#harlem rhapsody

[mercerislandbooks]

Book Notes: Harlem Rhapsody

The great benefit of historical fiction is the opportunity to fill in knowledge gaps. Have you ever heard of Jessie Redmon Fauset? No? Neither had I until I picked up Victoria Christopher Murray’s newest novel, Harlem Rhapsody.

Harlem Rhapsody begins in 1919. Jessie Redmon Fauset, 37, is moving to Harlem to begin work as the literary editor of The Crisis, the magazine of the NAACP run by W. E. B. Du Bois. Fourteen years her senior, Du Bois has been Jessie’s mentor and advocate as she’s pursued her own literary goals while teaching French in Washington, D. C. Now, Jessie is bringing to Harlem her love of literature and her deep commitment to forwarding opportunities for emerging Black writers, intending to make The Crisis into a showcase of talent. In doing so, she discovers and mentors the young writers of the time that will come to be known as members of the Harlem Renaissance; writers like Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Nella Larsen.

Harlem Rhapsody covers the years of Jessie’s tenure as the literary editor at The Crisis. Victoria Christopher Murray brings to life a woman who is beyond excellent at her job, and breaking barriers by being the first Black woman in such a position. But Jessie’s life is filled not just with ambition, but also complexity. She’s not interested in the path of marriage and motherhood. Jessie is a talented writer and novelist in her own right. Yet as a Black woman she still has consider societal expectations. Jessie’s clandestine romantic relationship with Du Bois, a married man, is a constant source of strain in that regard. The plot is driven by Jessie exploring all that her role as literary editor has to offer, helping others reach their full potential, being inspired to finish her own novel, There Is Confusion, and the vibrancy of life in Harlem. When Jessie recognizes that W. E. B. Du Bois ultimately sees The Crisis as the voice of his own agenda, she must decide where her future lies.

Getting a window into the energy and creativity of the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance was fascinating. Being reminded how necessary it is for creatives to have support and constructive encouragement to thrive made me reflect on all the people behind an author, helping to bring their words into existence. We none of us exist in a vacuum, and I loved thinking that I’m a part of it all, at the end of the process, putting books into hands. The ways in which we still struggle to understand each other made me consider that it’s important to keep trying, keep reading, keep learning, one pocket of history at a time.

— Lori

[cupofteajones]

Quote of the Day - February 16, 2025

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Ex-Wife, published anonymously in 1929, was a succès de scandale. The very title aggressively challenged American mores and morals; divorce was almost unheard of in the middle classes at the time. And Manhattan high life in the 1920s (the novel takes place between 1923 and 1927) gave the prurient everything they could wish: not just divorce, but promiscuity, abortion, smoking, and drinking.

And I had, for an instant, that feeling that New York was an altogether beautiful place to live, no matter what happened to me living in it—a comforting feeling that had come to me sometimes, of late, when I stopped looking to people for comfort.

Narrated by Patricia, it tells of her life after her husband walked out on her. She goes from grief and despair to acceptance to indifference while becoming increasingly successful as an advertising copywriter in fashion, and bedding numerous men. Her friend Lucia, a slightly older and more experienced divorcee, supports and mentors her.

Surprisingly, the book is vehemently anti-feminist. The 1920s were a time when women could vote and were free of Victorian behavioral constraints, but systemic sexism ran deep and went largely unnoticed—at least by Patricia and Lucia.

The book was filmed in 1930 as The Divorcée, starring Norma Shearer, who won her only Oscar for it.

Norma Shearer in The Divorcee

In the forward to the 2023 edition (whose cover is shown above), Alissa Bennett writes, "It's easy to get caught in the trap of Ex-Wife's nostalgic charm; there are phonographs and jazz clubs and dresses from Vionnet; there are verboten cocktails and towering new buildings that reach toward a New York skyline so young that it still reveals its stars."

The author's son, Marc Parrott, agreed. "The New York described here," he wrote in an afterward to the 1989 edition, reprinted in the current edition, "and this was true, I think, for 20 years or more—was much smaller, much more intimate, much safer and much cheaper than the city from the '50s on to the present. It was also cleaner. My mother called it 'shining.'"

This is how Patricia and Lucia react to Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue:

"The tune matches New York," Lucia said. "The New York we know. It has gaiety and colour and irrelevancy and futility and glamour as beautifully blended as the ingredients in crêpes suzette." I said, "It makes me think of skyscrapers and Harlem and liners sailing and newsboys calling extras." "It makes me think I’m twenty years old and on the way to owning the city," Lucia said. "Start it over again, will you?"

