Movie review: The Greatest Showman

The musical, "The Greatest Showman" is one of those rare pieces of entertainment to dwells both in reality and fantasy. I admit that I had very little interest in the movie, so when my daughter wanted to watch it, I went along without much interest. However ... within mere minutes, I was dazzled by the production, the incredible transitions between scenes, and, of course, the music. Sure, there's nothing especially genius about an assortment of pop ballads, but wow is it engaging!

I love musicals, so I have no excuse for putting this one on the back burner. The story is about P.T. Barnum, the acclaimed head of the travelling circus. I know a bit about the history, but this movie isn't even pretending to be a biography. Instead, it's a story about imagination, hope, and faithfulness. Amazingly, it follows the "Hero's Journey" outlined so well by Joseph Campbell, so the story is very satisfying.

What's especially wonderful is how magical the movie is. The sets are sumptuous, the visuals arresting, and it begs to be seen on a massive screen. As I watched, I felt myself yearning to step through the image and dance along with the characters. The experience is thrilling. I loved it. The songs are great and I got exactly what I yearned for: sympathetic characters, in larger-than-life situations, who push beyond failure and find success. I loved it and highly recommend seeing "The Greatest Showman"

- M

Christmas music is the best part of the year.

I love Christmas music. In fact, I regularly listen to Christmas songs throughout the year. I've never felt tied to seasons for my music, and Christmas music is inspirational and heart-warming. I love them, even the silly ones like "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer." Yup, even the hippo song. It's great music anyway, but I love having my heart filled with encouragement. Life is tough and hard, so why not freshen it with goodness?

Plus, much of holiday music is made purely for fun and good cheer. I enjoy listening to stuff that makes me happy, gets my feet moving, or raises goosebumps on my arms. Music is like a wonderful story you can experience over and over and over. There's incredible power in music to heal, comfort, and inspire. I find holiday music is especially good at that.

Sure, Christmas could become boring and over-used, but it's like the movie, "It's a Wonderful Life," and is perfect at least once a year. Let yourself experience the wonder all over again, and listen with fresh ears. Break out the Christmas music and smile. It's a wonderful time to be alive.

- M

Resurgence of A Capella singing.

image credit

Singing "a capella" (singing without instrumental accompaniment) is actually not a weird or nerdy thing these days. Wow, amazing. Two mainstream movies showcase it (Pitch Perfect 1 & 2), there are popular bands like Pentatonix (or PTX) which have brought the style into the limelight. I've been increasingly impressed by the ability of modern groups to do beat boxing (doing drums and such by mouth gymnastics) and how easy it is to listen to groups doing this. It's really incredible.

I bring this up because there are so many times we feel limited in daily life when we don't have the "proper" tools and equipment. What ever happened to creativity and improvisation? Why do we have to have the perfect stuff before we even attempt anything? There's nothing wrong with preparation (and I, being Batman, heartily approve with getting everything ready), but you can't expect everything. Let yourself go outside of the confines of your little box and try something different! Sure, it may not work, but you might just create a completely new technique. At some point, people didn't know eating oysters was good ... okay, not a wonderful example, but you get the idea.

Bringing back forgotten things is also frequently done. It's funny how old building techniques have found a certain resurgence, as have smaller homes. Old styles of art are seeing a fresh audience. I expect we'll see more areas where this happens, as the wheel of discovery, innovation, usefulness, and fondness is always turning back on itself. Maybe we'll remember that old concepts aren't bad after all, like a capella singing. Ah, I love having my ears tickled by finely tuned human voices and not robotic programs like Auto-Tune.

- M

Singing in the shower

from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

Do you sing in the shower? Many people do. It's a great echo chamber, so your voice will sound much fuller and richer. Plus, you're in a place where you're virtually guaranteed to be alone. I love singing in the shower, or in the car, or in my room. Pity my vocal chords won't take the strain for long--no, I'm not awful, I just don't have a strong throat. Maybe I can strengthen them somehow, though I've never tried.

 

Like any kind of entertainment talent, if you're really good then you can find a tasty career using your ability. Or, you could simply entertain yourself, since there's no special rule that you must use it for other people. I'll even bet professionals sing in the shower. It's just a fun thing to do. Hopefully nobody catches you singing, and even worse ... dancing.

