How do I begin to write about Hamilton? The original cast album came out about a week ago. Before that, NPR was streaming it free for several days. From the very first listen, it took over my brain.I've been listening to it non-stop ever since, fighting with myself over the logisitics of going to see it on Broadway (next Spring/Summer depending on how long I continue to dither).
This is an incredibly dense musical, which accounts for most of my early listenings. While the story is straight-forward and easy to follow, there are so many layers that I'm still peeling them away, 20+ listens later.
Hamilton is a perfect melding of two American art forms: the Broadway Musical and Hip Hop, used to tell the early history of America while highlighting how relevant that history is to our country today. Of these things, I am most familiar with musicals and current events, so it was through these that Hamilton first got its hooks in me.
There are a wealth of references to other musicals scattered throughout the soundtrack. Everything seems to make an appearance. George Washington introduces himself "I am the very model of a modern major general." Lafayette boasts, "Who's the best? C'est Moi!" Hamilton falls into bed with his mistress claiming "nobody needs to know". The only missing reference is one to Miranda's earlier musical In the Heights, even though one would have been perfectly justified by the fact that Eliza Hamilton founded the first school in Washington Heights.
There are lists of references to musicals, which I had a lot of fun going through, but I almost had more fun learning about all of the hip hop references. Hip hop isn't a genre I'm all that familiar with, despite coming of age in the late 90s. Sure, I own both of Destiny's Child's albums, and I've heard all the music that made it onto TRL or the Now! CDs (basically the same set). I could give you a list of rappers like Biggie and Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog and Jay-Z. I could probably even identify some of their songs. But this was still something of a crash course in the history of hip hop. In between Hamilton songs, I listened to the songs in that article linked above. I've always loved books that encourage me to look things up and make new connections, and the fact that Hamilton encouraged me to do the same and made it so easy is a big part of the reason I've become so obsessed with it. It's a fantastic entry-point for a culture that I grew up adjacent to but never explored.
Other than the music, the big draw of Hamilton is the history. And this is what keeps me coming back for more. I'd hear a line and wonder, is that true? I spent a lot of time on Wikipedia and other sites, re-learning things I probably learned in high school. I spent time learning about the Compromise of 1790 and Hamilton's vision of Wall Street. I learned about the Federalist Papers and the Reynolds pamphlet. This musical highlights John Laurens, a strong anti-slavery voice. Who knows what would have happened if he'd survived the war?
And all of this history ties in effortlessly to the present day. Hamilton and Lafayette were both immigrants, and the show celebrates that status, even though Jefferson and Madison later use it against Hamilton. Hamilton and Jefferson fight about states rights, how much power to give the federal government, whether we should get involved in foreign wars. These are fights we're still having today. Moreover, the second half of "My Shot" is reminiscent of protests in Ferguson. It's a call to action that rings very true.
There are the more blatant jokes, too: a voter commenting that presidential candidate Aaron Burr seems like someone you could grab a beer with, Jefferson complaining that Hamilton's financial plan is too long to read. It all drives home the idea that we aren't so far removed from the founding fathers. They were human, too, trying their best to build a country.
This is the version of America that I love. The unfinished version. Things are better now than they were in the late 1700s. Things are always better now than they were yesterday, because that's the direction America moves in. There are people out there who like to talk about returning to when America was great, but the fact is that America is and always has been better in the future than in the past.. It probably always will be. And we'll claw our way towards that utopia, fight by fight, bill by bill, election by election.
More than anything else, this musical reminded me what I do love about America. It's so easy to get bitter during election season. To look at the mass shootings and sex scandals and endless debates that go nowhere and convince yourself that things are getting worse. But the truth is that it was always this messy. We have the tools to make it better, and while that doesn't make it easy, it does mean that we have to keep trying.
I've been talking about this non-stop since I first heard the album. Kevin commented the other day that he's never seen me this obsessed with something (to be fair, he didn't know me in high school). It's been a long time since I've been this obsessed with something. But I'm going to say it one more time. Go listen to this album. Open yourself up to a new art form. Learn something. Be inspired. Don't miss out on this masterpiece.
And once you've listened, come find me so we can dig into the details.
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