Friday, August 10, 2018

In the Heights: Songs 21-23

My final In the Heights songs post.  There are many qualities that come to mind with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music – appealing melodies, intricate rhymes, sly references, fantastic melodic layering – but for me, one of the main ones has always been “heart.”  These last three songs from the show offer that in spades, pressed into the lyrics and folded into the melodies themselves.  Hamilton, I’m sure, will always be regarded as the phenom, but In the Heights holds my particular affection for introducing me to this stunning composer/lyricist.

“Champagne” – I love this song, a beautifully-sweet number for Usnavi and Vanessa to finally reckon with what’s between them.  The way they know and understand each other is fantastic, and I love that, as hilarious as Usnavi’s struggles against the champagne bottle are, Vanessa sees what’s really going on.

Best line:  “You get everyone addicted to / Your coffee and off you go.” – “Vanessa, I don’t know why / You’re mad at me.” – “I wish I was mad - / I’m just too late.”

“When the Sun Goes Down” – Nina and Benny’s final song together.  Like much of the last section of the show, it’s not so much an ending as a breath, the two preparing to go their separate ways but still planning to be together.  Stripped-down but effective, I particularly love the mixing of their two voices.

Best line:  “And I’ll think of you every night / At the same time-” – “When the sun goes down.”

“Finale” – Fantastic close to the show.  The cast blends the overlapping melodies beautifully, and Usnavi’s opening passage and triumphant capper are both excellent.  The entire “I’m home” sequence is really gorgeous, which, before encountering the show back in 2008, was something I’d never really imagined saying about a hip-hop song.

Best line:  “And if not me, who keeps our legacies?”

6 comments:

  1. Sorry to comment off topic. I have just stumbled upon your blog when searching about Peter Capaldi filmography. I'm now watching through his filmography and amazed to find all your reviews from 5 years ago. I'm a Doctor Who fan too and now I see I'm not the only person to plunder to the Doctors actors filmographies. I have watched a few of David Tennant and Matt Smith other roles too, and intend to do with Jodie Whittaker But Capaldi is my favorite Doctor and such amazing actor that now I'm trying to find as much as I can of his films. Where did you get all of them?
    Best wishes, I will read you

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    1. Hey! For the Peter Capaldi stuff, I found as much as I could through Netflix (they had a decent amount on DVD - hehe, old school,) as well as some on YouTube. For the off-the-beaten-track stuff, the tumblr http://duckodeathreturns.tumblr.com/ had tons of videos available (not sure if they still do, but it's where I'd recommend looking first.) I love the Twelfth Doctor, and I really enjoyed combing through Capaldi's filmography. Not all of it's good - it never is - but there are all sorts of gems in there from this immensely talented, often surprising actor.

      And yep, I'm very contentedly aro/ace. Love it!

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  2. AND now I find you are asexual and aromantic too. You are my spirit animal!

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  3. Thank you very much! I will try to found those hidden gems :D
    Sometimes I think we aces/aros are the least visible group ever, on media

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    1. You're telling me. I do write-ups on Asexual Sightings in media, and even though I've watched multiple shows specifically because they have ace or ace-ish characters, there aren't many:

      http://fallenrocket.blogspot.com/search/label/Asexual%20Sighting

      And if you haven't seen it yet, you might enjoy this:

      http://fallenrocket.blogspot.com/2014/05/poem-to-be-posted-in-sunday-classifieds.html

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