S/O Can we talk about how bad Lin-Manuel Miranda's music is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just don’t understand why he added Lin to his name. His music is fine. I can’t get Bruno out of my head.

He didn’t add it, it’s his given name. I was just reading his Wikipedia page and holy cow, I had no idea how many awards and honors this man has won, not only for his theatre productions but also for his acting!

[Anonymous]

Disney has been changing the tone of it's music for some time now, trying to keep kids from aging out of the main Disney brand.

[Anonymous]

Broadway music for the NPR set - haha. yes!

I also hate musicals and yet watched Hamilton and still don't like musicals. I also felt "yelled at"!

But Moana was the worst of the worst - I literally was groaning in psychic pain in the movie theater.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LMM is SOOOOO overrated. Broadway music for the NPR set.

Who do you think goes to Broadway shows? The Fox Sports set?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:LMM is SOOOOO overrated. Broadway music for the NPR set.

Who do you think goes to Broadway shows? The Fox Sports set?

[Anonymous]

Hamilton is the sort of musical that Rent was. Pure heaven for the NPR Set because it was so "vital" and "urgent" and "timely". Taken right from the front pages of the Times! But objectively, when viewed from afar, the music was largely pedestrian and mediocre. I mean, just listen to some Sondheim and compare them. It's almost embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Broadway music for the NPR set - haha. yes!

I also hate musicals and yet watched Hamilton and still don't like musicals. I also felt "yelled at"!

But Moana was the worst of the worst - I literally was groaning in psychic pain in the movie theater.

I really feel like you Moana haters have to give us some insight into what did not speak to you. I literally feel like it is a modern masterpiece, and I don't expect everyone to have the same opinion of course but I am struggling to imagine what would inspire actual visceral dislike in that movie.

[Anonymous]

OP, thank you for writing this and taking the heat! I have felt this way for a long time but this is not an opinion you're allowed to have in polite society right now. I'm not sure why.

It's strange because I like all kinds of things that other people don't like -- super niche, nerdy science fiction; poetry; opera; modern dance; detailed British nature paintings. Like just random art that speaks very specifically to my aesthetic and topical interests. I have zero problems when people say they don't like these things. I don't expect them to.

I think that's the difference. A lot of people who love LMM get mad if you say it's not their thing because their is an expectation that everyone will like it. That's a weird expectation. Even the more popular stuff I like (Lizzo, Game of Thrones, Amy Winehouse, Louise Penny novels), I know people who don't like them. And it's fine! They like other things.

LMM's talk-singing thing, and specifically the way a lot of his songs are designed to feel like you are being buried in words and feelings, is not my thing. I believe it has to do with aesthetic, I really appreciate more sparse musical aesthetics, I like feeling carried by music not hit by it. Which yes, means I'm heavily invested in melody and beat, whereas LMM is more focused on the lyrics themselves, musical punctuation, and a kind of excess. That's fine. Not my thing.

It's not a personal insult to YOU if I don't like the thing you like. Liking things is subjective, by definition.

[Anonymous]

I am stunned by the level of devotion and defensiveness around Disney movies on this thread. I had no idea! Moana was fine, my kid didn't like the scary parts and it's actually got a lot of scary parts so we turned it off. We watched Encanto recently and it was diverting but have had no desire to rewatch and none fo the songs have really stuck with me.

These are Disney movies. "Modern masterpiece"? What the heck? You guys realize that one of the primary tenets of making a Disney movie is "makes kids want to buy merchandise", right? You can't make perfect art under that dictate. It's always going to be a little treacly, a little to perfect, a little machined around the edges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hamilton is the sort of musical that Rent was. Pure heaven for the NPR Set because it was so "vital" and "urgent" and "timely". Taken right from the front pages of the Times! But objectively, when viewed from afar, the music was largely pedestrian and mediocre. I mean, just listen to some Sondheim and compare them. It's almost embarrassing.

Oh god, thank you.

Also, a fun thing to do when someone brings up how important Hamilton is for representation and addressing racism head on is to mention Slave Play and see how they react. Most have never heard of it. If you describe it to them, they get uncomfortable! Which is by design.

Hamilton makes white people feel woke without challenging them in any way whatsoever. That's one of the reasons it's so massive popular.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, thank you for writing this and taking the heat! I have felt this way for a long time but this is not an opinion you're allowed to have in polite society right now. I'm not sure why.

It's strange because I like all kinds of things that other people don't like -- super niche, nerdy science fiction; poetry; opera; modern dance; detailed British nature paintings. Like just random art that speaks very specifically to my aesthetic and topical interests. I have zero problems when people say they don't like these things. I don't expect them to.

I think that's the difference. A lot of people who love LMM get mad if you say it's not their thing because their is an expectation that everyone will like it. That's a weird expectation. Even the more popular stuff I like (Lizzo, Game of Thrones, Amy Winehouse, Louise Penny novels), I know people who don't like them. And it's fine! They like other things.

LMM's talk-singing thing, and specifically the way a lot of his songs are designed to feel like you are being buried in words and feelings, is not my thing. I believe it has to do with aesthetic, I really appreciate more sparse musical aesthetics, I like feeling carried by music not hit by it. Which yes, means I'm heavily invested in melody and beat, whereas LMM is more focused on the lyrics themselves, musical punctuation, and a kind of excess. That's fine. Not my thing.

It's not a personal insult to YOU if I don't like the thing you like. Liking things is subjective, by definition.

Exactly. Subjective. I do like him, and the fact that he has made SO MANY good works at such a young age is impressive. He can still grow ... and I think he knows that. He and Sondheim seemed to have great respect for each other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hamilton is the sort of musical that Rent was. Pure heaven for the NPR Set because it was so "vital" and "urgent" and "timely". Taken right from the front pages of the Times! But objectively, when viewed from afar, the music was largely pedestrian and mediocre. I mean, just listen to some Sondheim and compare them. It's almost embarrassing.

Sondheim was a talent of his time. Same with LMM. Sondheim would probably be considered boring by younger generations.

Hamilton uses 20,053 words over basically 2.5 hours. It would take a typical Broadway musical 6 hours to use the same number of words.

LMM is faster, more in keeping with a faster-paced world. I think that is one of the biggest issues for traditional Broadway audiences and their lack of appreciation for LMM.

[Anonymous]

Succession said it best:

Tom: “Oh, don’t worry Greg. This is a nice, safe space where you don’t have to pretend to like ‘Hamilton.'”
Greg: “…I like ‘Hamilton.'”
Tom: “Sure you do. We all do.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I knew this might be a divisive post. I really want to like his stuff. I do. I LOVED (and still love) the Disney music of my childhood - the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, era. I love Frozen (it's the same ilk as the older ones). I even like some of the Moana stuff (including You're Welcome - that song is AWESOME!). And my kids really like Encanto - as I said, they're listening to the soundtrack constantly. I guess it's just that I cannot get into his style at all (and agree that his voice is just not my cup of tea, which is probably why I really didn't like the kinkachoo movie). Ok - just wanted to check if it was just me (and apparently it is!) That's ok. I'll suffer through the LMM steamroller.

It is not just you. I'm not a fan either. (Although, the one exception for me is also You're Welcome from Moana.) But we are definitely in the minority. So, it's you and me and everyone else thinks we're nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LMM is SOOOOO overrated. Broadway music for the NPR set.

This is the best description of it