About Hawaii: Part II
Hawaii: Part II is an album by ミラクルミュージカル
(Miracle Musical), a project led by Joe Hawley and Ross
Federman of Tally Hall and Bora Karaca of Cojum Dip. This
once-in-a-lifetime musical experience was released on
12/12/12 at 12:12:12 AM.
The Hawaii: Part X Project is
a collaborative art tribute created in honor of the 10th
anniversary of Hawaii: Part II. The project was conceived
of by Caitlin Hsu, built by Tunny Parrish, and organized
by both.
About the Hawaii: Part X Project
There are some pieces of media that you instantly know
are going to change your life.
I first heard Dream
Sweet in Sea Major through a casual suggestion from a
friend. By the first line of descending pizzicato notes,
I had already fallen in love. It was unlike any other song
I'd ever heard — liminal, whimsical, nostalgic yet ahead
of its time, evoking the most bizarre mix of both serenity
and abject horror. By the time I reached that line in any
final song, so long, so far, I knew there was no other
musical work that could make me feel quite the same way.
Two years later, that still remains true.
Since
then, Hawaii: Part II has grown into not just one of my
favorite albums of all time, but also a cornerstone of my
music taste and an endless source of creative inspiration
(a fountain of infinite inspiration, if you will.) It is
also an enigmatic work that I continue to be spellbound
and fascinated by; even after all the times I've listened
to it, I still discover musical motifs that I hadn't
noticed before and derive new meanings from the lyrics.
The idea for a 10th anniversary tribute came from
both my love for the album and my desire to work with other
people who felt about it the same way I do. On a whim,
I put out feelers on social media for a Hawaii: Part
II-themed collaborative anniversary project — and received
an unprecedented amount of interest. Spearheading this
project has made me prouder than ever to be part of such
an amazing, enthusiastic, and talented fandom.
In
this interactive gallery, you'll find works of art
dedicated to all 12 songs produced by Miracle Musical,
in every medium from digital art to creative writing to
musical covers, submitted by over 40 fans, including the
two creators of this project. Thank you to all the
artists who submitted their work for this tribute, to the
talented Tunny Parrish for designing this website and
coming up with the name “Hawaii: Part X,” and to my
fandom friends for helping me brainstorm in the initial
stages. Most of all, thank you to Joe Hawley, Ross
Federman, Bora Karaca, and all the collaborators of
Miracle Musical for creating the masterpiece that
celebrates its 10th birthday today. Sublime, thy art.
Happy birthday, Hawaii: Part II!
Signed, yours truly,
Caitlin Hsu
The Gallery
introduction to the snow
To me, Hawaii: Part ii has always stood out as something unique. The sounds of the album are so diverse and gorgeous. The lyricism is interesting to analyze and theorize on, and the emotion that the songs are able to provoke is new and undiscovered for me. The more I listen to each track the more I understand and the more attached I grow to the project as a whole. Though, giving credit where it's due, the song for me that really was able to complete the way that I felt about the project was Introduction to the Snow. Without this song, I feel that the impact of the album would be lessened. The reprise of the melody in Dream Sweet in Sea Major put a satisfying close to the “journey” that is listening to this album. The sounds that are achieved make for an impactful listen, and I tried to capture what comes into my mind emotion-wise the best I could in this painting. This painting features my character “Whale,” inspired by the album.
I listened to the song ten times in a row and then drew out the scene I imagine the song would fit into best.
isle unto thyself
The song I had been assigned was Isle Unto Thyself, in which I decided to take one of my favorite lines from the song and put it into art. Analyzing several interpretations of the song, including some of my own input, the finished product was formed around those ideas. I hope you like the result :))
When creating this painting I drove inspiration from all elements and themes of this song. I interpret strong themes of outer space, yet tropical oasis and did my best to combine them. That is why this painting shows both an inviting colorful island paradise contrasted with the dark, endless expansion that is space. Overall I wanted to capture the magical tone of this heavenly song! 🏝 🌈 🌌 🐋
My main inspiration for this piece was the cover art of the album, but I added and removed a few things. I either added them for fun or removed them because I found them too hard to replicate.
black rainbows
So basically my piece is more abstract than most as Black Rainbows itself is an abstract song. I wanted to keep the main themes that people would expect such as the stella obtangula and the obvious presence of rainbows. I personally wanted to add Simon to the piece and originally wanted him to almost be running away for some reason, but had no real reason for it. Overall, Black Rainbows is my favorite Miracle Musical song and I feel I've represented the song well. The legacy of this band is important to so many of us and I can't express how happy it makes me to contribute to this!
