Beautiful. Best Hadestown analysis on the internet

@freebanana27

3 жыл бұрын

pretty sure it’s the only one as well.

@ddutchgirl

3 жыл бұрын

your video made me listen to Hadestown in the first place, thank you so much for introducing me to it, it's been one of those rare pieces of media that keeps on giving.

@YONAdust

3 жыл бұрын

I Love the fact my two favourite KZreadrs are watching each other's videos

@epitaph4606

3 жыл бұрын

I KNEW you were going to be here!

@b3witthawop64

3 жыл бұрын

Make Frying Dory! wait...

I saw Anais play Why We Build The Wall with a single guitar while opening for Ani Difranco in 2005. My parents turned to me and said, "Kid, pay attention, this is the most important folk song you'll ever hear."

@drartemisa21

3 жыл бұрын

Holy shit. And how has its impact been on you?

@pattysmith5989

2 жыл бұрын

I saw Hades Town at the Barre Labor Hall. It was an amazing moment in time. My friends from Langdon Street making great art together.

@Littlestraincloud

2 жыл бұрын

@@drartemisa21 well, my dad wasn’t wrong

@lizzabbott

2 жыл бұрын

Had to be 2006. I saw her in June 2005, before she was introduced to Ani. And again in February 2006, on the fateful night in Buffalo in a small, storied, bohemian dive bar / music club, where Ani was there to hear her. And the rest, as they say, is history.

@whodatninja439

6 ай бұрын

2005??? Man she's worked on it all her life 😭

My husband and I saw Hadestown about a week before Broadway shut down. He’s from NOLA, so he noticed so many more details in the set-like the Pontalba-style designs-and in the costuming-like how the Fates cover their hair with head scarves, which in New Orleans would’ve marked their status as free Black women. It’s an amazing show, and the chills I get just by listening to it in the car are multiplied by a thousand when you’re in the theater. (Also, my friend works for a Broadway marketing company, and his coworker is the hand holding the rose on the album cover.)

@dailyspill28

3 жыл бұрын

I'd always wondered who was the hand model for that poster.

@dominiquepocopio777

2 жыл бұрын

NO WAY ITS THEIR HAND OMG Its gonna be so iconic like rocky horror lips

@elliefoust

Жыл бұрын

This rings “my sister’s cousin’s step-mother’s best friend from 3rd grade’s dog sitter is totes dated the lead” vibes. Not being a jerk, just silly 😂 Being the model for art that will forever touch the world is seriously an incredible gift !

Wow, I've known this story since I was a kid, and I've never thought it was about hubris. It never even occurred to me. Orpheus's petition to Hades had no pride in it, only sorrow and desperation. I never saw it as a challenge or saw it written about as a challenge. Now, Arachne's story is all about hubris, because she was prideful and boasted. But Orpheus didn't boast about being a great musician - it was something said _about_ him, not a title he claimed for himself.

@ziggystatdust6008

3 жыл бұрын

There are different tellings and variations of the myth, usually to be used to serve another message. Like the story of Medusa, Hades and Persephone, etc

@SirConto

3 жыл бұрын

Yup, and he also doesn't fail because of some moral failing on his part in the old versions and isn't exactly punished for what he tried to do. The story of Sisyphus is about the hubris of thinking he could avoid death and live for ever and he was punished for it by having to push a rock up a hill for eternity. Orpheus on the other hand does it all to bring the love of his life back to life. A relatable motive, but it's asking for the impossible, and that's why he fails. The message of the story there is, that no matter how much you miss your dead loved ones, you can't bring them back, any attempt is doomed to fail, even if you go into the underworld itself for it. It gives some comfort in knowing that you're not alone in your grief, that many like Orpheus have felt that way before, and that's normal. It's just the way life is. I always loved the story because it's just plain brutally honest. From my memory I think this one (and maybe the story of Prometheus from the same book) may have been one of the first I ever heard that wouldn't insist that everything will always turn out with a happy ending, that you can achieve anything you set your mind to, etc. Even back then as a child I could understand that's not really how life works and I was really glad to see a story that acknowledges that.

