I think Warriors is a fricking triumph. It's been on repeat in my house since it dropped. It made me think how every other musical writer needs to up their game because this is the level modern musical theatre should be hitting. I can't sing its praises too highly. Magnificent. (Incidentally, I'm not a LMM superfan so this opinion isn't just based on his rep. I also love the original movie).
@@janinehenderson7501 It honestly made me think of how well it utilized House music and still portrayed heavy topics and situations while that really cheapened shows like Lempicka (I thoroughly enjoyed Lempicka, but Warriors has already done what it couldn't)
Lin is on a whole other level than everyone else, they really need to up their game. For all the average by the numbers musicals, they're getting humbled by this visionary. Each gang having their own music style is genius
I've heard it a couple times through now and I love it. Obviously there's a lot of tweaking and restructuring for it to work as a stage show, but the bones of it are there. They've obviously written it in a way that it could be translated to the stage, but released from the constraints of an actual show they could do a lot of cool things like casting some genuine star guests etc. A tip for those who want to listen along, if you go to the official website, you can read the lyric sheet which lists who is singing what, AND has some "stage directions" as well. Really helpful to follow the story and imagine a possible staging in your head.
LMAO at asking if Busta Rhymes is congested. Never change Mickey Jo. The opening number is such an incredible love letter to the different NYC hip hop MCs I loved it so much. Also to get Ms. Lauryn Hill is incredible
I really appreciate that the gender swap felt fully realised and not forced for inclusivity points. Recontextualising this story to be about a group of women of colour trying to survive gang violence and make it home alive.
Wait…does each gang have their own music style? That’s very cool! I do think it may be hard to find someone with both the vocal skill and the acting chops for the metal screams in a stage version though. I don’t know of anyone who can do both. And finding someone who can do that without wrecking their voice is converse yet similar to finding someone who can sing in the coloratura range without wrecking their voice. That is to say- it’s a combination of voice type and a specific skill set that may be hard to find in someone who can ALSO act and ALSO maintain their voice through several performances a week.
I loooved the album, and have since watched the original film. Was so struck by Marcelino Sánchez as the OG Rembrandt, and googling him was a total gut punch. I hope that if Warriors has a future, one day they find a way to honour him. 💔
This was so entertaining to watch lol. But legit, I love Lin, and I was a die hard Ham fan in 2016 and beyond. Idk why when he was teasing this I was like, ok.... there is some kind of album. Flash forward to Thursday at midnight, I listened to it all in one sitting and I am now obsessed.
i think warriors is my hamilton bc i absolutely _adore_ the album! i thought ‘going down’ might take you aback though, kim’s vocals are pure (joyous) insanity. it immediately clicks as to why lin was so excited about finding them for this project.
Warriors is exactly what I wanted LMM’s next concept album / major “solo” project to be. I like seeing Lin leaning more into Hip-Hop with a musical theatre influence in storytelling. Instead of a musical that uses his contemporary hip-hop influences, it’s a concept album that uses musical theatre storytelling to harness an aspect of the opera/concept album art form. It’s fresh, but still has his flare. It’s why I was excited for this album. I wanted to see where Lin went with his next major “solo” project away from working with Disney and being second fiddle to other great composers that he’s worked with since Hamilton. I didn’t want to see Lin try to make Hamilton but even bigger, I wanted to see if Lin had a couple more tricks up his sleeve while still feeling like it’s his own and not him forcing himself to reinvent the wheel. This is exactly that and I mean that in the nicest way possible.
As someone who grew up playing the video game over and over as well as knowing the film inside out and being a Hamilton obsessive- I don't think I could have enjoyed this any more. Absolutely fantastic throughout and would love for this to hit the stage one day. I also agree with another comment that this is the level that modern musical theatre should be hitting. Stunning
It really took me 3-4 listens before I started enjoying it, but now I'm really loving it. I loved the Actress who played Mercy, loved Philippa and Jasmine, and Billy Porter was obviously fabulous. Lots of great parts, the only part that I didn't love acting and writing-wise was Luther. Especially the first half really feels more like just songs, and I'm wondering how he'll transition it to the stage... I'm sure he'll do it really well, but I'm curious how accurate this will be to the stage version.
