constantly for inspiration. Love the new lyrics, and I'm excited to hear what other new takes will be on the full album.
posted by Meghamora at 10:08 AM on November 4, 2016 [2 favorites]


I'm trying to find something to like about this version of "It's Quiet Uptown" and failing. The arrangement is fine, but not as lovely as the original IMO. But what's killing me is that the minor lyrical tweaks are a nod to making it more universal, but it now makes no freaking sense. The grammatical voice flips back and forth all over the place. The jumble of undefined pronouns is maddening.
posted by desuetude at 10:09 AM on November 4, 2016 [3 favorites]


Needs an election2016 tag.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:10 AM on November 4, 2016 [2 favorites]


My takeaway from my Facebook friends so far today seems to be a firm split in to My Shot and Quiet Uptown camps. I'm yet to see anyone mention that they like neither or both.

Just what America needed, one more bitter dispute to divide us.
posted by Itaxpica at 10:12 AM on November 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


Ehhhhh right, I forgot that Busta turned into DMX at some point. Yikes.


having seen Busta relatively recently I think its entirely possible he ate DMX (perhaps in some sort of massive protein shake).
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:18 AM on November 4, 2016 [2 favorites]


Both of those YouTube tracks list as "This video is not available" for me.
posted by pharm at 10:20 AM on November 4, 2016


pharm, you can listen here, too
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:25 AM on November 4, 2016


My takeaway from my Facebook friends so far today seems to be a firm split in to My Shot and Quiet Uptown camps. I'm yet to see anyone mention that they like neither or both.

One more reason not to be on Facebook.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:52 AM on November 4, 2016


Exceptional_Hubris: having seen Busta relatively recently I think its entirely possible he ate DMX (perhaps in some sort of massive protein shake).

Man fat jokes are always funny am I right
posted by chonus at 11:18 AM on November 4, 2016 [4 favorites]


I am so goddamn excited to see what Watsky does.
posted by zachlipton at 11:27 AM on November 4, 2016


awww shit, they're not available. And no way am I ever installing ITunes.
Oh well, will wait for the leak.
posted by Theta States at 11:29 AM on November 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


split in to My Shot and Quiet Uptown camps

I have an irrational hatred of that synth vibra-slap/drumroll sound that the kids are putting in all the songs these days. I'll be over on the team my shot bench.
posted by cmfletcher at 11:30 AM on November 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


Nice Carnegie Mellon shout out in there, they don't usually get the credit they deserve in rap songs.
posted by maryr at 11:35 AM on November 4, 2016 [11 favorites]


I'm yet to see anyone mention that they like neither or both.

I like them both, though I'll say I like them both for what they are: Clarkson's a good call for the big voice on "It's Quiet Uptown", and that's not a song that had a lot of room for remixing*. On the other hand, "My Shot" is exactly what I had hoped we'd get to see from the most rap-influenced original songs. They both give me chills, in their own ways.

*But color me desperately curious to hear "Say Yes to This."

I am pretty much prepared to like the whole thing, though.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:50 AM on November 4, 2016 [2 favorites]


Nice Carnegie Mellon shout out in there, they don't usually get the credit they deserve in rap songs.

Several of the original cast of Hamilton are C-M alums.
posted by chonus at 12:45 PM on November 4, 2016


It's Quiet Uptown is one of my least favorite songs in the show. I mean, it's good and all, but it's a pretty generic musical theater There Has Been A Tragedy song. I'm not surprised that I don't like the generic pop starlet version of it.

My Shot is great. Whatever Dessa will do will be great. (Obvs, she could play Angelica, but i would watch her as Lafayette/Jefferson to Mike Mitclan's Mulligan/Madison any day)

Sims can pull off Hamilton, only because POS would be a better Washington. Lazerbeak and Paper Tiger can probably be coached into pulling off King George. Probably have to outsource Aaron Burr though (maybe Slug... but Craig Finn would be appropriate in a number of ways)
posted by sparklemotion at 1:03 PM on November 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


Can I be real a second? A real pedant, that is.... It's Phillipa Soo who crushes you with "It's Quiet Uptown."
posted by putzface_dickman at 1:17 PM on November 4, 2016 [5 favorites]


My Shot is great—but I really really didn't like the electric guitar riffs. I'd be so much happier without those wailing in the background.
posted by themadthinker at 1:59 PM on November 4, 2016


> Can I be real a second? A real pedant, that is.... It's Phillipa Soo who crushes you with "It's Quiet Uptown."

Me? No, that's not what crushes me in "It's Quiet Uptown." It's the piano intro, the lyric "easier to just swim down," Lin-Manuel Miranda's lost, small delivery of "I never liked the quiet before," Renee Goldsbury's delivery of "...Alexander by Eliza’s side/She takes his hand," and the way the chorus comes in on "forgiveness..."