 

I think we naturally try out new things by ourselves. Most people I know dislike practicing in front of others. It's not because of nerves, I don't think, but more about being really terrible at the beginning. Music is especially that way, since we know what it's supposed to sound like and when we're the ones producing it, it's painfully obvious when the sounds aren't good. When my children were young, it was fun watching them learn basic skills. They didn't like being corrected, though eventually realized that teaching does involve pointing out mistakes and how to fix them. It's a blow to your pride to have your errors pointed out, so it's good to learn early that you have to swallow your pride to grow up.

 

See? All that came from singing in the shower. Go do it!

 

- M

Stage Musicals from Movies

Back when the "Lion King" came out, and subsequently became a huge hit, I remember talk of turning it into a Broadway musical. I thought the idea absurd (hey, I was young and the idea seemed so crazy, and didn't realize there's a long history of that very thing). But, I've always loved musicals. I grew up with "Sound of Music" and "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Westside Story," so it's in my blood to enjoy them.

 

One I sadly just became aware of is the musical "Ghost," inspired by the movie of the same name. That movie had a singularly powerful effect on me: when it was over, I felt like the real world was a shadow and the movie was true. I'm aware such mental shifts happen, but hadn't experienced it before. It didn't last long, but the emotion was overwhelming. The musical surges with that emotion through the music. Likely I'll never have opportunity to see it, which is a pity.

 

What especially impresses me is how the music is created with such sensitivity to the source movie. I've never written music, so it seems incredibly hard and difficult work. Yet, there are a constant stream of such musicals, even with movies hardly dealing with music much at all--such as, "Bridges of Madison County" or "Rocky" and even "Carrie"). The variety is astounding. Hopefully I'll have opportunity to see some Broadway shows; high on my list are "Beauty and the Beast" and "Les Miserable."

 

It's well worth seeing a stage musical, and there's plenty to choose from!

 

- M

Take me to the heights of beauty and power, give me music.

Since the earliest days I can remember, I've listened to music. It's taught me about beauty, form, majesty, imagination, power, suffering, pain, loss, and basically every emotion possible to conceive. If there's one thing that separates us from the animals, I think it's our ability to create music. Have you ever really thought about how complicated a simple song is? Then consider a symphony! Yes, music is a language, but I think music is capable of expression far beyond any form of spoken language. There's depth of feeling you cannot otherwise create, accompanied by a force which tears the soul and builds it up again.

 

When I learn of another culture, one of the first things I want to know is their music. We all gravitate toward what we enjoy and like, so our preferred music is an expression of ourselves. Actually, it's probably safe to say that a culture's art is a glimpse into the culture's very soul. NASA sent a record (gold "vinyl" LP album) with lots of music into space--yes, there's more to it, but music is racing through the cosmos as you read this.

The "Voyager Golden Record"

There've been times I wished I could write music, but I'm not jealous or upset that I don't. I can create fun little tunes with whistling and that keeps me happy. By the way, if you haven't learned to whistle then you must begin right now and get a taste of true musical freedom. I'm in awe of the people who create my favorite music. You can quickly discern if music has true emotion behind it, or is only faking it. The human ear detects fakery quickly and harshly (which may be why AutoTune is disliked). I suggest getting a grand musical composition and spending some time alone, listening and enjoying the music.

 

- M

Movie music is just as much a character as the characters.

I love movies, and I love music. Movie music is a fine art. What's amazing is how much impact the music has on a movie. Imagine your favorite scenes without any music at all. Or different music. Or the wrong music. Everything changes, doesn't it? There's some fun videos you can check out online to see for yourself. One of my all-time favorite movies is "Ladyhawke" and the music absolutely defines it, every bit as much the characters.

 

I think it goes back to the senses. Good stories use as many as possible, letting us hear and see and feel the action. By using multiple methods, there's more impact. Plus, seeing and hearing are intimately connected with how we interact with the world. Skillfully using them together makes all the difference. Can you imagine the "Jaws" opening with comedic music? Hardly the same impact, even if the visuals are horrifying. On the other hand, the famous scene from "Clockwork Orange" uses the happy "Singing in the Rain" for unspeakable evil.