Second & fourth photos: NYC Past Third photo: eBay

[musingsofmonica]

February 2025 Diverse Reads

February 2025 Diverse Reads:    

•”Red Clay” by Charles B. Fancher, February 4, Blackstone Publishing, Literary/Historical/Gothic/Saga/Cultural Heritage/African American & Black/World Literature/Red Clay/Paris/Côte d'Azur/New Orleans

•”Junie” by Erin Crosby Eckstine, February 04, Ballantine Books, Literary/Historical/Gothic/Saga/Cultural Heritage/African American & Black

•”Harlem Rhapsody” by Victoria Christopher Murray, February 04, Berkley, Literary/Historical/Saga/Cultural Heritage/African American & Black

•”A Season of Light” by Julie Iromuanya, February 04, Algonquin Books, Literary/Historical/Family Life/Political/Cultural Heritage/African American & Black/World Literature/Florida/Nigeria

•”People of Means” by Nancy Johnson, February 11, William Morrow, Literary/Historical/Saga/Political/Cultural Heritage/African American & Black/Multiple Timelines

•”The Riveter” by Jack Wang, February 11, HarperVia, Literary/Historical/Political/Romance/Multicultural & Interracial/Diversity & Multicultural/Cultural Heritage/Asian American/World Literature/Canada

•”Waiting for the Long Night Moon: Stories” by Amanda Peters, February 11, Catapult, Literary, Short Stories, Short Story Collection, Cultural, Ethnic & Regional/Race & Ethnic Relations/Ethnic Studies/Discrimination & Race Relations/Social Themes/Cultural Heritage/Native American & Aboriginal

•”Yours, Eventually” by Nura Maznavi, February 18, Dutton, Contemporary/Romance/Family Life/Cultural Heritage/Pakistani/Muslim

•”Fundamentally” by Nussaibah Younis, February 25, Tiny Reparations Books, Literary/Dark Humor/Political/Women/LGBTQ/Cultural, Ethnic & Regional/Race & Ethnic Relations/Social Themes/Girls & Women/World Literature/London/Iraq

,”The Grand Scheme of Things” by Warona Jay, February 25, Washington Square Press, Literary/Romance/Performing Arts/Dance, Theater & Musicals/Social Themes/Multicultural & Interracial/Diversity & Multicultural/Cultural, Ethnic & Regional/Discrimination & Race Relations/Race & Ethnic Relations/Discrimination & Race/Cultural Heritage/African American & Black/World Literature/London

•”Bibliophobia: A Memoir” by Sarah Chihaya, February 04, Random House, Memoir/Biography ——> cultural identity, mental illness, books, and literary criticism. 

•”The Dissenters” by Youssef Rakha, February 4, Graywolf Press, Literary/Historical/Saga/Multigenerational/Political/Family Life/Women/Cultural Heritage/Arab/Muslim/World Literature/Egypt

•”The Voices of Adriana” by Elvira Navarro, translated by Christina Macsweeney, February 18, Two Lines Press, Literary/Metafiction/Magical Realism/Coming of Age/Family Life/Women/World Literature/Spain

•”Who I Always Was: A Memoir” by Theresa Okokon, February 4, Atria Books, Memoir/Biography —— themes of Blackness, African spirituality, family, abandonment, belonging, and coming of age as a Black girl in Wisconsin suburbs/World Literature/Wisconsin/Nigeria

•”The Edge of Water” by Olufunke Grace Bankole, February 4, Tin House Books, Literary/Historical/Saga/Multigenerational/Family Life/Women/Folklore/Religion/Cultural Heritage/African American & Black/World Literature/New Orleans/Nigeria

•”Death Takes Me” by Cristina Rivera Garza, translated by Robin Myers & Sarah Booker, February 25, Hogarth, Literary/Noir/Thriller/Suspense/ Mystery & Detective/Women Sleuths/Feminism/World Literature/Mexico

•”Loca” by Alejandro Heredia, February 11, Simon & Schuster, Literary/Historical/Friendship/Family Life/Women/LGBTQ/Cultural Heritage/Afro-Caribbean/World Literaturel/Dominican Republics/NYC

