My Socks Are on Fire!
Saturday, October 29, 2005
La vie Boheme
The RENT, the movie musical comes out on November, 23, and today I decided to listen to the entire original broadway cast recording in one setting. I had listened to all of at one time or another, but never all at once. TYpically when i get a new musical i listen to the whole thing but there have been, until today, three shows that i never managed to do this with. Rent being the first and the others being "Into the Woods" and "Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (Of course I had to put in the whole title.) A while ago, before i bought the album, i was reading reviews of it on amazon(dot)com, and i came across a very interesting one. I always read the worst reviews of something i want to buy, because they usually have the most information on why i might not like it and what to expect if i do buy it. Anyway i was reading the worst reviews of the OBCR and came across this gem, reprinted in it's entirety:
RENT is the quintessential rock opera of today - its grating edge, witty lyric and colorful cast of characters beat wildly and convincingly into the listener's mind. What is apparent at first glance, is that the music is stunning and genius. Never before has a rock opera had such energy, such vitality (set RENT next to "Phantom of the Opera" - the supposed rock opera of the 80s). RENT takes its cue from the Who's Tommy, rather than the tired Andrew Lloyd Weber genre of "rock" opera (which is only "rock" if you qualify '80s soft hits as fitting into the genre).
What is not apparent at first glance, is that this is an opera which expresses a dangerous philosophy - that of relativism. In a theme that repeats throughout the opera, characters sing, "No day but today" - which, one would assume, means live life to the fullest - carpe diem - don't miss out by fear!
They would be assuming incorrectly. What composer and lyricist Jonathan Larson is actually suggesting, is a world without consequences, without morals, and without standards. It is not that his characters defy traditional morals - it is that they cry out against the existence of morals. In the world of RENT, anything goes not because of tolerance, but because everything is relative - who's to cast the first stone? Who's to say what's right? What works for one person, may not for another, but they're both right, aren't they?
No. It is somewhat horrifying that a previous reviewer - a twelve year old, no less - says, "I have always been a huge RENT fan." That a twelve year old child has been exposed, already to the mantra of non-absolutism, should give us pause.
If you value absolutes - if you believe in standards - if you consider that the world is a rational, logical place that is understandable and that man is a reasonable creature that lives by his mind - then you will find RENT standing as the screaming voice which cries out for the destruction of everything you hold dear.
If you do not believe in absolutes - and are not disturbed by the contradiction of the preceding statement - then it is too late. RENT is your show; it is your life anthem.
RENT's horror lies not in the lifestyles of its characters - but in the words they sing. The bohemia they envision is a world of the anti-rational, where a is not a, and where you can have your cake and eat it too.
Those who would instead live in the real world, will have to choose another way of life than Jonathan Larson preaches in this opera.
This review struck me as funny, because i'm pretty sure that Larson meant what the reviewr first implies, that it was more of a carpe diem situation, but what do i know i never met the guy. Of course neither did this reviewer. On the other hand i find it downright funny to think that this reviewer was so moved that he(i just picked a pronoun, it could easily be she,) found it neccesary to inform the world by joining the 527 other people who reviewed RENT. A two star review wont last very long on the fron page,especially when only 2 out of 15 people found it helpful. my response is, "It's a MUSICAL! A modernized version of a really old opera for that matter. people listen to it because it was well written and performed, not because of some underlying political agenda. People do not let MUSICALS decide their politics for them."
in other news, i saw Stomp today. it was pretty cool.
How do you stay on your feet
When on every street
It's 'trick or treat'
(And tonight it's 'trick')
'Welcome back to town'
Oh, I should lie down
Everything's brown
And uh -- oh
I feel sick
The RENT, the movie musical comes out on November, 23, and today I decided to listen to the entire original broadway cast recording in one setting. I had listened to all of at one time or another, but never all at once. TYpically when i get a new musical i listen to the whole thing but there have been, until today, three shows that i never managed to do this with. Rent being the first and the others being "Into the Woods" and "Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (Of course I had to put in the whole title.) A while ago, before i bought the album, i was reading reviews of it on amazon(dot)com, and i came across a very interesting one. I always read the worst reviews of something i want to buy, because they usually have the most information on why i might not like it and what to expect if i do buy it. Anyway i was reading the worst reviews of the OBCR and came across this gem, reprinted in it's entirety:
RENT is the quintessential rock opera of today - its grating edge, witty lyric and colorful cast of characters beat wildly and convincingly into the listener's mind. What is apparent at first glance, is that the music is stunning and genius. Never before has a rock opera had such energy, such vitality (set RENT next to "Phantom of the Opera" - the supposed rock opera of the 80s). RENT takes its cue from the Who's Tommy, rather than the tired Andrew Lloyd Weber genre of "rock" opera (which is only "rock" if you qualify '80s soft hits as fitting into the genre).
What is not apparent at first glance, is that this is an opera which expresses a dangerous philosophy - that of relativism. In a theme that repeats throughout the opera, characters sing, "No day but today" - which, one would assume, means live life to the fullest - carpe diem - don't miss out by fear!
They would be assuming incorrectly. What composer and lyricist Jonathan Larson is actually suggesting, is a world without consequences, without morals, and without standards. It is not that his characters defy traditional morals - it is that they cry out against the existence of morals. In the world of RENT, anything goes not because of tolerance, but because everything is relative - who's to cast the first stone? Who's to say what's right? What works for one person, may not for another, but they're both right, aren't they?
No. It is somewhat horrifying that a previous reviewer - a twelve year old, no less - says, "I have always been a huge RENT fan." That a twelve year old child has been exposed, already to the mantra of non-absolutism, should give us pause.
If you value absolutes - if you believe in standards - if you consider that the world is a rational, logical place that is understandable and that man is a reasonable creature that lives by his mind - then you will find RENT standing as the screaming voice which cries out for the destruction of everything you hold dear.
If you do not believe in absolutes - and are not disturbed by the contradiction of the preceding statement - then it is too late. RENT is your show; it is your life anthem.
RENT's horror lies not in the lifestyles of its characters - but in the words they sing. The bohemia they envision is a world of the anti-rational, where a is not a, and where you can have your cake and eat it too.
Those who would instead live in the real world, will have to choose another way of life than Jonathan Larson preaches in this opera.
This review struck me as funny, because i'm pretty sure that Larson meant what the reviewr first implies, that it was more of a carpe diem situation, but what do i know i never met the guy. Of course neither did this reviewer. On the other hand i find it downright funny to think that this reviewer was so moved that he(i just picked a pronoun, it could easily be she,) found it neccesary to inform the world by joining the 527 other people who reviewed RENT. A two star review wont last very long on the fron page,especially when only 2 out of 15 people found it helpful. my response is, "It's a MUSICAL! A modernized version of a really old opera for that matter. people listen to it because it was well written and performed, not because of some underlying political agenda. People do not let MUSICALS decide their politics for them."
in other news, i saw Stomp today. it was pretty cool.
How do you stay on your feet
When on every street
It's 'trick or treat'
(And tonight it's 'trick')
'Welcome back to town'
Oh, I should lie down
Everything's brown
And uh -- oh
I feel sick
Comments:
Mark, Mark, Mark... of course your movie got bad reviews, it was bad. My point was that a good soundtrack got a bad review because of (non-exsistant) political reasons. Of course this could have been just an excuse to (once again) make people aware that you were in a movie with Ernest Borg-you will be assimilated-nine.
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