...or the characters or the situation or the plot or SOMETHING. Otherwise, Sondheim could have included a tender love song in Assassins, taking place between Dwight Eisenhower and Gower Champion...
Although "All That Jazz" is one of my favorite songs of all time, it does nothing to move the plot along. Maybe Roxie and Fred getting drunk and such onstage and her shooting him, but the song itself has no plot value what-so-ever.
"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!"
Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!
Who says a song needs to further the plot? I'd say it all depends on how much plot there is to work with and how the good the song in question is. I've complained about songs in certain shows that seem to stop the plot dead in its tracks, but that's usually because it's not a good enough song to warrant the break. This is a big issue with the more ambitious plots like Les Mis that try to stuff 1000 pages of novel into a 3 hour show. When you've got Millie or Avenue Q or even Chicago, you can get away with stand-alone numbers.
"The last train out of any station will not be full of nice guys." - Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
"I wash my face, then drink beer, then I weep.
Say a prayer and induce insincere self-abuse,
till I'm fast asleep"- In Trousers
I think Seasons of Love in Rent furthers the message, not necessarily the plot. I guess it's kind of showing the 'no day but today' theme differently; you have so little time on earth and to love as much as possible. Also, Seasons of Love B mentions measuring a 'last year on earth' which goes with Angel's death (and how much she loved while she was alive).