@Mokiefraggle

3 жыл бұрын

I feel like it really depends on the particular portrayal of the myth. Some versions seem to make it more about pride...not usually hubris, but that Orpheus' belief in his talents is so strong that it almost seems boastful. I've never really seen it shown as Orpheus challenging Hades, though I've seen it as Hades presenting a challenge to Orpheus before. Usually, it's that Orpheus must make Hades weep to earn the chance to get Eurydice back, or something similar, though sometimes it's just that Persephone is the one moved by the tale and tells him to let them go, or any number of variants, before Hades proposes that Orpheus must lead her out without looking. That said, most interpretations I've seen don't have the ending portrayed as Orpheus losing faith in his bargain with Hades, but are even more tragic because they are the inevitable hand of Fate at play. Eurydice's fate was to die, and that couldn't truly be undone, so in the versions I've always read, it was that he stepped out of the Underworld and turned back to offer a hand to help her out of the cavern, but because *both* of them weren't out of the Underworld, he lost her to death once more. I've also never seen a version that *didn't* have him torn limb-from-limb by rampaging Maenads who were angry that the musician wouldn't play for them, but that's another story. Also, it strikes me as weird considering that hubris is normally the purview of humanity, and most often Orpheus is a minor demigod or even perhaps a minor god (his mother is almost always one of the Muses, typically Calliope, and in some versions his father is Apollo), and thus shouldn't fall under the trope.

@atreniquedeamus9919

2 жыл бұрын

The only hubris I could think of was him doubting a gods word. By turning out of fear that he’d been tricked because he couldn’t hear her steps behind him he basically called the god a liar. And if a god is a lying what is the point of checking will you go to him and force him to honor the agreement? Do you believe yourself to have the power to call a god a liar to his face.

@Serai3

2 жыл бұрын

@@SirConto The story that for me was Echo and Narcissus. From the first time I read it (when I was 8), I understood it completely. At one point I included it in my storytelling shows, but it was emotionally draining for me.

hadestown is a masterpiece. no debate. it’s easily one of the greatest musicals ever written.

@freebanana27

2 жыл бұрын

oh hey jordan lol

We believe in second chances. That’s why we’ll listen to the story again and again. Because maybe this time, just this once, it’ll be a happy ending.

One of the most brilliant aspects of Hadestown is its cyclical nature and the hope accompanied with it. The idea that we tell a story knowing how it ends with the hope it might turn out differently one day is so poignant, and inspirational.

If you haven't seen the Hadestown Tiny Desk concert, please do... I highly recommend it. (:

@caseyw.6550

3 жыл бұрын

I just got chills thinking about it.

@eingelclyg

2 жыл бұрын

I just discovered it last night and I can't stop playing it on loop

@AVspectre

6 ай бұрын

Saw it and planned to listen, but this recommendation had bumped it up - thanks!

god damn, Anais Mitchell is one of the artists i respect the most. her songwriting is incredible, and Hadestown is a masterpiece.

An extra thing about the Play: Why Orfeus fails at changing the world he does fix, or helps fix Hades and Persephone's relationship thus making stations come back and at least winning time. He does make a difference even in defeat.

@QuikVidGuy

3 жыл бұрын

LET OTHERS RIIIIIISE TO TAKE OUR PLACE

@garrettwade1294

3 жыл бұрын

He also helped inspire some revolution in Hadestown. He helped people realise that building a wall to protect building the wall was not freedom and they were being used by Hades, who had all of the real power.

16:50 mentioned how hes king of oil and coal, theres also an example in chant where hades says "Then I kept that furnace fed With the fossils of the dead"

Any woman ever exist in ancient Greece Zeus: GoOd EveNing

@kgrimes4934

3 жыл бұрын

After a rough Thanksgiving, this gave me a laugh.

@danziker

3 жыл бұрын

@@kgrimes4934 Dude, listen to this; is a couple of spaniards that makes songs and videos about the Gods ( put subs and laugh) kzread.info/dash/bejne/oWaLlcyfpr27ZNo.html

@cormac7580

3 жыл бұрын

@@kgrimes4934 thank you

@debrachambers1304

2 жыл бұрын

Not just women

@aweirdoandaphone4135

2 жыл бұрын

*AND THEN ALONG CAME ZEUS intensifies*

AMAZING to see Black Orpheus as one of the retoldings of this story in the beginning of the video!

@loridragon1118

2 жыл бұрын

That movie was actually my introduction to the myth

I'll never forget seeing the original Broadway cast (in large part after getting obsessed with the concept album thanks to this very channel) and the audible gasp when Orpheus turns. Then the pin-drop-silence when Andre de Shield's stepped up and started singing "...it's an oooold song." Absolute masterpiece.

