cover of episode With “The Warriors,” Lin-Manuel Miranda Takes on Another New York Story

With “The Warriors,” Lin-Manuel Miranda Takes on Another New York Story

2024/10/18
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Lin-Manuel Miranda
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Lin-Manuel Miranda: 本专辑是对1979年经典电影《The Warriors》的重新构想，而非翻拍。它融合了电影原声带的风格以及70年代纽约其他亚文化的音乐元素，例如萨尔萨、摇滚、R&B和金属。专辑的创作灵感来自于电影本身以及他童年时期对纽约的记忆。他与Isa Davis合作，对电影中的一些刻板印象进行了颠覆，例如将“勇士”帮派设定为女性帮派，并赋予了故事新的视角。他希望听众能够完整聆听这张专辑，体验其完整的叙事结构。 Isa Davis: 她为专辑带来了新的视角，并延续了电影中关于和平的主题。她对电影中的一些刻板印象进行了颠覆，例如将“勇士”帮派设定为女性帮派，并赋予了故事新的视角。她认为专辑既是对电影的致敬，也自成一体，即使不了解电影，也能欣赏这张专辑。 David Remnick: 他作为主持人，介绍了Lin-Manuel Miranda和Isa Davis以及他们的新专辑《The Warriors》。他引导讨论，并对专辑的创作过程和音乐风格进行了提问。 Lin-Manuel Miranda: 他最初拒绝了将《The Warriors》改编成音乐剧的想法，但后来改变了主意。他与Lauryn Hill等众多音乐人合作，创作了这张专辑。他认为Lauryn Hill是饰演Cyrus的最佳人选，并详细描述了与她的合作过程。他认为这张专辑的完整聆听体验很重要，并对专辑的音乐风格和叙事结构进行了阐述。他目前没有将专辑改编成电影或舞台剧的计划，但对舞台剧版本很感兴趣。

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Lin-Manuel Miranda discusses his process of reimagining 'The Warriors' as a concept album, drawing inspiration from the film's mythic story and the New York City he grew up in.
  • Miranda reimagined 'The Warriors' as a song cycle with a cast of legends including Lauryn Hill, Nas, and members of Wu-Tang Clan.
  • The film's story is based on the Anabasis, an ancient Greek account of soldiers trying to get back home from war.
  • Miranda's personal connection to New York City influenced his interpretation of the film.

Shownotes Transcript

Since the blockbuster success of his musical “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda has been busy: acting, directing, and composing for Disney projects, including the upcoming movie “Mufasa: The Lion King.”  But his new project is more personal, and a throwback in the best sense. Working with the playwright Eisa Davis, he has reimagined a movie from his childhood as a concept album.  “The Warriors” is a cult classic released in 1979. “The Warriors are a gang from Coney Island, and they have to fight their way from the Bronx all the way back down to Coney Island in the course of the film,” Miranda tells David Remnick. The film reads as a nineteen-seventies period piece, but Miranda and Davis find a classical dimension to it. “The tale is an old tale. Sol Yurick, who wrote the novel the movie is based on, based it on the Anabasis, which is a soldier’s account of trying to get back home from war” in ancient Greece. “It’s this mythic story. . . . It doesn’t get more clear than that as a plotline.” To tell that story in song and rap, Miranda brought together a cast of legends including Lauryn Hill, Nas, Marc Anthony, members of the Wu-Tang Clan, and more. If releasing a concept album, meant to be listened to straight through, seems like a stretch for 2024 audiences, Miranda is unfazed.  “What’s interesting about “Hamilton” is that no one I talked to thought it was a good idea when I was writing it.  But I could see it. And it was the idea that wouldn’t leave me alone.”