I mean, that's not to denigrate Phillipa Soo's contribution and how she handles that pivot, but she's not the one that crushes me, it's collective.
posted by desuetude at 2:19 PM on November 4, 2016 [6 favorites]


chonus, I didn't mean for that to come off as a fat joke. I self-identify as a fat person (not that it would give me the right to shame him for his body). Busta is definitely a lot bigger than he used to be, but he definitely has been hitting the gym - that's why the DMX flavored protein shake reference.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 2:25 PM on November 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


It's Quiet Uptown is one of my least favorite songs in the show. I mean, it's good and all, but it's a pretty generic musical theater There Has Been A Tragedy song. I'm not surprised that I don't like the generic pop starlet version of it.

I'll just say that I've been in plenty of theaters listening to such songs (and non-musical versions thereof) and I've never seen an entire house cry as much as I have for "It's Quiet Uptown."
posted by zachlipton at 2:32 PM on November 4, 2016 [3 favorites]


I love that "My Shot" remix. I know what I'll be listening to obsessively on repeat this weekend.
posted by mixedmetaphors at 2:37 PM on November 4, 2016


I have convinced myself that Watsky will be covering the extended version of "Sit down, John".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUI8b17YGx8
posted by Squid Voltaire at 3:12 PM on November 4, 2016


I'm just wondering how he'll will work all his Bay Area references into a story that was unaware of the state of California.
posted by zachlipton at 3:28 PM on November 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


After Lin-Manuel Miranda tweeted, yesterday, that it would be available for pre-order "tomorrow" (that is, today), I sat at my Mac starting at midnight and kept hiting refresh on Amazon for about an hour until it came up. Between my own and gifts, I've pre-ordered many, many times today.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 3:52 PM on November 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


Because I know you were all breathlessly waiting for my opinion: They are both good. I still like the OBC versions more. But they're both good.
posted by timdiggerm at 5:34 PM on November 4, 2016


When I heard Kelly Clarkson was doing It's Quiet Uptown I thought it was a perfect choice, but there was just way too much in the background. Put me on Team My Shot, which was just what I was hoping for.
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 5:57 PM on November 4, 2016


I was so sure Regina Spektor would be covering "It's Quiet Uptown," and I thought it would just be her and a piano, so the Kelly Clarkson version was a surprise. I don't love it but I'm not mad about it either. I do wonder if it's possible for the song to have the same emotional resonance without the story and the build-up.

Can I be real a second? A real pedant, that is.... It's Phillipa Soo who crushes you with "It's Quiet Uptown."

As someone who listened to it a million times before seeing it live, it was Renee and the chorus who killed me. I have vivid memories of listening to it for the first time, just wracked with sobs (I was driving and almost had to pull over).

When I saw it with (most of the) OBC, Phillipa was out and it was still Renee who killed me. And THEN I watched the bootleg (after spending the better part of $500 on tickets, I don't feel guilty about it) and Phillipa did indeed crush me with that tiny movement, taking his hand.

I really enjoyed "My Shot." I think it has a shot (sorry) of being a radio hit.
posted by lunasol at 7:21 PM on November 4, 2016 [2 favorites]


I am in the UK.

Amazon UK currently shows the preorder for the album as SOLD OUT.

I am baffled and bitterly dissapointed.
posted by Faintdreams at 2:47 AM on November 5, 2016 [1 favorite]


I would have preferred Sia doing "It's Quiet Uptown". She's known best for her club songs but anyone who has heard "Breathe Me" or the piano version of "Chandelier" knows she can do the kind of sad song that breaks you.
posted by asteria at 1:40 AM on November 6, 2016


My Shot Remix is no longer available on Youtube. Mr. creepygirl and I aren't sure how we're going to get through the day without listening to it. :(
posted by creepygirl at 7:53 AM on November 8, 2016


Amazon Canada doesn't even have the mixtape listed as available

ಠ_ಠ
posted by invokeuse at 8:52 AM on November 8, 2016


The Sia version of Satisfied is great. I have yet to hear the Immigrants one.
posted by jeather at 8:05 PM on November 10, 2016


Spotify links, for the new tracks which are now officially out in the US:

Satisfied (Sia feat. Miguel & Queen Latifah) (Lyrics)
Immigrants (We Get The Job Done) (K'naan, featuring Residente, Riz MC, & Snow Tha Product) (Lyrics)
posted by zachlipton at 9:12 PM on November 10, 2016 [2 favorites]


Ok. I'm all about the little drop right on "then I turn and see my sister's face."
posted by zachlipton at 9:24 PM on November 10, 2016 [1 favorite]


I stumbled onto Snow The Product couple years ago, she is legit. Glad to see her on a big project like this.
posted by PenDevil at 10:33 PM on November 10, 2016 [1 favorite]


Immigrants is SO GOOD. So perfect for this moment. I want to listen to it on repeat.
posted by lunasol at 11:02 PM on November 10, 2016 [2 favorites]




Love Satisfied and Immigrants! Very excited for Dessa and the whole album.
posted by SarahElizaP at 12:46 PM on November 11, 2016


Yeah, I stumbled across Snow Tha Product thanks to an askme I asked earlier this year and she is amazing. So happy to see her on this mix.
posted by rtha at 7:16 PM on November 11, 2016


