 |
This may be the treatment of Andrew Jackson that I’ve been waiting for. Take a minute to check out the songs, particularly “10 Little Indians.”
From the production’s website:
“Who am I? I’m Andrew F***ing Jackson!”
Shootouts, smallpox and scalpings—growing up on the 19th Century American Frontier was killer! Hoping to kick some British butt and bitch-slap the Spaniards, thirteen-year old Andrew Jackson joins the Army and grows up to become America’s first populist president and greatest rock star since George Washington.
A fast-paced irreverent rock musical about the country we live in and the leaders we choose. Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson redefines America’s seventh president, a pioneer of humble stock who invented the Democratic Party, moved Indians west, and played a kick-ass guitar. From the director and co-creator of A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant and OBIE Award winning composer Michael Friedman.
Find out more about writer/director Alex Timbers’ past productions including Hell House and Heddatron.
And now, some lyrics from “Populism Yea Yea”:
‘Cause it’s the early nineteenth century
We’ll take the land back from the Indians
We’ll take the land back from the French and Spanish
And other people in other European countries
And other countries too
And also other places
I’m pretty sure it’s our land anyway
The details might be a bit sketchy. But the broad strokes pretty accurately convey Jackson’s views on territorial acquisition, no? Don’t answer that.
44 comments
Comments feed for this article
February 8, 2008 at 12:48 pm
The Commander Guy
Anyone who threatens to Hang SC successionist scumbags from the tallest trees he could find can’t be all that bad.
February 8, 2008 at 12:52 pm
ari
I suppose there’s a the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend argument to be made for Jackson. But too often Jackson was friends with my enemies. And in the case of Nullification, I’ve never been convinced that he actually opposed the idea of South Carolina’s right to ignore federal law so much as believed deeply that nobody should be challenging his grip on power.
February 8, 2008 at 1:11 pm
eric
That SS lightning bolt is an arresting piece of graphic design.
February 8, 2008 at 2:06 pm
urbino
This’ll be killer on “Guitar Hero.”
February 8, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Geschichte Grad
I thought that the lightning bolt was meant to evoke the spirit of AC/DC… and you wouldn’t want to tie them to the SS. Or would you? “For those about to rock, we salute you.” But what kind of salute, dear Angus, what kind?
February 8, 2008 at 5:25 pm
charlieford
Commander, I believe “secessionist” was the word you wanted.
February 8, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Colin
What are the good Jackson biographies?
February 8, 2008 at 6:27 pm
ari
Um… Honestly, it depends what you mean by good. Schlesinger’s Age of Jackson is a charming classic — but totally wrong. Robert Remini’s stuff is exhausting, er, sorry, exhaustive. Really, though, Remini’s pretty dull. I haven’t yet read H.W. Brands’s relatively new book, but I’m told that it’s got lots of blood and guts. Isn’t Wilentz supposed to be putting something out? That could be interesting.
In the end, I suppose I recommend Harry Watson’s Liberty and Power. It’s not strictly a Jackson biography, but it uses the man as a window into the era — a device that works nicely. And speaking of the era, there are the three big books: Wilentz’s Rise of American Democracy, Seller’s Market Revolution, and Howe’s What Hath God Wrought? My current fave is Howe. But all of them make great demands on the reader, not the least of which is lots of time.
I think I’m missing something. I just don’t know what. Rats.
February 8, 2008 at 6:33 pm
urbino
Schlesinger’s Age of Jackson is a charming classic
Classic, I knew. Charming surprises me. His RFK biography is like reading a 400-page macaroni salad recipe.
February 8, 2008 at 6:37 pm
genesiawilliams
Fleeing from British imperialism while helping to nuture a systematic death trap of a culture aside,
is this what Garage Bands sound like? I am not from suburbia and people I know were too concerned with Starter Jackets and Jordans so I am pretty far removed from that culturally.
It’s very Kimmy Dawson (shout out to Juno).
Which oddly makes me think of Prince’s “When Your Were Mine” (I’m strange like that)
February 8, 2008 at 6:38 pm
ari
His RFK biography is like reading a 400-page macaroni salad recipe.
You’ll blurb my next book, right?