I recall seeing a video on Hadestown a while back, I don't remember who it was by, but the end of that video stuck with me. Not only are they telling his story because it deserves to be told, but also with the hope that one day, the ending may be different. I think both that view and yours work pretty well together. Edit: I went and found that video again, it was Schaffrillas Productions who made it.

“Aggressively agreeing with each other” is one of the most Canadian phrases I’ve ever heard

I disagree with sad songs giving you hope. Emotions are important to us and need to be recognized and felt deeply. Sad songs allow us to feel sadness through music, which can and should be an emotional experience. Like grieving allows us to move on from death, sadness allows us to move on from the thing that caused the sadness in the first place.

our school’s drama club had gotten tickets to the broadway production back in March, and we were supposed to see it in April. it’s probably my favorite musical, but because of covid the trip was canceled. it sucks, but maybe at some point i’ll be able to see it.

@scottypeacock2483

3 жыл бұрын

That sucks, I was supposed to see Green Day but then every thing went to hell :( here’s hope’n that you get to see the show :)

*sees a good-looking thumbnail with Hadestown on it* ooh nice *sees it's by Polyphonic* ooh nicer

Hadestown is definitely the best inventive musical ever written. The fact that it combined Greek Mythology with New Orleans Jazz & Blues and set it in the Great Depression is a stroke of genius. Awesome Video! 👏👏👏👏

Man - your growth in creating visual treats that go along with these stories/essays has been tremendous.

On the road to hell there was a railroad line...

@lukeberrie3942

3 жыл бұрын

HmmmmmMmmmmm

@VillageDigby

3 жыл бұрын

Don’t ask where brother don’t ask when

@kokocat101

3 жыл бұрын

mmMMMMM

@masonjohn6517

3 жыл бұрын

It was hard times...

The original Hadestown album is my favorite album of all time, can't wait to see the video!

I like how you made a point of Hadestown's Orpheus not having the "fatal flaw" of hubris, but rather of doubt. With him it's "Why would he let me win?" instead of "I can beat him".

@Bruh-lm4zr

5 ай бұрын

nah, i'd win

"Why do we build the wall, my children, my children?

@h.szymanski

3 жыл бұрын

"Why do we build the wall? We build the wall to keep us free, that's why we build the wall, we build the wall to keep us free."

@ShubhamBhushanCC

3 жыл бұрын

Nice to see Olly Stans here

@naethavenir9422

3 жыл бұрын

H. Szymanski "The enemy is Poverty!"

I saw this on Broadway last year. Gorgeous music and story. I'm glad to see it getting attention.

*epic voice* The Year was 2006... Sounds like he’s taking us back to biblical times.

I've only listened to the Broadway cast, and it's very quickly become one of my top 3 favourite musicals. After this, I'm definitely going to listen to the original albums!

@dancinislivin828

3 жыл бұрын

I also highly recommend checking out the Off Broadway recording from NYTW! It's a live recording so it has amazing energy, and the characterizations of both Orpheus and Hermes are quite different from the Broadway version (though in my opinion just as interesting if not more!)

@marisp2588

3 жыл бұрын

@@dancinislivin828 Thanks for the recommendation! I will definitely do that!

I wept hearing the concept album in 2010. I wept sitting with my wife in the front row at the National Theatre before it went to Broadway. And I wept watching this video. Stunning analysis!

Personally prefer Anaïs Mitchell's studio album, as it features Justin Vernon and Ani DiFranco, among many others, but the cast recordings are definitely worthy of being checked out since some extra songs were written to fill it out story-wise for the stage!

@vebtyrit

3 жыл бұрын

A lot of great musicians are featured in the album, and the arrangements are so cool, but the musical has some veracity to it that I sometimes find overwhelming Edit: I really dig Hadestown, in case it wasn't clear

Hadestown came to me as a Spotify suggestion back in 2018 and I think it's the best thing that happened.

I discovered Hadestown this past summer and truly fell in love with the Broadway cast album. Thank you so very much for shedding a light on this masterpiece.

"... myself and 12tone aggressively agreeing with each other about music" is about the most wholesome thing I've ever heard of

@BariumCobaltNitrog3n

3 жыл бұрын

Except for the blatant misuse of the word myself. In a video about the importance and significance of words.

@Ergoperidot

3 жыл бұрын

@@BariumCobaltNitrog3n words are important. Grammar is a game.

@BariumCobaltNitrog3n

3 жыл бұрын

@@Ergoperidot Yes, one only adults can play. Go home little boy.