•”Snowy Day and Other Stories” by Lee Chang-Dong, translated by Heinz Insu Fenkl & Yoosup Chang, February 18, Penguin Press, Literary/Historical/Short Stories/Short Story Collection, Cultural, Ethnic & Regional/Race & Ethnic Relations/Ethnic Studies/Discrimination & Race Relations/Social Themes/World Literature/South Korea

•”Mornings Without Mii” by Mayumi Inaba, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori, February 25, FSG Originals, Memoir/Biography —— a meditation on love, grief, solitude, independence, writing, and life alongside a cat/World Literature/Japan 

•”Ugliness” by Moshtari Hilal, translated by Elisabeth Lauffer, February 11, New Vessel Press, Memoir/Biography —— mix of essay, poetry, and own drawings — cultural and social history of the body and a meditation on beauty-worshipping celebrity culture and the beauty industry for.  Hilal uses a broad cultural lens to question norms of appearance--ostensibly her own, but in fact everyone's/Feminism & Feminist Theory/Women's Studies/Cultural & Social/Social Themes/World Literature/Afghanistan/Germany  

[daughterofhecata]

Hehe. Blackout on @macrolit's 2024 Reading Bingo with over a month to spare <3

Full list under the cut!

Graphic Novel: El Marto, Frederik Richter: Made in Germany: Ein Massaker im Kongo. Eine grafische Reise zwischen Afrika und Europa. [no english title]

Historical, Dystopian, or Science Fiction: Karel Čapek: Der Krieg mit den Molchen [org. title: Válka s mloky/engl. title: War with the Newts]

Harlem Renaissance: Countee Cullen: Color

Detective, Horror, or Suspense: Kōtarō Isaka: Bullet Train [org. title: マリアビートル]

Classic Author A/B/C/D: Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451

Published before 1940: Maurice Leblanc: Arsène Lupin gegen Herlock Sholmes [org. title: Arsène Lupin contre Herlock Sholmès/engl. title: Arsène Lupin vs. Herlock Sholmes (or: The Blonde Lady)]

Classic Author E/F/G/H: Neil Gaiman: Coraline

Children's Literature: [various Three Investigators books]

Novella or Short Stories: Arthur Schnitzler: Traumnovelle [engl. title: Rhapsody: A Dream Novel (or: Dream Story)]

Poetry or Play: Louise Glück: Averno

Classic Author I/J/K/L: Stephen King: Carrie

Young Adult: Cornelia Funke: Tintenwelt #2. Tintenblut. [engl. title: Inkspell]

Biography or Non-Fiction: Richard Breitman: The Architect of Genocide. Himmler and the Final Solution.

Philosophy or Literary Criticism: Jostein Gaarder: Sofies Welt [org. title: Sofies verden/engl. title: Sophie’s World]

LGBTQ Author: Chuck Palahnuik: Fight Club

Classic Author M/N/O/P: George Orwell: 1984

Published between 1940-1999: Christa Wolf: Nachdenken über Christa T. [engl. title: The Quest for Christa T.]

Classic Author Q/R/S/T: John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men

Romance, Adventure, or Western: Akwaeke Emezi: You made a Fool of Death with your Beauty

Fan Fiction: [various works]

Essays or Satire: George Orwell: Warum ich schreibe. Die großen Essays. [essay collection, texts taken from “Essays” and “Fascism and Democracy”]

Classic Author U/V/W/X/Y/Z: Kurt Vonnegut: Slaughterhouse-Five or the Children's Crusade. A Duty Dance with Death.

Published between 2000-2024: Jo Nesbø: Macbeth. Blut wird mit Blut bezahlt. [org. title: Macbeth]

Gothic Fiction, Fantasy, or Magical Realism: James Oswald: The Hangman's Song. An Inspector McLean Novel.

[inbarfink]

List of which songs are included on each Polka under the cut

Polkas on 45: "Jocko Homo" by Devo, "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple, "Sex (I'm a …)" by Berlin, "Hey Jude" by The Beatles, "L.A. Woman" by the Doors, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly, "Hey Joe" by Jimi Hendrix, "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads, "Hot Blooded" by Foreigner, "Every Breath You Take" by The Police, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by the Clash, "Jumpin' Jack Flash" by the Rolling Stones, "My Generation" by the Who