The inspiration for the layout of this drawing
was scrapbooks! Scrapbooks are a common way for
people to share experiences like traveling.
The song also gave me some summertime vibes so I
added a bit of brighter colors and some flowers
to try and match the vibe.
Last but not least, the song lyrics seemed
to speak about meeting with someone and immediately
feeling a connection with them, which is why I
drew my two Hawaii Part II OC's.
I'm not really sure what to put for inspiration,
so I'll try my best.
To start off, my
relationship with Black Rainbows is different from
the other songs (pardon Space Station Level 7)
in that I don't really connect to it personally.
I find it very difficult. Despite that I wanted
to try my best to represent it, I tried doing that
with all sorts of rainbows which have been dulled
by a black & white filter. And I added the woman
because I felt like it fit with the general vibe
the song gives out. I also added the stella
octangula alongside the various rainbows to kind
of give importance to the shape, with the rainbows
acting as leading lines. And of course to keep
with the thematic approach of my current poster
series I went with a beach foreground
(also leading lines.)
white ball
White ball sounds like a song that would play during a ball, So I drew a white ballroom with a couple dancing, as well as the moon shining on them (Also a white ball). Hawaii part II is a very unique album and to me, it's all about life, death, and how love keeps anyone going even through the horrors of life and the promise of death.
This art is directly inspired by some lines
of lyrics in "White Ball"
With this I
wanted to reflect the feeling I get when
listening to this song, and incorporate motifs
throughout Hawaii: Part II.
My main inspiration was listening to classical music and waltz songs from composers like Strauss, Tchaikovsky, and Chopin just so I could get a feel for the romantic elements I wanted to capture. I also tried incorporating different art styles in certain areas of the piece, mostly inspired by the varying styles I've seen at art museums in L.A. and in the Vatican. To me, the album is a bittersweet love story that beautifully displays the grief and heartbreak of losing a loved one and the desperate measures people are willing to go through to get them back. I also found it really powerful that despite being stripped of his sense of humanity, Simon still clings to his memories of his lover and continues his search for her.
"I see “White Ball” as being the first turning point of the album. It has this perfectly ethereal feel to it, still there is something inexplicably sinister lurking beneath. The ending refrain, “such impossible bliss”, links to this idea of an unreachable utopia; where everything is so impossibly beautiful that it almost makes one uneasy. I tried to reflect this in my art by making the piece itself ridiculously ornate, from the patterns in the stained-glass windows, to the costumes the characters are wearing. It's meant to overwhelm the eye; make the viewer get lost in its intricacies, perhaps forgetting the larger image. The windows in my piece attempt to memorialize the album; making it a physical place, as over the years it has grown to mean a lot to me as an artist. I have included visual motifs such as the dual palm trees, and the stella octangula, as well as patterns meant to represent the nautical and cosmic themes present throughout, displayed in an abstract fashion. Additionally, for me, the idea of “impossible bliss” links to religion and spirituality, which is why I made the choice to represent the song via stained-glass window in the first place.
murders
Dear Viewer,
This was my depiction of Murders by Miracle Musical. A song about a man who finds a woman he had close bonds with murdered right in front of him. Here I use my OCs Darryl (as the man) and Sadie (as the woman who gets murdered), followed by the Murderer and the Earl King in the story. I wanted to animate from this song for a while because Miracle Musical got me through highschool along with Tally Hall, and I never felt like I was alone while listening to it which is why I decided to work on this project.