And I meant charming in a sort of oh-that’s-my-crazy-uncle-who-thinks-that-we-can-find-the-origins-of-the-New-Deal-in-between-the-couch-cushions sort of way.
February 8, 2008 at 6:40 pm
ari
One should think of “When You Were Mine” whenever one can. In other words, I don’t think you’re strange so much as resourceful.
February 8, 2008 at 6:53 pm
urbino
You’ll blurb my next book, right?
Yes, a Very Short blurb. A blu.
On Schlesinger’s charm: ah.
February 8, 2008 at 7:41 pm
genesiawilliams
I try…
February 8, 2008 at 7:52 pm
eric
Actually, I quite like Schlesinger’s Age of Jackson, once all caveats are duly caveatted.
Yes, a Very Short blurb. A blu.
Once you’ve shoplifted my new book, you’ll review it on your blog, right?
February 8, 2008 at 8:14 pm
urbino
Once you’ve shoplifted my new book, you’ll review it on your blog, right?
If I may be not-silly for a moment: I’m honored that you asked.
A little verklempt, even. (See, it was just a moment.)
We have a designated book reviewer over there — he teaches English out your way, at Pepperdine — and he’s territorial, but he’s also my best friend, so, you know, screw him. I’ll do it.
February 8, 2008 at 8:17 pm
andrew
Sellers is substantially shorter than Howe or Wilentz’s Rise. As evidence I offer the fact that I’ve read Sellers’ book. Sellers and Watson go well together - if I remember right, Watson was a bit later and is sort of in dialogue with Sellers at times - and combined I think the two are still shorter than either Howe or Wilentz alone. Both 10-15 years older, though, if that’s important to you.
Wilentz has a short biography of Jackson too that’s already out that I thought was a good introduction - with the caveat that introductory is about all I know - but a bit too thin for my tastes. Then again, I rarely seem to finish the books thick enough for my tastes anymore.
February 8, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Colin
Thanks! I’ve never understood Jackson.
February 8, 2008 at 9:34 pm
urbino
Who does?
February 8, 2008 at 9:40 pm
eric
he’s also my best friend, so, you know, screw him. I’ll do it.
I’m delighted you would even consider it. Please, be sure to appreciate and admire the index.
February 8, 2008 at 9:48 pm
urbino
Indices are my spesheealitee.
February 8, 2008 at 10:08 pm
urbino
Speaking of ex-military heads of state who are prominent in history, “Today’s Highlight” at Answers.com says, “Winston Churchill, the prime minister who led Britain during its victory in WWII and was also a noted wit and Nobelist in Literature, suffers from an embarrassing problem: 23% of his countrymen think he never existed.”
I find this difficult to credit. What the hell are they talking about? Anybody know? They provide no link or source information.
(Apologies to Ari for possibly hijacking his thread. And to Andy, for brushing him aside for a Brit, of all things.)
February 8, 2008 at 10:11 pm
ari
My threads are your threads, Urbino. Threadjack away, though I’ve got nothing for you.
February 8, 2008 at 10:20 pm
andrew
Speaking of biographies, according to the back of my copy of Market Revolution Sellers wrote not one, but two volumes about James K. Polk. That seems like more than enough.
February 8, 2008 at 10:40 pm
ari
None is more than enough. Although the They Might Be Giants song is pretty damn great.
February 8, 2008 at 10:46 pm
urbino
My threads are your threads, Urbino.
You graciousness is exceeded only by your good looks and winning personality.
though I’ve got nothing for you.
And your uselessness.
February 8, 2008 at 10:48 pm
ari
The last is my signal trait. The rest is sound and fury.
February 8, 2008 at 10:53 pm
ari
Urbino, would you mind terribly if I linked to things at your blog? Your reaction to more traffic yesterday was, um, mixed. And I don’t want to do anything to upset you (given that you’re packing). But your post on Mukasey’s really good. So I’d like to add a link in an update that will also mention Hilzoy’s post on the same subject.
February 8, 2008 at 11:02 pm
urbino
Feel free. Feel more than free. Feel welcome. Feel those really, really warm and friendly people from the Jamaica tourism commercials are welcoming you.