Hooked on Polkas: "Twelfth Street Rag" by Euday L. Bowman, "State of Shock" by The Jacksons and Mick Jagger, "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top, "What's Love Got to Do with It" by Tina Turner, "Method of Modern Love" by Hall & Oates, "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes, "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister, "99 Luftballons" by Nena, "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins, "The Reflex" by Duran Duran, "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)" by Quiet Riot, "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Polka Party!: "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel, "Sussudio" by Phil Collins, "Party All the Time" by Eddie Murphy, "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie, "Freeway of Love" by Aretha Franklin, "What You Need" by INXS, "Harlem Shuffle" by The Rolling Stones, "Venus" by Bananarama, "Nasty" by Janet Jackson, "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco, "Shout" by Tears for Fears, "Papa Don't Preach" by Madonna

The Hot Rocks Polka: "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)", "Brown Sugar", "You Can't Always Get What You Want", "Honky Tonk Women", "Under My Thumb", "Ruby Tuesday", "Miss You", "Sympathy for the Devil", "Get Off of My Cloud", "Shattered", "Let's Spend the Night Together", "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" - all by The Rolling Stones

Polka Your Eyes Out: "Cradle of Love" by Billy Idol, "Tom's Diner" by DNA featuring Suzanne Vega, "Love Shack" by the B-52's, "Pump Up the Jam" by Technotronic, "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M., "Unbelievable" by EMF, "Do Me!" by Bell Biv DeVoe, "Enter Sandman" by Metallica, "The Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground, "Cherry Pie" by Warrant, "Miss You Much" by Janet Jackson, "I Touch Myself" by Divinyls, "Dr. Feelgood" by Mötley Crüe, "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice

Bohemian Polka: "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen

The Alternative Polka: "Loser" by Beck, "Sex Type Thing" by Stone Temple Pilots, "All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow, "Closer" by Nine Inch Nails, "Bang and Blame" by R.E.M., "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette, "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" by The Smashing Pumpkins, "My Friends" by Red Hot Chili Peppers, "I'll Stick Around" by Foo Fighters, "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden, "Basket Case" by Green Day

Polka Power!: "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls, "Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger, "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" by Pras featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard and Mýa, "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" by the Backstreet Boys, "Walkin' on the Sun" by Smash Mouth, "Intergalactic" by the Beastie Boys, "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba, "Ray of Light" by Madonna, "Push" by Matchbox Twenty, "Semi-Charmed Life" by Third Eye Blind, "The Dope Show" by Marilyn Manson, "MMMBop" by Hanson, "Sex and Candy" by Marcy Playground, "Closing Time" by Semisonic

Angry White Boy Polka: "Last Resort" by Papa Roach, "Chop Suey!" by System of a Down, "Get Free" by The Vines, "Hate to Say I Told You So" by The Hives, "Fell in Love with a Girl" by The White Stripes, "Last Nite" by The Strokes, "Down with the Sickness" by Disturbed, "Renegades of Funk" by Rage Against the Machine, "My Way" by Limp Bizkit, "Outside" by Staind, "Bawitdaba" by Kid Rock, "Youth of the Nation" by P.O.D., "The Real Slim Shady" by Eminem

Polkarama!: "Chicken Dance" by Werner Thomas, "Let's Get It Started" by Black Eyed Peas, "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand, "Beverly Hills" by Weezer, "Speed of Sound" by Coldplay, "Float On" by Modest Mouse, "Feel Good Inc." by Gorillaz featuring De La Soul, "Don't Cha" by The Pussycat Dolls featuring Busta Rhymes, "Somebody Told Me" by The Killers, "Slither" by Velvet Revolver, "Candy Shop" by 50 Cent featuring Olivia, "Drop It Like It's Hot" by Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell Williams, "Pon de Replay" by Rihanna, "Gold Digger" by Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx

Polka Face: "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga, "Womanizer" by Britney Spears, "Right Round" by Flo Rida ft. Kesha, "Day 'n' Nite" by Kid Cudi, "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum, "Baby" by Justin Bieber ft. Ludacris, "So What" by Pink, "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry, "Fireflies" by Owl City, "Blame It" by Jamie Foxx ft. T-Pain, "Replay" by Iyaz, "Down" by Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne, "Break Your Heart" by Taio Cruz ft. Ludacris, "Tik Tok" by Kesha

NOW That's What I Call Polka!: "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus, "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People, "Best Song Ever" by One Direction, "Gangnam Style" by Psy, "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen, "Scream & Shout" by will.i.am feat. Britney Spears, "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye feat. Kimbra, "Timber" by Pitbull feat. Kesha, "Sexy and I Know It" by LMFAO, "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz, "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams

[sistahscifi]

Us trying to read one book at time! The struggle is real!!