Without further ado please enjoy and thank you.
@weirdcrowguy
This is one of the chapters I'm submitting for the Hawaii pt. 2. My main inspiration for this was of course the album, but my beautiful friends have been constantly motivating me and helping me write. My best friend Pil (@foolcoda) wrote his version of the lore months ago and I thought "hey I could totally write this." So using his headcanon as a springboard for my own story along with the constant motivation, has really helped me with writing this. Please enjoy my interpretation of Murders taken from my story.
My inspiration for this piece, aside from the song 'Murders,' was Franz Schubert's song 'Erlkonig.' It tells the story of a father trying to get his sick young son to safety, riding through the forest, while his son cries about an Erlking (king of faeries) who chases and begs the child to go along with him. This song was a major source of inspiration for Murders, and aside from the lyrics referencing it you can hear the similarities in the piano parts. The famous Erlkonig piano motif forms the ground in my piece. I wanted to make a collage, but I did not have the time to make a physical one, so instead I made a digital collage, taking all the background from various public domain sources and drawing the characters by hand. I think this creates a neat effect, and lines up well with the theme of unsure reality we see in Murders.
宇宙ステーションのレベル7
I was mostly inspired from a discussion I recall Joe having in a live stream where he talked about it being an "elevator song" and I totally agree, the chord progression in this song gives off the vibe of ascending upwards. So naturally I felt compelled to draw this elevator that travels from earth up into space!
I represented Stella's ghost going to heaven, as I interpret that as the theme of the song
I've been playing the saxophone off and on since middle school, and during that time, this album's been with me through the many events of my life. For some reason, when my grandfather passed, this album especially pulled at my heartstrings. It was always stuck in my head, and its notes of bittersweet nostalgia and lost love reminded me a lot of my situation. It's been a couple of years since he died, but I still listen to this album constantly, reminding me of him. I hope through making this cover that this album will reach others who are dealing with grief and loss. And who knows, maybe some middle schooler out there will find this and get inspired to make their own music.
My inspiration for this piece comes from my own
interpretation of the album, this character's name
is Starman / LEVEL 7, he's the embodiment of peace,
love, bliss and relief. In my story he shows up to
help the protagonist get through tough times and
saves him a couple of times!
This album is really special to me, having
gotten into it around June of 2016, I immediately
grew fond of it and its songs, leading me to meet
some wonderful people and friends in the community.
It's been 6 years since I got into Miracle Musical
and I'm happy to still love this album!
the mind electric
(Warning: Video contains FLASHING LIGHTS)
I was introduced to Hawaii: Part II when a
close friend texted it to me this March. “It's
one of those albums,” he told me, “that's like
Hebe and then Bebe.” It didn't take me much
time listening to feel that he was right, along
with the urge to “add it to the rubber band
ball of art that affects my art.” What I wasn't
expecting, though, was its effects to stretch
far beyond my art into the realm of my mind,
body, and what I believe to be my soul. It was
like nothing I had ever experienced before. It
was an island, an ACTUAL GARDEN OF IMAGINATION
WHAAT where I became the elder and the newborn
and the ocean and the oozing force of planetary
design beneath everything, anywhere. I swear
I'm not just trying to sound fancy. It was my
entire daily workout playlist for a while. I
did a (slightly simple) cover project for every
song. I read a BOOK? FERVENTLY? My poor friends
and family couldn't hear the end of it. My
curiosity was feeding into itself. By the end of
the summer, I knew more music college (Temple)
couldn't offer the type of information my brain
needed. I applied for an instructed gap semester
program focused on experiential learning in
travel. I know I could've gone anywhere and
learned something. I almost picked Thailand,
but I couldn't resist. I'm writing this exactly
2 weeks after my last day in Hawaii. Of course
I got Covid a couple days after getting back to
Pennsylvania in November, so a lot of this cover
was done in quarantine. Bringing all that
perspective home with me is an ongoing challenge,
but no challenge could make me happier. Spending
those two months learning and feeling through
every new stretch of land I touched was by far
the best decision I've ever made. I have two
books to read and two papers to write about it,
and that will be done, but I need to celebrate
the reason any of it ever happened first.