Luther is kind of meant to be a chaotic troll character with not much depth which is sort of a big twist. In the film you wonder who could be causing all of this but then it just turns out to be this pathetic guy but the musical turns them into a incel which is a nice evolution
The hiphop is very 80-90s old school. I love the metal aspects of it. I can't wait to see if they stay true to the genres after adaptating to the stage.
I already watched the full version, but coming back a day later for the "Sparknotes" and to like/comment for the engagement of it all. Your listen-through videos are some of my favorites btw. (I still re-watch your "Merrily" edition from time to time.) Keep it up!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻
@@callalily3994 I saw the movie when I was pretty young and my interpretation was that the Lizzie's were indeed lesbians. I thought they read that way to everyone...lol. 🤷
Listened to this for the first time, then rushed over to hear your thoughts! I loved the movie version, and this album definitely makes for a very creative adaptation. I was pleased we got a Villain Song(s)! Also the Warriors all had great solo moments!
I really enjoy the original movie but I have no idea how they would adapt it for stage without it being a concert considering just the scale and how many different characters there are in it. There’s 9 in just in the Warriors and 100 gangs (each with 9 members that have a theme/represent a culture, ideology or race) are summoned to the meeting with Cyrus in the very beginning… and that doesn’t include the other side characters they encounter on the way back to Coney Island. There’s easily a 1000 characters and over half of them have names 😳 And some of those gangs can’t be played by the same ensemble members. For example The Boppers are an all African American gang who represent disco culture in Harlem, while the Turnbull AC’s are skinheads. One celebrates black culture and the other are white supremacists
They obviously won't include all the gangs physically, that would be insanity, but I'm sure they could work something out with sets/projections for when they all gather. They'd keep the number of groups they meet along the way whittled down, too, I'm sure.
Inspired by Anabasis by Xenophon, about a Spartan contingent travelling through hostile territory to get to the sea, and safety. Hence all the Greek sounding names.
I absolutely adore the album and even as a big fan LMM I was blown away by what he was able to do here. It feels like a true evolution of his prior works
Ohhhh I needed this on a Monday morning. Thanks for the laughter and enthusiasm!! I love all the genres mixed in. The metal System of a Down inspired track is awesome!
Well, this has piqued my interest! I'll be listening to this very soon! I do hope you'll do a reaction video to the Hadestown UK cast recording, to compare it to the US recording 😊
Is anyone going to see I am Harvey Milk in concert at Cadogan Hall on Sunday? Proceeds go to an LGBT charity and it has the incredible Sierra Boggess in it. Shame that there are so many tickets unsold so far
I love the film (heck, I loved the video game based on the film). I have not read the book but understand it is even darker than the film. And when I first looked at the playlist of songs, I was worried my beloved Baseball Furies would be left out. But holy cats, that haunting verse in Outside Gray's Papaya makes them sound much cooler than they are in the movie. And I loved them in the movie.
I deliberately didn’t watch the film before listening for the first time. I did listen with lyrics up, which probably helped but I had no issue following the plot. I loved it, listened back already and think it’s going to be one of those where I’m constantly picking up some new small and no doubt clever detail! I’m curious about what this would look like on stage
10.44 "Machinery noise" - all us 'oldies' going "It's a rotary dial phone!" 😂 I'm obsessed with this album. Kim Dracula's tracks are brilliant and the K-pop song?!? 🤯 Sick of Runnin' gives me fabulous 80s Debbie Harry/Pat Benatar vibes. There are so many standout moments!
You know what...I'm happy if they just skipped Theatre and just did an animated version of this Concept Album, similar to Interstellar 5555 being an animated version of Discovery.
Whether Lauryn Hill is Cyrus or the DJ would certainly affect her screentime/stagetime. ("Molotov? Property Damage? Death?" That's Mercy's dating profile alright.) Note: If the Warriors are giving us lesbianism, what are the Lizzie all about? Are they the ball gang? I would more expect the Baseball Furies as being the ball gang. (I accept all boos.)
I’m sure I’m in the minority but I didn’t love it right off the cuff…it was hard for me to even get through like the first 10 songs. Idk why it just didn’t resonate with me at first 🤷🏻♀️. I’m gonna make myself get through the rest. Maybe it’ll grow on me bc I legit love everything LMM makes
Interview this week with Miranda and Davis reiterated that the song cycle goes with the movie. that there isnt going to be a musical, it just exists to go with the film. It exists entirely because of and underlining the movie.