@oohwow2787

3 жыл бұрын

@@BariumCobaltNitrog3n language is not a rigid game overseen by a referee; english is a hodgepodge of words borrowed from five other languages, with new ones invented and hoping to join the common parlance whenever it catches someone's whimsy. A single mild grammatical mistake that doesn't entirely obscure his message isn't a grand sweeping mistake worthy of such patronizing scorn, my dude. It's youtube. Deep breaths, bruh, the very structure of the english language will survive, it's lasted through much harsher storms than this single grammatical error in a video essay.

@BariumCobaltNitrog3n

3 жыл бұрын

@@oohwow2787 Quite the bloated effort defending a mistake.

Genius album - scholarly and attractive presentation!

@LiamPorterFilms

3 жыл бұрын

I am still amazed at the prescience of “the wall” metaphor. Reminds me of the proto-Nazi slogan that Munich was the “Ordnungszelle” (individual cell of order amongst chaos) of Germany.

What I really love about your videos is that it provides a path to understand music that one may not naturally "get", no better gift could be given to artists or people wanting to expand their ability to experience different music. Thank you.

All your videos are masterpieces man. The amount of editing and writing must be insane! Keep up the amazig work

As a broadway fan and a polyphonic fan I loved this.

I'm so impressed with how much work and care has gone into this video. Not just visually but also in the analysis itself. Well done and thank you for sharing

I know this man got hella A’s on his essays and presentations

Excellent presentation. Anais heard / received those first lines of Wait For Me on the way home FROM a gig tho ... after a long day , & looking forward to reuniting with her boyfriend ( now husband). Also, in between Canada & Broadway, Hadestown played in London.

this video is literally perfect. it may be dumb but i almost burst into tears while just watching this. from the editing to the analysis itself, this is just amazing!! this video really deserves to blow up

Amazing analysis. The research behind this video is wild, and the production is perfect. Great script, great voice over, great job all in all!

Polyphonic 🤝Sideways Making beautiful,accessible, educational music theory and analysis videos

Since seening the musical live back in January I've been absolutely obsessed with this musical. There's so many small beautiful details I didn't know or notice with the first viewing and listening to the performance.

I love Polyphonic. All the way back to 11 months ago.

Cracked had an article about the best albums of the year about a decade ago. Hadestown was on there, and it’s one of the albums I listen to most frequently ever since. What a killer album! Bon Iver, Anais Mitchell, Annie Lennox... I love the prohibition flapper vibe, and that sweet sweet ambrosia wine...

One other nod to the circular motion of the show is that it repeats a year to the day - it starts on the first day of spring when Persephone steps off the train, and in Wait for Me (Reprise), Hades says "It's time for spring", and Persephone leaves for the station. Also in Doubt Comes In, Eurydice says "The coldest night of the coldest year comes right before the spring", which is a nod to the first day of spring being about to dawn.

the animations (is that even the appropriate term for it?) in this video are breathtaking. wow.

Another fantastic video about another fantastic musical. Polyphonic has struck gold again with this masterpiece

I really needed to see this today. I love your stuff, and it always pops up when I’m getting to far into my own head about something. Thank you

Thank you so much for this. I literally listen to both albums every time I’m editing. Amazing video, man 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

Subscribed! I love your intro and explanation of Greek mythology and it's lessons. I already know I'm going to enjoy this video given how much I love the musical and your graphics are awesome.

I’m so happy you ventured into musical theatre! Some amazing stories to be shared!

Each of your videos is a masterpiece. This one is one of the best you've every created!

​So inspiring! Thank you for all you do.

Fantastic analysis of the play and wonderful background explanation of how it all relates mythology, to mythology, classical themes in story telling and how this play relates to the Orpheus story!! Loved the whole thing❤️🙏🌅🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

I got so excited when I saw that you did a hadestown vid This is one of my all time favourite albums Even just hearing the tiny clips of songs in this video gave me chills cause these songs have never over the years worn off on me

Been a fan for a minute now your videos both inspiring me and getting me through quarantine, keep up the great work!

I performed on the same stage as her about fifteen years ago and was a fan from then on... It's still so bizarre that she's so famous now; for so long I was the only person I knew who had even heard of this folk singer from small-town Vermont.

Can't believe my favorite youtuber made a video about my favorite musical! This video is amazing. Thank you!

This might well be one of your best videos yet. Bravo!!!