Especially as the album's 10th anniversary rolls
around while Mauna Loa and Semeru sing from
either side of the Mariana Trench. It's a
massive inspiration and such a blessing to be
alive with and aware of Hawaii: Part II. I have
endless gratitude for everyone and everything
involved in its creation. And for everyone and
everything involved in my ongoing creation! And
for e&e involved in this tribute project! Sorry
for the novel. :)
"And you fall inside a hole you couldn't see
And you fall inside a hole inside a-
Someone
help me"
In my interpretation on this part
of the song which inspired me to draw this piece,
Simon (the protagonist/the character drawn for
this) is being given an electric therapy shock
that made him completely lost his mind in which
in his state of mind is that he's currently
falling into the abyss of insanity which represents
the dark tone, chaos, & some eye strain on my
artwork. The background represents the hole that he
couldn't see. The Hawaiian leaves, sacred star, &
the rainbow are decorations that represent the
album itself.
labyrinth
Hawaii Part II helped me get through a stressful time and finding something to not only listen to but understand the story was able to get my mind off things. Hearing other people's theories about the album is very interesting and I love the style of writing in hpii.
Hawaii: Part II is an album I've listened to way
more times than I can count. It's really good,
I'm really not an animator but I really wanted
to take a crack at it, trying it again just for
this. (Because of that it's not the full song
unfortunately 😭 )
My inspiration for making this was all the
OTHER fan animatics that used Tally Hall songs,
those are the best :)
My inspiration for my Labyrinth drawing comes from both the music video and just some general ideas and special touches from my regular art. I tried to connect the color scheme at least a little bit to my original Black Rainbows drawing to really connect the 2 together. Overall, while this drawing doesn't have as much of an explanation, I feel like it mostly speaks for itself.
This piece was inspired by a specific genre of games, commonly found on children's placemats at restaurants. The maze is completely playable, and would ideally be part of a larger ミラクルミュージカル themed activity book.
time machine
The background is inspired by the 1950s stylistic retro technology like the colorful televisions, the bright red telephone booth and the retro signs. In addition, each sign has a different language. The foreground is inspired by classic or forgotten sea movies such as Jaws, Moby Dick, and The Dove. Also I added a rainbow to have the "Miracle Musical signature". Suddenly it occurred to me that I should put a palm tree to give a dramatic feeling in my project. I added this because Time Machine gives a musical form of Thriller and Comfort.
I based my artwork of Time Machine on the overall emotions the lyrics give off, but the chaotic nature of the music. I partially based the piece on a prior artwork of mine featuring Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum, although they're entirely different pieces. I also had a determination to keep a theme among all 3 drawings I've made for this project. You'll notice that the color schemes stay relatively the same between pieces. As this is my 3rd piece for the project and made a month or so after the other 2 I believe there's a visible style difference even though slight, but I don't think it pulls away from the beauty of the other 2.
Well I think the inspiration for this one is pretty obvious, just all of the songs on Hawaii: Part II in one piece! I love this album a lot, so I wanted to do something special for its anniversary!
stranded lullaby
The Zinnia is a flower with many meanings, but for Stranded Lullaby and Clover (Simon), it merely reminds him of his partner, Melody. Lasting Affection, like each note of a song, is all he feels when he holds that flower. Yet at the same time, he also sees the blood on his own hands.
For the tenth anniversary of Hawaii Pt.ii, I wanted to learn my way around the basics of garage band and try to put together a cover of Stranded Lullabye. I was going for "I'm lost a sea and woah is that a siren singing to me?" vibes so I hope that's how it came across.
Happy 10th birthday to one of my favorite concept albums!
I’ve always really loved Hawaii: Part II ever since my friend introduced it to me when I was in 8th grade. I’m now a high school senior and I still really enjoy listening to it.