This is me just judging from the thumbnail but I think calling this the new Hamilton completely disregards the new creative talents and breath of fresh air this new concept album is. It’s nothing like Hamilton, the only similarity is that he co created it and that there is rap in this. I wish we could all just let new things be their own thing without comparing it to something it’s nothing like.
@@fuzzlightyearrr I don't disagree - sadly I felt as though there wasn't nearly as much buzz about this album as there should be and I wasn't convinced people would recognise it from the artwork, so that line is there to explain the LMM connection. ALSO it's not about similarity it's a question of whether this will have the same cross cultural impact!
I skimmed thought the concept album and listened to bits and pieces. Looks like Miranda once again is stuck in his hip hop and rap period. Was hoping he would evolve grow out of that by now...sigh. I would love to hear him write some actual ballads sometime...he never does.
@@fairamir1 I mean the hip Hop thing is kind of the signature sound of his and it separates him from everybody else, but on this track alone we have metal, rock, ska, and even something like K-pop.
Can’t lie, didn’t feel very as hip hop as people are making it out to be. Felt very much theatre writers making a hip hop album. Kinda made me annoyed i thought they were gunna lean more into the gangsta rap and that type of music, but felt very flat. Especially when u got nas and busta rhymes in the project come on man
@@finlayfairfax742 I totally get you and I even had a conversation about this with a person on Twitter yesterday. However, I can understand wanting to give each of the gangs their own perspective sound. Especially since those who aren't familiar with the movie would probably struggle to tell who's who given the large cast
@@desdar100 oh ye no i totally understand like the unique sounds to help people follow it. I meant more in the sense of i didn’t think they hit the sounds correctly yk what i mean? Like it was not quite hip hop, it was not quite r&b, not quite pop
I think musically it’s fine, but nothing stands out other than the genre changes. Lyrically, it’s very boring, especially for Lin. The theme of feminism is very in your face when it should be organic from the casting. Also, the nuances of the characters in the movie are completely eliminated. Compared to everything else Lin has done, this album feels so lazy and rushed.
I personally thought that it was sort of similar to the casting of Hamilton were just the simple gender flip is all they really did and that kind of changed everything. I know in the original film the Warriors are not above using slurs or sexually assaulting but I don't know if those things would really fly in today's climate (especially given the context of the albums purpose)
@@desdar100 I feel like in Hamilton, the casting speaks for itself, and in Warriors, they're constantly reminding us that they're women, ya know? There was a little bit of pandering in Hamilton, but not to this extent. Also, I don't think you need to use slurs and sexual assault to show the nuance of their characters. Hamilton is another great example: most characters had their flaws. I also understand that there's a theme of police brutality and giving the Warriors bad traits could look a certain way, but I think it's quite clear who we're rooting for. If I didn't know that Lin can do so much better than this, I'd probably shrug it off, but Lin has shown us time and time again that he can show us multiple perspectives of a nuanced story, invent new ways of storytelling in music, give us heart wrenching lyrics and catchy tunes, all while integrating beloved genres with musicals for the first time(which is the only thing I liked about Warriors). In my opinion, Warriors is my least favorite thing Lin has ever written. (And it's not because I have an attachment to Warriors. I've seen the movie once like a year ago.)
@@erin_elizabethsmith Oh I definitely see what you mean but I think the changes are more of a symptom of how we understand gangs today as opposed to the 1970s. In the original film and book, both Walter Hill and the original Author make it very clear that the Gangs we see aren't good people and the Warriors are only the protagonist because we follow them. Ajax is not only trigger happy but his brash nature causes him to sexually assault a female cop which is used to justify the brutality the police inflict. Even Cyrus is hinted at being just a tool for the mob which undercuts what is original message. The only reason Luther stands out is because he causes the mayhem play he's just a dime a dozen gang banger. In the musical however, the characters make it very clear that the police are the most dangerous gang because they're basically soldiers of the government. They're the ones that end up hurting the Warriors more than anybody and are the only reason the gangs are nocturnal. IMHO, I think it was less Lin trying to whitewash any nuances of the Warriors but acknowledged that marginalized gains are largely the way they are because of the system putting them in these conditions
