Homestuck: The Musical! (NEW THREAD)

[Paradoxius]

Well, there's the idea of having fights being dances, in which case we could make him a silent role easily, but I think that Jack really should talk, and, as for singing, I', already writing songs for him.

You really need to get rid of John talking about space, it's a little misleading. Perhaps try "Now I have the strength to do what I'm meant to do" to reference he and his father's mangrit?
And it's a bit... monotonous? There's really no change or build.
I would record how I'm attacking the piece, but I'm getting over wisdom teeth removal.
edit: also, why void and mind? I don't think references to them will be necessary until we reach the trolls?

Well, I don't want to have to rewrite the entire song, but I'll have to if I get rid of space there, because it would be a really awkward pattern breaker. It would be easier to find a way to make space fit better, which is what I am working on now. Also, like I said, I'm going to play with the instrumental so that it builds and has different sections like in the real song. The chord progression is the same throughout the song, so the vocals can be as they are (the singers are going to be free to improvise a bit with the melodies to keep it natural and flow-y and stuff).

Also, I can't wait to hear your version! I think once we have both it will be easier to improve both of them by combining their strong points.

[Sleonesia]

Hey, what about the exiles/wanderers, are we gonna be using just music or are there going to be singing arts? Just curious...

[Keltzy]

Hey, what about the exiles/wanderers, are we gonna be using just music or are there going to be singing arts? Just curious...

That is the question, isn't it? Talking exiles seems a bit weird, but I was maybe in favor of a narrator or chorus. Not quite sure how either of those would work out though. :x

[Keltzy]

Oh and while I'm here . . . here's this Mom thing

show spoiler

hide spoiler

TO THE UNDISCERNING EYE
I HAVE ALL I COULD DESIRE
A VIOLIN, A PONY, GOALS TOWARDS WHICH I CAN ASPIRE
BUT THE FLAW THAT TRANSFORMS
THIS HAVEN TO A HOVEL
IS THE LACK OF A MOTHER'S LOVE, OH

SHE HATES ME SO
IN THE BEST WAY THAT SHE KNOWS
EMBRACING MY INTERESTS, MY WIZARDS, MY PROSE
BUT I SEE RIGHT THROUGH HER FAÇADE OF GIFTS, SHE KNOWS IT
AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO SHOW IT

AND THAT'S HOW THIS WAR BEGAN

NOT WITH VIOLENCE OF COURSE
THE WISE FALCON HIDES ITS CLAWS
I'M FAR MORE SUBTLE, I'VE PURPOSE, I'VE CAUSE
BUT HER EYE IS SHARP, IT PROVES TO BE MY FOLLY
FOR EVERY SLIGHT I SERVE, ANOTHER ONE SHE'LL VOLLEY

A MAUSOLEUM FOR MY DEAD CAT
WHO DOES THAT?
I WRITE LEWD PHRASE, SHE GIVES ME PRAISE
I AM AMAZED

MOTHER, DEAR
OBSCURED BY YOUR MARTINI GLASS
THAT'S CLASS
MOTHER, DEAR
HERE WITH YOUR VACUUM OF BRASS
ALAS
MOTHER, WE'RE
A PORTRAIT OF PERFECTION
BUT YOU GIVE ME YOUR LOVE WITHOUT THE REQUISITE AFFECTION
MOTHER, PLEASE
I DON'T NEED YOU IN MY LIFE
SO NOW WE
STRIFE
. . .
THIS BATTLE MAY BE DONE, BUT THE WAR IS NOT YET WON

So yeah. I've got some music I'm working on for this that I may put up later.

[Lacerta]

@Lacerta: That would be interesting, but I think we're still undecided as to whether or not the Exiles will have speaking roles, if I'm not mistaken! X)

Oh sure, I wasn't certain if they would have voices or how they were going to be done, but just in case you end up wanting a voice for her! (This is mostly just because I think PM is awesome, really. XD)

[pocketMastodon]

@Paradoxius, I don't think you should have to rewrite the whole song! But I do think the space line should be reworked, perhaps so that "space" doesn't stand out quite as much. I like the idea of referencing the titles still.

In regards to the Exiles and Jack, I don't think it fits to have the Exiles talk or sing. In terms of the audio portion, I think we should focus on having the instrumentation fit their actions, and have their actions be narrated by someone (probably Doc Scratch.) However, I DO think Jack, the Midnight Crew (as well as their other incarnations), the Felt, etc. should have voices, because they seem to be given more personal voices in Homestuck than the Exiles were given.

[Superdog]

This is where I'm getting tripped up. Technically, the MC are exiles. I see the point of voice, but one could argue that PM and WV had extreme voice as well. Hm. If we're wanting a narrator for some exiles, I would say all carapacians should be narrated, but the feeling may be lost... This is definitely something that needs to be weighed carefully. Would it be easier to just have them voiced? Or merely referenced, whether by a narrator or the characters? They could even just be animated sequences, with people creating background music for them, if we wanted to.

[Monkeysky]

Well, the MC are Agents, and the Exiles are pawns, so there is a distinction.

[Keltzy]

It feels weird to think of the exiles speaking, like, part of their charm comes from their muteness I think, though they do speak via issuing commands to the kids (if you want to count that). Also, I can't recall the exiles doing this, but I know the MC talk in a "you say/he says" manner at points.

I have no problem with the MC (especially Jack) singing, but if the exiles do, I think it would have to somehow be different. Not sure how though. Maybe they could just voice their own thoughts, or things that are happening, but not really talk or sing to each other? And maybe limit the singing as much as possible? But it would pretty much be helpful with the whole "kids getting compelled by voices" thing if the exiles were cast.

