Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

I take American history personally. I make a point of not celebrating Columbus Day because he slaughtered hundreds and didn't find America. I went to England and made a point of flipping off a statue of King George III (although he had a beautiful library), my favorite president (Lincoln you big sweetie) is honored via tattooed quotation on my back. I pick sides (I'll never live in a state that seceded from the union) and I rarely change my mind, no matter how long someone's been dead and buried. So I will forever hate Andrew Jackson. 

As far as I'm concerned, Jackson was a jackass bigot who cared more for his own pride, attention, and opinion that the rules of law, the idea of moral fortitude or common decency. He is responsible for the slaughtering of thousands of Native Americans, openly defied the Supreme Court, and lead the way to the election mechanisms we have in place today.

But none of this at all stopped me from become obsessed with a musical about the man himself. 

Enter Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, a rock musical that just crawled its way onto Broadway. I haven't seen the show because I'm a loser who hasn't seen anything on Broadway and lives vicariously through cast recordings and as far as I can tell, the creators of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson have made him just as big a divisive figure as a sympathetic boy who simply got swept up in the fervor. At one point, Jackson cries, "why don't you just shoot me in the head because you know I'd be better of dead if there's really no place in America for a celebrity of the first rank."

And he did become a celebrity, at a cost. Given my hatred, it was nice to see that they acknowledge the horribleness that came with the swagger but the songs itself are so damn catchy that you can't help but tag along for the ride:

But to have a horrible figure be the hero of your story, everyone else has to be pretty awful. Using populism as its continual filter, this song, "The Corrupt Bargain," explains elite rule: 

Its witty, sarcastic, and rockin'. My friends joke that really, there are probably 20 people total that this show appeals to but for now, I'm happy to be one of a potential few and I'm absolutely desperate to see it.