Word of the Day
Roily (adj., ROY-lee)
Murky and turbulent. Usually referring to waters but sometimes referring to situations and occasionally referring to a blender.
Gif of the Day
Link of the Day
Hamilton
[HAMILTON]
If you’ve been at school recently, makin’ the rounds
Ya might be surprised when you hear the sounds
Of American history, delivered so fiercely
In a hip-hop musical with songs so piercin’.
The name’s Hamilton. It’s about the man
With a plan for the land to stand
On its own, financially, as the U-S-of-A.
But that’s the man. What about the play?
It’s from a Brooklyner, Lin-Manuel Miranda,
Who took a gander after In the Heights
Settin his sights on the birth of our nation,
Translatin’ the boring stuff like congressional approval
Backroom deals and debt removal
Into the words of our age and the beats of our time.
Miranda drops fire. His rhymes are spectacular
As he brings our hist'ry into the vernacular.
[JEFFERSON]
But anyone can rhyme a subject—look at us—
What’s so fresh about Hamilton is how it thrusts
This reinvention onto old convention
Creating a new form that grabs our attention
This isn’t just rapped. It’s sung, it’s danced, it’s played
It’s an opera that doesn’t feel staid
It’s no high school musical. It’s a musical
In in the language of a high school,
Its music, its parlance, its passion, its drama
Even the trauma of an untimely death (spoilers!)
As Hamilton takes his shot, so do we
In our front-row seat next to the Marquis.
[WASHINGTON]
But let’s be real. Finances aren’t fun
They’re boring, even when done
By a lyrical genius. There has to be more
Of the lore to keep us invested
Than knowing the cadence of rapping "divested."
The world was wide enough for Hamilton. For us,
We need characters over which to fuss.
And that would be enough—for awhile,
Even if we’re in denial that our smile
Isn’t about them. It’s because
We recognize that their history
Is what we want the shape of our story
To be: respect, recognition, and love,
The stuff all dreams are made of.
The silhouette in the star isn’t Hamilton
Or Miranda. It’s anyone.