[Sleonesia]

True. Or we could just have them mute. Whichever the case, they mostly have to stay mute for a long period of time... But what about andrew hussie?

[Paradoxius]

Greek chorus for exiles? Maybe Hussie narrates them? Maybe the authorspace chorus narrates them?

[Keltzy]

The idea of an authorspace chorus amuses me to no end.

[pocketMastodon]

The idea of an authorspace chorus amuses me to no end.

^^^

So, should we put the Exiles to a vote, wait on it a bit more, or debate a bit more? While I concede that the Exiles did have sort of speaking parts, it just seems odd for them to actually have voices. Perhaps because they were drawn without mouths, unlike the Midnight Crew! X)

[Superdog]

Greek chorus for exiles? Maybe Hussie narrates them? Maybe the authorspace chorus narrates them?

Heheheh... I kinda like that last one... How many of us are technically "authorspaced"? I want to say there's about 4 or 5... Though pM is correct about the mouths, and Keltzy about the "you say" stuff (Though I thought that happened for exiles? TO ARCHIVES), so we still have LOTS of options...

I don't think we should vote just yet on this. We're still working with act 1 songs, after all! But we can always come back to this later. It's one of those ideas that can be sitting on the back burner until we start really getting a handle on all this PLOT and MUSIC.

[Keltzy]

Another idea just thrown out there: what if the exiles were "spoken for" by, say, a corresponding kid or something?

[Sleonesia]

theres a good idea. ^^

[VeritasUnae]

It could even be cool to break up the action with a choral vocal piece (perhaps in the style of Adiemus) where the exiles simply interpretive dance (on the stage, so I guess in the recording, it'd be covered by a narrator). I think it'd be a pretty cool distinction between the two. We could still have people talk in those roles, because the exiles have their own spin on how they 'talk' to their kids, but... I unno, it might be an interesting twist.

[Keltzy]

Breaking the few days of silence. :P Do we have some kind of list of specific things that need to be done?

[VeritasUnae]

I'd say we should probably start writing how the first act is going to flow? Start picking what we want kept and what we'd rather keep out? Thinking about what the characters will be saying, how they'll be saying it, etc. And then just working on songs, I suppose.

[Blackmagebrad]

Alright, along with my Dave audition for singing, here's an example of a monologue for him.

show spoiler

hide spoiler

[Keltzy]

I can maybe look into more dialogue stuff based on the act 1 outline we have. I was just thinking it may help to have some kind of list based on what needs to be done and who's doing it. I think there's still a few songs from the current first act up for grabs, and it seems there may be a bunch of lyrics that are currently music-less.

[UpsidePickle]

(Aaargh, I was getting all excited that perhaps I could write something for WV?: Rise up, but now you're in talks that my sweet babby WV won't get a voice?)

Anyways, HOPY... SOMETHING. I have always made up musical songs in my head for Homestuck, and I saw this thread title and had a mini fangirl moment. AUGH. Please let me contribute, but it'll take me a while, so sorry that I can't give you anything right now. The music+lyrics in the first post is really great, by the way. I love Sburban Jungle already.

There's random rambling under this spoiler, pertaining to Jack and WV.

show spoiler

hide spoiler

This project makes me want to make songs like the ones in The Prince of Egypt... wait wait WAIT. Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort) sings in this song, at 1:56 he starts to sing. Instant headcanon for Jack, and 1:08 is headcanon for WV.

[Paradoxius]

The music+lyrics in the first post is really great, by the way. I love Sburban Jungle already.

Thanks! (^_^)

There's random rambling under this spoiler, pertaining to Jack and WV.

show spoiler

hide spoiler

This project makes me want to make songs like the ones in The Prince of Egypt... wait wait WAIT. Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort) sings in this song, at 1:56 he starts to sing. Instant headcanon for Jack, and 1:08 is headcanon for WV.

I am opposed to the idea of voicing the exiles, but I am definitely in favor of giving WV a very masculine voice if we do. It fits his pre-PTSD personality very well and is a comic juxtaposition to his PTSD-having personality.

Jack, I think, would have a grittier voice befitting of a gritty guy like him. If you've heard NickyTheRat's portrayal, I would say not so scratchy, and not necessarily with the accent, but in that direction.

[Superdog]

Augh! Sorry, y'all! College is kinda eating me up right now up until the weekend. I do think the most important thing right now is determining what we actually want to keep story wise. Obviously we've cut most captchalogue shenanigans, but I think keeping as much of the plot while whittling out some tangents? Though, in homestuck, nothing is tangential... As for songs, they should make up most of the plot, so having the lyric base is great. Keltzy is right that we still need background for a lot of them, so if anyone can work either a homestuck song or a similarly themed song with the lyrics, that'd be much appreciated! I know I will probably be working on that a bit once my schedule eases a little.

UP: Don't give up hope just yet! If you want to write a song, we're more than happy to see it! And it may even be used in one way or another. But the exiles will be dealt with as a whole later, and over time, based on what we decide for how they'll be used in the story. Please contribute everything you can otherwise, though!

[pocketMastodon]

Just popping in to say, you have no idea how thrilled I am to know that Voldemort was the Pharoah ;A; And I agree that would be my WV headcanon for singing if I had one. But I second that Jack should be grittier, as much as I love that heavenly voice.

I'll try to update the OP soon, but as others have, I have been quite preoccupied with school lately. >_<