My reaction yesterday was, yeah, mixed. Hippos is a blog unsure of its identity: is it really an open-to-the-world, let’s-get-lots-of-traffic blog, or is it a let’s-just-be-this-small-cozy-group-of-regulars-who’ve-all-come-to-know-each-other kind of blog?
We go back and forth, mostly implicitly, about what we want. For the most part, though, we’d like more participants, so more traffic is good.
Thanks for the kind words.
February 8, 2008 at 11:09 pm
ari
Okay. I’ll do it tomorrow. Because now I have to pass out. I was up until 3 writing last night. And fatigue is now getting the better of me. Thanks for the welcome. Jamaica seems really nice.
February 8, 2008 at 11:33 pm
urbino
I was up until 3 writing last night.
Excellent news, yes?
February 8, 2008 at 11:42 pm
ari
Yes, the dreaded section on the massacre descendents’ perceptions of the meaning and utility of their oral histories is done. And good riddance. Now on to the archaeology, which is pretty straightforward and has built-in tension. But then, after that, we come to the dreaded clash of worldviews, where we must avoid cliché and reductionism. First, though, before the hard part, we have the digging.
February 9, 2008 at 12:52 am
urbino
Interesting. Is there a wise-cracker with a whip and a fedora in the archaeology section? That always makes it more fun.
BTW, do I actually know what this book is about? I think I do not. To what massacre do you refer?
February 9, 2008 at 12:59 am
teofilo
Sand Creek, I believe.
February 9, 2008 at 7:14 am
Vance Maverick
Urbino, here’s the story about people “believing” Churchill never existed. Pretty sloppy writeup: for example,
The study also shows a marked change in how people acquire their historical knowledge these days. More than three-quarters of those polled (77 per cent) admitted they did not read history books, and 61 per cent said that they changed channels rather than watch historical programmes on television.
OK, so….what’s the “marked change”?
February 9, 2008 at 10:45 am
urbino
Excellent. Thanks, Vance. And teofilo.
how people acquire their historical knowledge
People have historical knowledge?
February 9, 2008 at 10:49 am
Vance Maverick
I suspect what the survey proves is that 1 in 4 people in their sample don’t care about Churchill, and can’t be bothered to consider the possibility of his existence. Which would be depressing enough. But: even in this writeup, which is better than most (try searching Google News for “Churchill exists”), we don’t learn what the questions were, or anything about the respondents or methodology.
February 9, 2008 at 11:40 am
urbino
One thing the story you linked to does make clear is that the respondents were all teenagers. Brit teens being surveyed about their history knowledge? I’d wager well over half were making up answers just to tweak their elders.
February 9, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Colin
“King Arthur is the mythical figure most commonly mistaken for fact - almost two thirds of teens (65 per cent) believe that he existed and led a round table of knights at Camelot.”
Somewhere Geoffrey of Monmouth is pumping his fist and saying yeah.
“47 per cent of respondents dismissed the 12th-century crusading English king Richard the Lionheart as fictional.”
This makes sense if people are responding to literary form. The stories of Richard the L that I was given to read as a child were certainly romances.
February 9, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Blume
The people who made this musical are geniuses. Their urban planning musical “Boozy” (title refers to Courbusier, with Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs as the main characters) was the smartest, funniest thing I’ve ever seen on stage in the U.S.
February 9, 2008 at 5:55 pm
ari
You obviously missed my one-act play, “Ari: An Orthogonal Preretrspective.”
Kidding aside, I’m deeply bummed to have missed “Boozy.”
February 9, 2008 at 6:37 pm
urbino
BTW — and now I really am dragging the thread afield — did anybody following Vance’s link also read this story?
Those wacky Italian butchers. You never know what they’ll do next.
February 9, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Vance Maverick
Well, it’s a relief in a way to read a “those wacky Italians” story, after so many years of corruption, political fractiousness, tax evasion, art looting, human trafficking, barely suppressed Mussolini nostalgia, and organized crime. But in this case, alas, the “wackiness” inheres not in the butcher but in a judicial system that’s willing to wink at statutory rape.
March 19, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Then There’s None - The Age of Jackson
[...] Which has been resonating oddly with Alex Timber’s and Michael Friedman’s musical that recasts Andrew Jackson as emo mass murderer, found via The Edge of the American West. [...]