Thoughts from Ed Driscoll (and David Solway).
Music does seem to have noticeably degenerated in my lifetime. I remain mystified at the popularity of the “musical” Les Miserable. When we saw it at the Pantages over two decades ago, I walked out thinking it was one of the most tuneless operas I’d ever heard. There was very little memorable in it. Richard Rogers it wasn’t, and isn’t.
[Update a while later]
I’ve added a link to the Solway piece, which is worth a read in and of itself. I should also note that, just as I have no talent whatsoever for fiction, I’m unable to write a song to save my life. I can read music, and play music, but I am utterly unable to create it.
Regarding the music from Les Mis, I find that the melody from “Master of the House” sticks in my head, whether I want it to or not. Are you immune to that affliction? And find “I dreamed a dream” to be quite memorable. Without looking at the song list, those are the only two songs from the Musical that come to mind for me, and maybe that concurs with your point.
Yes. I Dreamed A Dream was sort of memorable, but highly overrated, IMO. But most of it I found to be an atonal mess. As for Master Of The House, I don’t think I’ve heard it since my once viewing, so no. I walked out with the sense that I had no need to see it again. I’ve never watched the film, either.
I’d add that I also agree with Solway that Lloyd Webber has gorgeous, inter-related melodies in Phantom.
I enjoyed the soundtrack from Les Miserables, but then I always enjoyed musicals. I suspect that’s because I’ve played musical instruments since puberty, and I volunteered as an usher for the local music hall while in high school and college. I certainly enjoyed many of Webber’s musicals better.
However, when in London, I did make a point of catching Les Miserables there, since I had never seen it on stage. While I think the production and acting was fine; I hated the whole thing. I have never listened to the soundtrack since then. I had seen the movie before the stage production, and as many reviewers noted, the movie sucked. I had assumed the movie sucked, because may musicals made as movies suck. I have an idea why that is:
Older musical movies were fine, because they just filmed the stage version. Modern musical movies try to use real scenes and situations which are odd when the characters break into song for no reason… musicals are hated by most people because characters break into song, but put the characters in real places and situations and it is awkward for everyone involved.
I don’t know if degenerated is the right word. Music certainly continues to evolve, and the rap music of today is quite different from back in the day (when I was young; I’m not a kid anymore…). Rock & roll has evolved, we’ve got a healthy alternative music genre (I recommend streaming WBER, where I DJed back in the day…), world music has certainly had an influence. There’s all kinds of musical goodness out there, you just have to look for it.
As far as Les Miserables goes, I got to see it in Paris during my undergrad semester abroad. I’ve only ever heard the lyrics in French, and it inspired me to go out and get the soundtrack, visit La Marais, and I also ended up spending nine months reading the book in French. This from someone that doesn’t like musicals, ever since the traumatic boredom of Showboat back in middle school (and Mom’s friggin’ Chorus Line VHS tape). It may be that the lyricism of the French language better meshes with the music; the snippets I’ve heard in English seem awkward in comparison. The book’s really good too, almost enough to make one feel the Bern…
ALW is OK. But his musicals just don’t touch those of the 30’s and 40’s and a scant few into the 1950’s.
Personally I’m a sucker for Rogers and Hammerstein, Rogers and Hart, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin et al. None of my generation, among my immediate family, ever hears the word Oklahoma, without chiming in, “…where the wind comes whistlin’ down the plain?” Oddly, always said AS a question too.
I’ve seen some of ALW’s stuff on stage and the big screen or TV. I just don’t see it being at the level of the older stuff. I partly wonder if some of it doesn’t go to the abilities of the performers too. I don’t think we have the talent pool the producers once had.
I don’t think that’s the problem at all. There’s plenty of talent available to perform good musicals. What’s apparently lacking is the talent to write them.
There is a lot of musical talent around. But except on Broadway, it mostly isn’t singing and dancing. Tony-winner Sutton Foster and So You Think You Can Dance winner Jeanine Mason got to dance a few years ago on Bunheads, but the show only lasted 18 episodes. Foster is now in the 2nd season of a non-singing, non-dancing romantic sitcom. Mason has done a few non-dancing roles on episodic TV.
NBC’s late Smash, a show about the making of Broadway musicals, ran only two seasons in spite of a Broadway-heavy cast including the winsome American Idol runner-up Katherine McPhee and uber-yummy Megan Hilty who was in Wicked. A number of Smash alums, including McPhee, have wound up in regular or recurring roles on TV since, but none of these roles involve singing or dancing.
The Schtumpmeister and I seem to be vastly outnumbered these days by people with Leland’s attitude about musicals. Why this is so in an era when music videos are ubiquitous – and, in terms of “realism,” make most films based on Broadway musicals seem like documentaries by comparison – is an enduring mystery to me.
At least on Broadway, revivals of classic musicals now get as much respect as new productions. The plays of Shakespeare are always subjects of new productions and the Metropolitan Opera certainly feels no embarrassment at mounting productions of works written as much as three centuries ago so it’s good to see that Broadway has adopted a comparable attitude toward its enduring treasures.
My only reservation is that classic Broadway musicals might become seen as something strictly for the upper crust, as Shakespeare and opera have largely become. At one time Broadway shows were very popular everyman entertainments. It would pain me to see them become the sole property of the swells among us.
I’m sorry Ken Murphy was bored by Showboat back in the day. Showboat was, in many important ways, the first “modern” musical. The racial themes addressed in it were ground-breaking for the time and it had a partly happy, partly dark ending. It debuted in 1927, one of the signal years in American cultural history as the first “talkie” movie The Jazz Singer also appeared, Lindbergh flew the Atlantic and Babe Ruth hit 60 homers.
As I assume Ken is now well past middle school age, perhaps he should give one of the MGM filmed versions a look. The best of these is the 1952 Technicolor version starring Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson.
I have a particular soft spot for Showboat because I sang a duet of “Only Make Believe” once in an amateur talent show. Wore full riverboat gambler drag too, including a grey top hat which I still have. Fun times.
Music hasnt degenerated, its proliferated. The tools to make, mix, and distribute music are more accessible now than ever before. Often good music goes unnoticed in the score of a movie or burried in YouTube. Even rap music, is highly technical and reading the lyrics of many rap songs is like reading poetry.
Tastes change and likeing any type of music is very individualistic. Today, more individuals are serviced. I don’t like musicals, would rather hammer spikes into my legs, but to each their own.
And as far as humming goes, is being a human beat box considered humming? Maybe people just need to step up their humming game.
Even rap music, is highly technical and reading the lyrics of many rap songs is like reading poetry.
I’m willing to believe that rap can be poetic, but it’s not music. To the degree it’s poetry, it’s poetry set to rhythmic noise.