CR:

A PEOPLE'S FUTURE OF THE UNITED STATES edited by Victor LaValle and @JohnJosephAdams (@oneworldbooks)

SKY FULL OF ELEPHANTS by @cebocampbell (simonandschuster)

HARLEM RHAPSODY* by @VictoriaChristopherMurray (@BerkeleyPub)

*not speculative fiction, but so good!

Credit to @kermycrashout #treysongz #hiphop #music #kermitmemes #crashout #crashoutkermy #sistahscifi #skyfullofelephants #apeoplesfutureoftheunitedstates #harlemrhapsody

[bevioletskies]

february 2025 tbr

currently reading:

good dirt by charmaine wilkerson

the perfectionist's guide to losing control by katherine morgan schafler

the will of the many by james islington

everything else:

homeseeking by karissa chen

finding me by viola davis

a song to drown rivers by ann liang

sister snake by amanda lee koe

how to say babylon by safiya sinclair

harlem rhapsody by victoria christopher murray

[lboogie1906]

Nora Douglas Holt (November 8, 1885 - January 25, 1974) was an important figure in the history of Black music in Chicago in the 1930s and was a noted musician, composer, and renowned singer and performer during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1940s.

While employed as a music critic for the Chicago Defender (1917-21) she co-founded the Chicago Music Association and the National Association of Negro Musicians. She edited and published Music and Poetry, a magazine for Black musicians. She was a music critic for the New York Amsterdam News and was the first African American inductee into the Music Critics Circle of New York.

Born in Kansas City, Kansas, she was the daughter of Rev. C.N. Douglas, an AME pastor, and Grace Brown Douglas. She studied piano and played the organ for her father’s church. She graduated valedictorian from Western University in Kansas with a BA in Music, she earned an MA in Music Composition from the Chicago Musical College, the first African American to do so. Her MA thesis was titled, “Rhapsody on Negro Themes.”

She returned to the US, settled in Los Angeles, and enrolled at USC, studying to become a teacher. She taught music in the public school system and became involved with the Los Angeles Unified School District. She opened her beauty salon, an enterprise that became a huge success.

She continued to perform and compose. Besides her show at Walroys Gallery in Los Angeles, she co-composed with Thelma Brown and writer, Langston Hughes, the song “Ethiopia Marches On” in support of Ethiopia’s resistance against Fascist Italy’s occupation of their country in 1935. By the 1940s she was living in New York City and she began working as a music critic for the New York Amsterdam News. She hosted an annual “American Negro Artists” festival on WNYC radio and was the musical director and producer of the “Nora Holt’s Concert Showcase” on WLIB radio, in New York City. She was part of the “First World Festival of Negro Arts” in Dakar, Senegal.

Of the more than 200 works of chamber and orchestral music that Nora wrote, all but two were stolen, “Negro Dance” and “Sand Man.” #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[onenakedfarmer]

Playing

RHAPSODIES ON BLACK Music and Words from the Harlem Renaissance

-

Including:

Ethel Waters, Eubie Blake, Mamie Smith,. Ida Cox, Rosa Henderson, Bessie Smith, Trixie Smith, Cleo Brown, Ma Rainey, Margaret Johnson, Gladys Bentley, Alberta Hunter, Victoria Spivey, Blind Willie Dunn, Fats Waller, August Wilson, Betty Carter, Fletcher Henderson, Eartha Kitt, Georgia White, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, James P. Johnson

[theloniousbach]

CHARLES IVES: AMERICA, IMPROVISATION, AND PLACE

I had shared the link to this panel on 21 June when the YouTube algorithm called it to my attention. I watched the first ten minutes then to hear both Phil Lesh and Bill Frisell discuss how they came to know Ives and, from that, knew I would want to see/hear the whole thing as Ethan Iverson was also on the panel. I had road time on Wednesday, so I listened to it.

Lesh’s and Iverson’s voices were distinctive enough that I could identify them. Iverson was very active, recommending sound clips, including of a Frisell piece, and asking about the Grateful Dead’s two drummers whereas Lesh was enthusiastic about all the clips but not as active as the others. A discussion of Stagger Lee versions from Mississippi John Hurt to the Dead homed in on the folk process but also the distinctively American character which was broadly conceived of as Ivesian.

