#Hamilton Thoughts for the Day

Over the summer I became obsessed with Hamilton. As, I'm pretty sure, we all did. Coincidentally, friend Amelia and I first listened to the soundtrack together, during our very long road trip to upstate New York and Toronto. I'd, of course, seen their performances at the Grammys, as well as selections from their White House performance.



That said, however, I saved the performance in its entirety for a sit-down, all-attention time. It was kind of delightful--I remember, very specifically, being startled and thrilled when Hercules Mulligan burst into "Yorktown," and scanning through the liner notes while Amelia did the driving, trying to take in all the voices and all the words.

So, over the following few months, I started sharing my #Hamilton pondering of the day on Facebook and Twitter. Amelia pointed out they should be archived somewhere, so I collected them in a Google doc, and now I'm sharing my collection as today's pseudo-review.

• So I have this ritual when I'm driving back home: for the last hour or so, I put a song on repeat and sing along until I lose my voice. Last night, it was "Yorktown" and, long story short, I'm legit considering printing out this pic and framing it.
  
  
• Today's ‪#‎Hamilton‬ pondering: "Talk less, smile more," becomes way more loaded when considered through a POC lens. Nobody likes us angry. The narrative is ALL about how two POCs try to navigate a system that's constantly punishing them.
  
  Like, this WaPo article on #Hamilton looks at it as a "be yourself, be earnest" message, which...yeah. But also. https://www.washingtonpost.com/.../hamilton-and-the-end.../
  
  
• #‎Hamilton‬ thought for the day, after listening to "Satisfied" twice in a row: Alexander never sacrificed a single thing that he wanted. Like, he wasn't HAPPY about being blackmailed, but he could have, y'know, not kept sleeping with Maria. Meanwhile, the Schuyler sisters are engaged in some sort of self-sacrifice triathlon.
  
  I'm digging how rich the text becomes on repeated listens--the first act is structured like a pretty traditional bildungsroman, so the undercurrent (from Angelica, from Washington, from Burr) critiquing Hamilton's arc feels weirdly subversive to me, somehow.
  
  
• I was going to have a serious ‪#‎Hamilton‬ thought for the day, but I've got stuck on how perfectly written and delivered, "I'm a trust fund baby you can trust me," is.
  
  
• And to quote (my favorite culture critic) Sonia Saraiya, in response to this piece: "what i am trying to say is if donald trump wants the soul of America he is going to have to wrest it from us with a rap battle"
  http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/lin-manuel-miranda-and-the-future-of-originalism/485651/
  
  From the article: “The question is then not whether Hamilton does justice to the past by depicting it accurately but whether Hamilton builds justice in the present by reallocating the ownership of the republic.”
  
  
• All kudos forever to Leslie Odom Jr for throwing himself into "there are so many to deflower" with full abandon. #Hamilton
  
  
• #Hamilton Thought of the Day: Maybe for my CWPA talk on the risks and rewards of invisible administrative work, I will just play "Wait for It" two and a half times.
  
  
• This is about feelings and identity and such, but I really must quote the following:
  
  "If it weren’t enough that Miranda wrote enough rhymes to fill a phone book, he gives each of those men their own styles. Hamilton is the ahead-of-his-time genius who drops couplets and quatrains like Eminem or Rakim. Lafayette is all speed and brio, like Twista or Yelawolf. Laurens is a straight-down-the-middle Ad Rock, nimble and able. And Mulligan is what it’d sound like if Busta Rhymes were possessed by the Big Bad Wolf."
  http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-ca-cm-hamilton-soundtrack-20160612-snap-story.html
  
  
• Today's #Hamilton thought: If a stranger introduced himself to me by way of punching one of my friends in the face, I'd be skeptical, too.
  
  
• #Hamilton thought for the day:
  "Dear Alexander, your punctuation indicates you're in love with me. T/F? Also, I'm living with you this summer!"
  Alexander has his flaws, but if I'd been in his place, I'd have noped the heck out of there, too.
  
  
• #Hamilton thought for the day: It's fitting that Alexander finally taking Burr's advice precipitates Burr's heel turn. And the moment is sort of amazing. (Plus the flourish with the tablecloth, seriously. <3)
  [Editorial note: I had a YouTube link on there of a clip from "Room Where It Happens," but the clip has since disappeared.]
  
  
• Phillipa Soo going hoarse on, "You you you," in "Burn" is every negative emotion I've experienced in 4 years condensed into three syllables.
  "and you are paranoid in every paragraph / how they perceive you / you you YOU"
  
  
• #Hamilton thought for the day: "I'm notcha son" in "Meet Me Inside" is, I think, the essence of Alexander in a nutshell.
  