My love for documentaries and musicals ( and the new found love for this musical ) chilling amazing ... and then the art is amazing wow ... I watched 2 times in a row

I've been watching your stuff for years and I always find myself watching videos of yours from genres I have no interest in whatsoever, but again and again you pull me in and help me find beautiful pieces of music and stories in places I would have never seen before. I fucking love Polyphonic...

Imagine using the chat while this premiers. Could not be me

GHOST NOTES: How exciting. I've been a member of Nebula for a long time and never saw that before. Would be great if there way to discuss these things, as Nebula doesn't currently have comments.

This was incredible. I only found out about Hadestown and I already forgot most of the Greek Mythology stories so when I watched it, I thought it was just some beautiful musical and nothing else. Finding your video has expanded my knowledge about it so thank you. This was a great watch and thank you for making me love Hadestown even more! ❤

This is amazing and under-appreciated. Thanks so much for making this one, Hadestown is my favorite

This is an amazing video! Deserves so much more recognition

a mcdonald's ad hitting just before the climax in "wait for me"..........like you couldn't have planned this i swear

Was Not Expecting a Polyphonic Video Today. Happy Thanksgiving Man!

You should do a video on The Decemberists "Hazards of Love." It's one of my favourite albums and it's got a similar vibe/idea. It tells a story that'd be perfect for a stageplay.

@littlelamb2112

3 жыл бұрын

I’m very happy I scrolled all the way down here to see this 😄. It’s a shame the Decemberists are not so recognized on KZread.

Absolutely brilliant! A thorough and enjoyable analysis. Thank you!

I am so glad you are doing this thanks for finally making a video about one of my musicals ever One that I only discovered by your video on Orpheuses Tale a few years back

Phenomenal video but you missed that the musical had a very successful run at the National Theatre in London before Broadway! I saw the show there with a good friend and it was shatteringly brilliant

I’ve been waiting for this! Hadestown is such an incredible retelling and I can’t think of a better person to go over it :]

This is amazing. Not only because this story/musical takes on current issues, but because the way you build up the story and then throw in the parallels make it impossible to disagree. Also all of your visuals and everything are amazing as well. I've been binging this channel today. So good

I don’t know much about the subject itself to add anything valuable to the discussion but am amazed by your knowledge and by how skilfully and beautifully you managed to present this deep analysis and deep synthesis of so many various topics linked to each other, from past and present.. or precisely find the links that are not obvious for most of people.. And yes it’s so useful to know mythology 😊

This video is incredible I sent it to all of my friends.

I saw the premiere was happening :22 and thought "maybe it just didn't refresh, i mean, how long can this video be?" Much longer than I thought! I didn't expect that! Thanks, Polyphonic!

Really awesome video man.

every thing said in this video was absolutely wonderful thank you

Hey Polyphonic, at 20:26 there’s a mistake in the notes. the melody shown is from the line after I believe.

I don’t even know this album/musical but the way polyphonic explains things makes me feel like I have grown up with the music. Love your videos man!

well done! brilliant analysis of one of my favourite albums. I hope i get to see it on broadway someday.

A really great introduction to something I had never heard about before. Thank you.

You don't even know how much I love your visuals.

Beautiful analysis, beautiful visuals.

This is by far the best Polyphonic video I’ve seen.

Two of my favorite things: Hadestown and Polyphonic

Favorite video no contest.

Holy shit I loved this analysis!!! This was so good, best 26 minutes I’ve spent today. Great job dude!!

I came here to say that the music notes on the screen at 20:22 are actually the second half of that phrase. I don't say this as a criticism. I just wanted to flex my music reading skills 😎😂

literal chills watching this

This is what I look for when I enter KZread, thank you and congratulations on your work.

the fact that even an analysis can make me shiver and cry even tho I know very well what you were going to talk about, just shows how good of a show hadestown is every time i hear those few lines and lyrics, the ones that mean the most in the show, i just wanna cry it's a work of art and deserves everything in the world

@mannyoftheeast3318

2 жыл бұрын

Lol shiver and cry 🤧

Noah, you may have re-sparked an interest in stage shows. What other tricks do you have up your album sleeves? "The Story of Hadestown" was quite interesting, thanks.

I know I’m late but the editing and the writing is really good and polished. It’s really cool

What a gorgeous video!

I'M SO EXCITED FOR THIS

This is a grade A, 10/10 video. Sensationally constructed analysis of our favourite anti-cap musical