| re: On PASTICHE: is anyone trying to write a new 'Golden Age' musical these days? Would we pay to see one? | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 08:14 pm EDT 08/26/19 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 08:08 pm EDT 08/26/19 | |
| In reply to: re: On PASTICHE: is anyone trying to write a new 'Golden Age' musical these days? Would we pay to see one? - MattPhilly 04:09 pm EDT 08/26/19 | |
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| Something that we really have very little of now, which Dolly and other shows of its time do have, is the economy of songwriting. Songs used to be ultimately based on a 32-bar model, which could be stretched and modified in various ways, but the form was essentially there to be relied upon, and even moreso, FELT by the listener. Also, a lyric could be very spare and simple, meant to be carried on the music, and with a lot of reading between the lines. But now, it seems composers and lyricists are more interested in epic writing, often, IMO, overstating their case instead of trusting the audience in on a simple melodic/lyric idea. It's what I sometimes call the "One Week" effect (referencing the run-on pop song of that name). The "standard" feel of most golden age songs just isn't there any more. Though occasionally it is. When I first heard "Nothing Is Too Wonderful To Be True" from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, I immediately thought - aha, a standard!! And I'd further that with 2 things - one, the cabaret version of the song that Sherie Renee Scott does as a bonus on the CD, and also the more overtly comic refrain that Freddy sings (which feels very much like some older standards where one refrain is sincere, the other comic - think "Cherry Pies Ought To Be You" or "I Feel At Home With You"). I also feel that "Haled's Song About Love" (The Band's Visit) is about as "jazz standard" as you can get - and is also, for my money, one of the most beautiful songs (both music and lyrics) written in recent musical theatre history. So it can be done. But I do often wish that lyricists, especially, would take a second listen to a song like "One Hand, One Heart" or "True Love" or "All The Things You Are" or many other standards that express themselves with a real sense of economy and simplicity - and decide that they can in fact write that way too. Not every song has to express every last thing - in fact, oblique writing where things AREN'T all being spelled out are all the more alluring. But the tendency today is to overwrite. |
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| Previous: | re: On PASTICHE: is anyone trying to write a new 'Golden Age' musical these days? Would we pay to see one? - MattPhilly 04:09 pm EDT 08/26/19 |
| Next: | YASSSSSSS. - GrumpyMorningBoy 08:35 pm EDT 08/26/19 |
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