“Hamilton” is a Rap masterpiece!

@glupson --. Labels notwithstanding, if some troll starts a flame war on a thread that I started, with posts that have absolutely nothing to do with the original intent of my message, then I have no qualms about calling out that kind of adolescent behavior and asking those posts to be removed. With MC and a few others it’s like I’m dealing with my younger students online.

My intention was not to again raise the ugly head of politics.
Rather, as a fan and audiophile interested in opening up new, interesting and musical content. And, through these threads, I have been exposed to much music that I had discounted. I am excited to become aware of truly interesting and frequently brilliant albums available on vinyl. Even a an early stage of listening, I look forward to hearing fascinating musical content that will sound amazing on my rig. As a conservatory trained musician, I have always been interested in the Avant-garde. I love the state of not knowing what will come next. Much Rap embodies this. Much is strident, angry and boring but much is also high Art.
Hamilton was my first taste of this. 

The lack of depth in some of the political opinions expressed here is truly astounding.  It would all be laughable were it not so pathetic.  Self serving attempts at claiming a higher moral ground while simultaneously being blind to the hypocrisy and irony in much of what informs those opinions; some of which are stated as “facts”.  Perfect example is the just stated and typical fall back position of the liberal that HE is the only one who cares about his fellow man and is willing to help him.  All the while, clamoring for civility and respect while being incapable or unwilling to understand that the disagreement is in the methodology that should be used to help others.  To do so (understand) would not support his narrative.  Better to deem the other guy and his opposing point of view as uncaring, racist, even evil.  What a bunch of self serving and insulting cr@p!  Something that has become abundantly clear to me over recent years is that he who sees racism around every corner and is giddily eager to “call it out” is, more times than not, the most racist of all.  I couldn’t agree more that politics should be kept out of these discussions and the reasons why should be abundantly clear.  

Now, “Hamilton”.  I have seen Hamilton.  As pointed out above, a big yawn.  I should point out that while I am not a fan of rap as a music/arts consumer, I think I get rap and I understand its relevance.  As an inside, I don’t understand the resistance on the part of some to the idea that it is, more than anything, urban poetry with a strong rhythm component (rhythm is an important element in all poetry).  This is not a bad thing at all.  For me, as far as the rap that I have heard which includes many of the recommendations here so far and which I made of point of listening to, when there is a significant music component (in the traditional sense) it is mostly used as dressing.  
I suppose that an avid musical theater goer could make a case for Hamilton being a “masterpiece” of musical theatre.  However, I have listened to enough rap to understand that to call Hamilton a rap masterpiece is akin to calling the music of Elvis Presley R&R masterpieces; and therein lies the irony.  Like the music of Elvis Presley the rap in Hamilton is sanitized and made palatable for the typical Broadway show consumer.  It lacks the edge and urgency of the rap that I have heard that has captured my attention.  I will leave the determination of what can be called a rap masterpiece to others who are true fans of the genre (notice I do not say “music”).  Btw, there is much revisionist history in the Hamilton’s book.  First example that comes to mind is the number of times that Hamilton’s mother is referred to as a “whore”.  There is not one iota of historical evidence that points to this being factual, but this does point to one of the ironies and, some would say, hypocrisies in the way that identity politics is used (abused) in the show.  The show is very selective in its “wokeness”.  The casting of black actors to represent the founding fathers may be considered clever in the context of a Broadway musical which highlights race issues, but there is no attention whatsoever paid to issues of gender equality. To call the show misogynistic would be an understatement

Clever, some might say groundbreaking Broadway musical.  Groundbreaking in the way that Elvis was “groundbreaking”.  Rap masterpiece?  I don’t think so.

Oh my.  This place is overrun with conspiracy nuts and white supremacists.  Hydroxychloroquine was proven in multiple studies to be useless for covid and more than potentially harmful if used in the acute setting.  Do some real research (not youtube and rightwing nutjob sites) and see for yourself.  VA studies in particular. 

And Millermoron, this country did more to abolish slavery than any other?  That's an absolute hoot.  We may have abolished slavery (at the cost of thousands of lives, but this country did nothing for decades to end a disgusting caste system which permanently suppressed a whole set of people because of the color of their skin.  What country did Nazi Germany send representatives to for research on how to successfully suppress an entire group of people?  Guess which?  I don't even have to say it because you know already.  You just don't care

Ghasley, I enjoyed your post, and thanks for the kind words.

It's pointless to try and explain to people who can not, or will not understand your explanation no matter how hard you try because they have all the answers even before the questions are asked.


I recall being at a hospital on a perfect day, sitting in an outdoors area where people ate lunch when they had long waits for procedures. The Sun was shining, and it was as if someone had set the thermostat at just the right temperature.

I sat at a table under a tree for shade, and a young lady came and sat at the same table. She was young enough to be my daughter, so thoughts that I might have had otherwise, did not occur.

The conversation began, as conversations with strangers always do, about the weather. I don't know how we got off into problems that exist in the city, but it was about the normal problems in the "inner city", which was ironic because we were a stones throw away from the old, very large mansions where the richest people in the city live.

She did most of the talking, and I did most of the listening. She seemed to want to impress me about how much she knew about what was going on. She went on and on about how all the problems in society were caused by "Liberals". I listened, without ever once countering her allegations of how much better off we would be if there were no Liberals; why spoil such a beautiful day.

I guess she was about 21, and it was quite apparent that all this conservative wisdom came from her parents. When we parted, she was smiling with the smug feeling of how she had impressed that old man with all of her wisdom.

When people get so brilliant at that age, it's hard to change them.

Revisionist history.
How about a little perspective check-
It's a Broadway show.