 

There are also different kinds of movie music. There's the soundtrack, which is what you'll buy at the music store and isn't necessarily specific to the movie, and the score, which includes music directly written for the movie. Plus, you have music which fills empty dead space where something needs to be and also has to be unnoticed. All of these combine to creature the musical backdrop of movies, and that's a kind of magic that simply has to be experienced. Incredible that it all works so well!

 

- M

Discovering music for the first time.

I love finding new music. Sure, I'm hardly discovering it (as it's been published by someone at least), but there's the thrill of finding a new treasure. I've been searching out musicals recently, and found a very fine French one (Notre Dame de Paris) and a sequel of sorts to the Phantom of the Opera (Love Never Ends). There's some terrific music there, even if I don't understand all the words. I find myself often seeking music of longing and loss, because it tends toward the rich and deep rather than auditory abrasiveness.

 

Music is a language of the heart and soul. It touches a part of us regular language never can, and infuses into our lives without even trying. If math is the language of the universe, then music is the language of everything else. I can't imagine a world without it. I could spend days alone and never know, because I have a century's worth of music bouncing around my mind. Music is as much a part of me as the next breath.

 

With the various online music sites it's a whole lot easier to find new material. Finding enjoyable new music is a treasure--right up there with finding the perfect skipping stone, or your car keys. I wish everyone had exactly my taste, then I'd always find new music. Sadly, or happily, that isn't the case, and so I muddle through and find the occasional gem. But, since I'm not the only one who matters, music is available to everyone of all sorts of tastes. I'm glad I don't rule the world--it'd be very boring for some, exciting for others, and downright terrifying for most!

 

- M

Songs that bring the world to a stop, charge your heart, and make you swoon.

Music has been a big part of my entire life. I grew up in a musical family. One of my favorite things to do was going to the store and picking out a new album (typically classical back then). Because of that musical love I have a deep appreciation for music. My tastes are much broader now, but I still get the most out of music that has no words at all--a fun activity is to let a story develop within your mind as you let the music surround you. Music is a language unto itself, in the same way that math is a language. If you allow it, music will fill your soul with powerful emotion.

 

I have my favorite music pieces, but one constant is how I can fall deeply within the strains of music and find myself completely lost to the world. There are songs where the world could explode and I wouldn't notice at all, simply because the songs have wrapped me in a cocoon of beauty. Love songs particularly do this to me, and I think my children laugh secretly at me about it. Music carries power not found in anything else, and can overwhelm your being with barely an effort.

 

Soundtracks to movies are another great example of the power of music. Have you ever heard the opening music and thought, "Wow, this is already a great movie!" I sure have. I can think of a dozen examples already. Like smells, music penetrates to the core of you and binds with memories. All you need to be back in the moment is to hear the song again, and--whammo--you're right back there, reliving the experience. Music is that powerful.

 

- M

I love songs I can't understand

 

Maybe I'm unusual in this, but I love finding catchy tunes where I have absolutely no idea what is actually being said--usually because it's not in English. I have a bunch of Japanese, Korean, Russian, and other language songs. Maybe it's because my interest in mainly in the rhythm and vocals but I really don't listen much to the words. My best friend will tell you that I actually have a sound check song on my playlist (it's title is "Nomad" though I have no clue why it even has a title). I rarely remember the lyrics, even songs I've heard a thousand times.

 

Classical orchestral music is what I grew up with, and being instrumentals they didn't have lyrics. The funny thing is that I do enjoy the lyrics to many songs, particularly musicals, but I simply don't remember them. Maybe it's because something wonderful happens as I listen... a story develops behind my eyelids. I've listened to Beethoven's 5th and created huge epics, but I've also listened to the Macarena and envisioned space battles. One of my best early short stories developed by listening to "Baby Elephant Walk" by Henry Mancini, and another favorite "Terms of Endearment." I wrote the story for a college writing class, and my teacher was surprised I had written it in one evening. The story bloomed from those two specific songs.

 

I talk about the magic around us, but it's just my label for the almost unbelievable creativity I see around me daily. It's the magic of the human spirit--and yes, that's a complete cliché, but I don't mind. What's important is that we seek out the exceptional wherever we can find it. And that brings me back around to songs where I cannot understand the words. Songs bring out such a wellspring of inspiration that I can't wait to find the next one. It's like finding buried treasure!

 

- M