New track:

Wait For It (Usher) - lyrics (mostly a cover of the original, with a couple tweaks)
posted by zachlipton at 10:37 PM on November 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


Other new track:

Wrote My Way Out (Aloe Blacc, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dave East & Nas ) - lyrics
posted by zachlipton at 10:40 PM on November 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


Wrote My Way Out (Aloe Blacc, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dave East & Nas ) - lyrics

This is beautiful and amazing.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:53 AM on November 18, 2016 [1 favorite]


So I finally heard Immigrants this morning and dang I am so disappointed.
The one line "Immigrants, we get the job done" is one moment in a 3 hour show, and retains it's power.
By looping it twenty times in the song, in one listen it has effectively drained all power from that line. They should have done the chorus themselves, and maybe sampled the show once.
I will be avoiding this track as to not spoil the show for me.
posted by Theta States at 7:54 AM on November 18, 2016


If you're following Hamilton and not the election, I've got a quick transcript of tonight's curtain speech to Mike Pence over here.
posted by zachlipton at 8:58 PM on November 18, 2016 [1 favorite]


I was just coming over here to post about that. Here's a video link (fb). I have read that Pence was booed before and after the performance, and they had to briefly stop "You'll be Back" because booing.
posted by rtha at 9:12 PM on November 18, 2016 [1 favorite]


I've also read that there was a standing ovation for the line "immigrants: we get the job done."
posted by zachlipton at 9:16 PM on November 18, 2016


Trump demands apology from ‘Hamilton’ after cast’s message to Pence

HA HA NO

“The Theater must always be a safe and special place,” Trump tweeted

HA HA FUCK YOU
posted by rtha at 10:33 AM on November 19, 2016 [3 favorites]


You can listen to "Helpless" from the Mixtape now, by Ashanti featuring Ja Rule.

Is it just me or does LMM do a better Ja Rule on the original "Helpless" (on "Long as I’m alive, Eliza, swear to God") than the actual Ja Rule?
posted by zachlipton at 12:08 PM on November 24, 2016


It's here! It's here!

New highlights so far:
- No John Trumbull is a fun intro. This mixtape is something different; it 'aint a John Trumbull paitning.
- That kazooo at the end of Watsky's open letter! I can't stop looping that.
- Alicia Keys doing "That Would Be Enough"
- Andra Day doing "Burn"
- Everything about Chance the Rapper's "Dear Theodosia." What a treat.
posted by zachlipton at 11:06 PM on December 1, 2016 [1 favorite]


Listened to it on the way to work (and because it is Friday-light traffic, I'm only about halfway through) and pretty much loving it. Though honestly, I did not love the Alicia Keys cut. Jill Scott is AHmazing. Chance made me cry but then that song always does. Andra Day is a national treasure.
posted by rtha at 7:50 AM on December 2, 2016


"Congratulations" is the best thing. Loving all the tracks that didn't make the musical.

Jimmy Fallon's track, on the other hand, is the worst. Just the worst.
posted by jason_steakums at 7:59 AM on December 2, 2016


The stretch of the mixtape where women get to go off on Hamilton ("Say Yes to This"/"Congratulations"/"Burn") go a long way to making me feel better about the short shrift the wonderful women get in the actual musical.

(It's been pointed out to me recently that the fact it isn't clear that Eliza is the hero of the story until the very, very end makes a lot of people really uncomfortable with how Hamilton treats the women in his life the first time they see the show, and I'm very sensitive to this lately.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:02 AM on December 2, 2016


John Legend's "History Has Its Eyes On You" has stuck in my head way more than I thought it would on first listen.
posted by jason_steakums at 8:13 AM on December 2, 2016


That last song has me weeping at my desk. Wow.
posted by beandip at 8:37 AM on December 2, 2016 [1 favorite]


The stretch of the mixtape where women get to go off on Hamilton ("Say Yes to This"/"Congratulations"/"Burn") go a long way to making me feel better about the short shrift the wonderful women get in the actual musical.

For the past couple of months I'd been listening to a recording of the Off-Broadway version of Hamilton (sadly, the full version has been taken down from Soundcloud recently) and obsessing about the difference between the rough draft and final Broadway version.

I'm sad that Schuyler Defeated and Let it Go didn't make the final cut. They really flesh out Eliza as a three-dimensional character to me (interacting with a character other than her immediate family members, using her graceful good manners to defuse a Hamilton/Burr confrontation, and offering shrewd and Washington-approved advice to Hamilton.)

I get that leaving them out makes the overall show shorter and more cohesive, but their existence/disappearance really makes the treatment of Eliza in the final Broadway show seem flat in comparison.

Re: the mixtape. Favorites so far are My Shot, Immigrants, Wrote My Way Out, and Say Yes to This. Probably will not listen voluntarily to the Jimmy Fallon number again, if only because of the excruciatingly long and unfunny intro.
posted by creepygirl at 11:03 AM on December 3, 2016 [2 favorites]


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