Iverson was particularly interested in the polyrhythms and how much more directly and easily Ives in contrast to Copeland and Gershwin (having called Rhapsody in Blue the “worst masterpiece”), incorporated African American, jazz, blues, ragtime influences. The use of quotes/teases and counterposed ensembles (Lesh said the four live Grateful Deads on top of one another on Anthem of the Sun though was him chasing European modernism) was both familiar and now attributable to Ives.

Certainly his iconoclasm and dedication to his craft is something he shares with other musical heroes. So I need to get to know him much better.

Additional impetus for that effort is that, as part of establishing his Americana roots, is how place mattered to him. Ives gave his compositions titles like Concord Sonata, Three Places in New England, New England Holidays, and Central Park in the Dark. The panel embraced his uniquely American vision of which place was an important component. They also mentioned Duke Ellington’s several evocations of Harlem.

As I think about place as I often do, I will bring that to my listening.

https://youtu.be/x_xWAtnvdDQ?si=RXjrFbWxaKXBkvVM

[bookishluna]

Book Review |Harlem Rhapsody by John Nuckel

Book Review |Harlem Rhapsody by John Nuckel

*Book given by the frolic blog tours in exchange for an honest review*

Description: In the days of prohibition and the Harlem Renaissance, Owney Madden, gangster and Cotton Club owner, has a plan to defeat the tyranny of Tammany Hall. He’ll whack mob kingpin Arnold Rothstein. Harlem Rhapsodyfollows this turbulent era (1927-1937), from Duke Ellington’s debut at the Cotton Club, to the unsolved…

[th3filmcorner]

The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021)

The actors were the only ones who knew what this movie was supposed to be. If you've heard of poverty porn, this was addiction porn, like if you took the drug and sex addiction sequence in Bohemian Rhapsody and stretched it out into a 2 hour long movie. I'm so frustrated, I can barely put it into words, because this could have been a great movie if whoever wrote, shot and edited it had been even just a smidge more competent.

4/10

P.S. I was surprised to find out that this was Andra Day's acting debut, and you wouldn't know it from how she carried this whole film on her skinny shoulders (she lost almost 40 lbs to play the part). There were moments where you understood that there was more to Billie Holiday than her drug addiction, thanks to Day's acting. Ms. Holiday was fighting against racism in the whole of the US, from the fields of the deep South to the nightclubs in Harlem. Her pain seemed isolated, like an anomaly, but it was by design. Manufactured by a system that never wanted her to live, much less thrive. And the United States government did not care to be reminded about their systematic killing of black Americans. I think that's what hurts the most about how poorly the film was made. Even if the film had been edited competently, it had more gratuitous scenes showing her bruised veins and naked body, with a white knight staring at her like, "Baby, my love could fix you," that it felt more like the self-insert fanfiction of an incel than a film celebrating a civil rights activist.

Andra Day on The Daily Social Distancing Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZmQ4WZNCJU

[saint-cecilias]

A list of music cues I NEED to have in The Umbrella Academy @ some point. please god: 

Papa Was A Rolling Stone by The Temptations 

Ain’t Nobody by Chaka Khan 

Rebel Rebel by David Bowie

Madman Across The Water by Elton John 

Rocketman by Elton John

Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me by Elton John

Last Dance by Donna Summer 

Baby One More Time by Britney Spears 

Toxic by Britney Spears 

Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve 

Don’t Speak by No Doubt 

Morning Glory by Oasis 

Champagne Supernova by Oasis 

WONDERWALL by Oasis 

Waterfalls by TLC 

Literally ANYTHING Queen (they gotta have Bohemian Rhapsody playing during one of Five’s fights one of these days like THEY GOTTA)

Dream On by Aerosmith 

Don’t You Worry Bout A Thing by Stevie Wonder 

Superstition by Stevie Wonder 

I’ll Be Around by The Spinners 

September by Earth, Wind and Fire 

The Chain by Fleetwood Mac 

Till It Shines by Bob Seger 

Night Moves by Bob Seger 

You’re So Vain by Carly Simon

Literally ANYTHING Kate Bush (preferably Cloudbusting, Running Up That Hill and Hounds of Love all in like the same episode) 

Rock Steady by Aretha Franklin

Spanish Harlem by Aretha Franklin

Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones 

Literally ANYTHING Prince (if they can swing that..........) 

IMMA ADD MORE TO THIS LIST AS IT COMES TO ME