  #Hamilton side note: I'm not sure what I find more amusing from the published lyrics, "notcha" or "chicka-pow!"
  
  
• The ‪#‎Hamilton‬ dual-role cast were SO BRILL at shifting voice/register/breath for diff characters. On 1st listen, I only twigged to Diggs. And that, only because of his super-flat "anarchy" in "My Shot."
  
  
• I’m sure ‪#‎Hamilton‬'s battlefield tactics were good ones, but "let's take their cannons" and "don't make noise" don't seem THAT innovative. Or wait, that was before things like ambushes were a thing, right? I think a Mel Gibson movie taught us that.
  
  
• Just when I think I can't love "The Reynolds Pamphlet" more, I find out King George makes an appearance. ‪#‎Hamilton‬
  
  
  
  
  
• #Hamilton Thought of the Day: Can you imagine the sheer exasperation Martha Washington has when talking to George about Alexander?
  
  
• Hey, Alexander #Hamilton, you know what you should avoid when accused of ruining someone's life? Making an ITEMIZED LIST of all your clashes.
  
  
• Another #Hamilton lyric that becomes chilling when viewed through a POC lens: "Fools who run their mouths off wind up dead."
  
  
• This is neat! Aside from the prop change, I wonder what drove the staging changes. Probably an awareness of where the cameras at the Tony's, right? They had to navigate a packed theatre, whereas the version on the left probably didn't. And it looks like have more of the chorus at the Tony's, too. https://youtu.be/Aks0kaC1n6k
• So, unsurprisingly, I'll be talking about ‪#‎Hamilton‬ at my CWPA presentation on invisible administrative work, but now I'm thinking "The Election of 1800" is a way better fit than "Wait for It," though obvs "The Room Where It Happens" is the central point.
  
  
• #Hamilton thought: Why don't we talk more about how attractive Anthony Ramos is? Just LOOK at this kid. Seriously.
  
  
  
  He's like a John Singer Sargent painting, walking around in real life.
  
  
• #Hamilton's letter, translated: "I trust you'll pick up my subtle allusion to great works of literature. Did I mention everybody thinks I'm Macbeth?"
  Meanwhile, Angelica's dropping "Screw your courage to the sticking place" like a BOSS.
  
  
• I mean, yeah, #Hamilton’s green satin broadcoat is ridic, but Jefferson, seriously, you’ve been wearing a purple crushed velvet suit.
  
  
  
  
  
• In brighter news, I'm starting to realize how enormously helpful it is to have #Hamilton as a cultural shorthand.
  "Excuse me, you just cut into the waiting line."
  "Sorry, I was listening to #Hamilton."
  "Oh, gotcha. Yorktown?"
  "Yup."
  
  "Hey, can you check the report for-- are you crying?"
  "Yeah, sorry, #Hamilton."
  "I'll come back later."
  
  "Dude, are you actually going to ask for her number?"
  "I've been listening to a lot of #Hamilton lately."
  "Sweet. Good luck!"
  
  "Did you just set that stack of dissertation drafts on fire?"
  "Yup."
  "That's so #Hamilton! Rock on.”
  
  "You probably shouldn't post that thing about your supervisor on Facebook."
  "It's how I feel!"
  "Stop being such a #Hamilton!"
  
  
• I could do cardio twice-daily for six months and STILL not have the lung capacity Philippa Soo has in "That Would Be Enough." #Hamilton
  
  
• The bass drop on Eliza's "and my heart went boom" is possibly the most adorable bass drop ever. #Hamilton
  
  
• Live every day like you're Hercules Mulligan.
  
  
• #Hamilton nigh-bursts with impassioned characters, but Laurens's "You and I, do or die" remains the most seductive line in the whole play.
  
  
• I dearly wish "Ten One Things" had made the cut. | Cut Songs from #Hamilton https://youtu.be/ScKU4Hd8YJ4
  
  
• #Hamilton thought of the day: How many times d'you think Lin-Manuel Miranda broke in the middle of rehearsals for this bit?
  
  
  
  
  
• "The Constitution's a mess." "So it needs amendments." "It's full of contradictions!" "So is independence." But, uh, seriously, can somebody get on this? http://www.complex.com/life/2016/10/affirmative-right-vote-fair-constitution

And that's six months of Hamilton thoughts! Looking forward to my next six months of obsession.