The song I chose to represent was Stranded Lullaby because it always had a special place in my heart. The chorus really stuck out to me since the first time I heard it. It goes: “I’d like to know why you / are all alone while I’m / lost at sea.” Those lyrics were always important to me as I struggled with depression and not feeling fully present in the moment. I always felt “lost at sea” and often wondered why people still tried to wait for me to get better.
I’m happy to report that I’m doing much better now than when I first connected with this song, though I still struggle with depression and dissociation. This song helped me feel seen and helped me realize that this feeling isn’t unique to me.
I hope that my story and art can be a representation of what music like this can be for many people - a way to know they’re not really alone in what they’re feeling. I’m very grateful to be a part of this project and can’t wait to see everyone else’s creations!
dream sweet in sea major
Because of my synesthesia, I see colors and shapes when I listen to music. I wanted to create something based on the different colors I saw for each of the five movements in Dream Sweet in Sea Major (“Alone at the edge of the universe,” “it's now and never,” “you look quite divine tonight,” “the part is wholly ending,” and “bye, hi, sigh Hawaii”). To me, this song is intrinsically tied to the sky and the ocean, making that the perfect landscape for this painting. I divided the sky proportionally according to the length of each movement and painted the colors I saw, then added a black ocean and palm trees to reference the album cover.
With this piece, I tried to capture the imagery that appears in my head when I listen to Dream Sweet in Sea Major. Lyrics like, “Believe me, darling, the stars were made for falling,” and “Signed, yours truly, the Whale,” are just a couple that stood out when creating this. Maintaining the nautical yet ethereal feeling from the song was also one of the goals of this piece, as well as the sense of closure felt with the lyrics, “Bye, hi. Sigh, Hawaii. We never meant to part. Sublime, thy art.”
For this piece, I was inspired by Dream Sweet In Sea Major, The Mind Electric, and the album cover. Hawaii part: ii is one of my favourite albums, not just because the music is amazing, but because everyone has their own interpretation of the story the album tells. This is why Hawaii part: ii is so special to me.
My piece was inspired by the first half of the third verse of Dream Sweet in Sea Major.
“You look quite divine tonight
Here among these vibrant lights
Pure delights surround us as we sail
Signed, yours truly, the whale”
Listening to this segment of the song, I imagined a party of bizarre characters dancing under colorful string lights on the back of a whale as it sails through the night sky.
Much like the song Dream Sweet in Sea Major itself, my piece includes a handful of Hawaii Part ii Easter eggs. Obvious ones being my use of rainbow colors and falling stars.
Some more subtle references include the twelve dancers which reflect the significance the number twelve has to the album. Among the dancers, the angler fish and dolphin from the album cover are present as well as the octopus and beluga whale from the “Isle Unto Thyself” music video. All of the dancers in suits are wearing bow ties except for the famously Japanese koi fish who is wearing an orange necktie. This is a nod to Bora Karaca who provided the vocals for “Space Station Number 7”, or “宇宙ステーションのレベル7”, and was the honorary orange tie of the band Tally Hall. The dress the shrimp dancer wears is also a reference to “Space Station Number 7” and represents the one word in English that is sung throughout the song (it might also be a reference to something else, iykyk). Lastly, the two fully human partners, the man in grayscale like the album art and the woman in white with iridescent rainbow colors and a hibiscus in her hair, are meant to represent the album as a whole.
Some design concepts for this piece can be traced all the way back to art I made in junior high that was inspired by the album when I first fell in love with it.
variations on a cloud
Hawaii Part II is probably one of the best albums I've ever listened to. It's hard to put into words exactly how/what this album makes me feel. My first time listening to the album in full was a very emotional experience and it has a very special place in my heart for getting me through a hard time.
If I'm being completely and totally honest I really winged it with this. I sort of just started drawing and here we are now. A couple of things I knew I was going to do was of course draw Joe and Rob, include the text of the lyrics, and have some sort of moon.
My main inspo for the drawing was greek sculptures, and greek aesthetics in general as well as religious XX century paintings for the poses and religious paintings from the XVIII and XIX for the composition, and my general most prominent base was the line from the song "It's a little bit of magic to end the world"