#man in a movie isnt a title song but!!!! it's a gem!!!!

[jihyogram]

favorite male releases of 2017 ☆

[thealmightyemprex]

Top 10 Christmas movies

Well Its Christmas Eve might as well talk about my favorite Christmas movies

10.Batman Returns (1992)

I love this film ,flaws and all ,and it is certainly a Christmas movie to me ....A twisted one ,focusing on the melancholly of the holiday but its a favorite of mine, with great performances by Michelle Pfeiffer,Danny DeVito ,Michael Keaton and Christopher Walken

9.Gremlins (!984)

There are many Christmas horror movies ,I couldve included Black Christmas or Krampus, but this film is both funny and scary ,with great practical effects and some great antagonist in the form of the Gremlins

8.Die Hard (1988)

YUP ITS A CHRISTMAS MOVIE TO ME ! DEAL WITH IT !!! Its one of the best action movies ever with Alan Rickman playing one hell of a villain

7.Jingle All The Way (1996)

Not even a guilty pleasure ,I legit enjoy this film . It is one of my favorite Arnold movies ,I think Sinbad is great,always love watching the late great Phil Hartman , and I watched it a lot as a kid.Also my dad likes it cause it reminds him of all the times he went last minute Christmas shopping for me and my brother .Also of all movie dads I saw as a kid , one that felt the most like my dad ,in that he was a normal dude who happened to be big and tough

6.A Christmas Story (1983)

Is this movie over played ...Kind of. Its gone from being a hidden gem to being merchandised to hell ....Still doesnt take away from the fact its a great movie .I think the scret weapon of the film ,for me at least,is its overwheling feeling of nostalgia and capturing the experience of being a kid.I didnt have a childhood exactly like Ralphie but I remember experiences much like the ones Ralphie ecperiences in the film:The fantasies,the embarassing gift ,parents getting excited over something kind of dumb .Its very much a slice of life movie .Also quotable as hell

5.Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

CHRISTMAS IS IN THE TITLE<CHRISTMAS MOVIE !!Honestly its a fun holiday mashup ,with gorgeous stop motion , wonderful songs and music by Danny Elfman

4.Miracle on 34th Street(!947)

A sweet film that is a must watch around Christmas ,about a old man who says he is the real Santa .I like the ambiguity whether or not this little old man is Santa ,theres a lot of fun side characters,its funny and Edmund Gwenn gives a dignified take on Kris Kringle

3.Its A Wonderful Life (!946)

Now truthfully this is the best MOVIE on the list,like it is one of the great American movies .....But also only the third act takes place around Christmas ,so It could only get number three .I still love4 this movie ,Its a beautiful film that tugs at the heartstrings with a great performance by James Stewart ,and like Miracle on 34th Street has great supporting characters (Including one of the most despicaple villains ever Mr Potter ).Its very qoutable and the ending makes me cry .Also hold a special place for me personally cause I was in a play based on it

2.Hogfather (2006)

OK so this isnt about Christmas but of the fantasy celebration known as Hogswatch ,but is an examination of the holiday of Christmas .Its a fun fantasy story ,its really funny,very inventive,Mr Teatime is an extremely creepy villain,and Ian Richardson does an amazing performance as Death,his spech about the necessity of fantasy being a highlight

1.Scrooge (1970)

MY FAVORITE FILM TO WATCH AROUND CHRISTMAS ,ITS A MUST WATCH .There are many great versions of a Christmas Carol ,but this is my favorite.I love the spectacle of it ,the performances ,the gorgeous songs ,and Albert Finney's rather hammy take on Scrooge

Feel free to share not only your favorite Christmas movies, but favorite holiday movies, or just movies that make ya think of winter

@ariel-seagull-wings @amalthea9 @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @metropolitan-mutant-of-ark @marquisedemasque @lord-antihero @filmcityworld1 @princesssarisa

[gaarfielf]

time for a scathing review of the steven universe movie

under cut for obvious reasons jdkfgjf

- the movie from the get go can't place its target audience, including a flurry of songs about the characters that are simultaneously too generic to tell any new watchers who these characters are and too long for the regular watchers to understand why its there if not for padding

- When i started watching the movie i kept messaging my friend who'd seen it first to ask if i was missing part of it bc i had no fucking idea what was happening and they helpfully informed me that the film just starts out that clumsy on its own

- Let Us Adore You was such a bizarre song to start the movie off with and was very clearly going to be used later for a different character bc none of the lyrics apply to steven at all and yet its being sung to steven so they can make a call back to it later in the movie. i mean seriously the song is them singing about how steven was close to Rose which just isnt further from the truth

- they wrote connie out of the movie. when they could have just not written her into the movie in the first place just to be written out of

- the A plot (if you can call it that) is the gems being reset to their first state of being and now they feel the need to fulfill their homeworld duties which makes no sense bc the series spent countless episodes establishing that every duty performed by homeworld gems is done out of fear and not out of desire to fulfill these tasks except perhaps in a stockolhm way (ie 'if i do this demeaning task properly then maybe i'll be rewarded for it)

- pearl sings a song about loving being a slave

- pearl only gains her memories back after Greg and Steven's fusion sing an R&B song to her. for some reason showing her images of Rose didn't affect her literally at all but watching a big hairy man with a guitar did

- opal is in this scene. for some reason.

- also steven mentioned immediately before this scene he couldn't use his powers bc his gem had been reset so i guess thats done

- theres a jarring cut immediately after the R&B song that goes on for way too fuckin long where they all unfuse and steven looks like he's been hit by a bus. quite frankly thats how i felt watching this whole fuckin mess anyhow

- amethyst's memory scene began with 'the only way we can get her memory back is through dance' despite all the gems being dance inclined, not just amethyst. idk if the creators just forgot the whole aesthetic of the gems being built around music/dance but i sure didn't

- garnet's memory scene- actually no every scene with garnet was a scene we've seen before (try saying that 3 times fast) and nothing was added to her character (or any character really) the whole entire time. she sings a song about fusing which was titled "Pleasure" and it was like watching her character being flushed down a toilet bowl. remember the whole "we are two parts that make one person we are made of love" message from all the ruby sapphire episodes? imagine that episode which on first watch was so tender and cute and added so much depth to garnet's character? now picture it where their relationship is just odd and whiny and mostly inconveniencing everyone and... there you have it. that's her arc.

- also x2 sapphie and ruby are just completely oblivious to almost everything happening around them. the second they’re reset they ask absolutely no questions and just stand in whatever spot is most convenient for whatever scene theyre in. im p sure they sang a song about tricking them into fusing right in front of them and neither of them reacted

- also x3 can i just mention how fuckin creepy it was that in the same movie where Garnet sings a song about how fusing is an act of pleasure also has a scene where a father and son fuse. i felt like my fuckin fingers had just been slammed in a drawer watchin this

- spinel started as the bane of my existence and ended up being the only thing getting me through this disaster of a movie. her villain song is the definition of too long but her backstory song was literally the only good song written for this movie that sounded like a steven universe song with thought and care put into it

- stevens a dick through this whole movie he just screams at people and makes people feel bad about each other and then ends it with 'EVERYTHING CAN BE FIXED THROUGH FRIENDSHIP' and much like everybody watching the movie spinel was like 'so you only befriended me to turn off the world ending machine?' and steven just blurts out 'uh yeah duh' and spinel goes villain mode again. which was just the tackiest and most obvious form of padding ive ever seen in my life and just made me wish steven would lose, just this once yk

- why is steven 16 in this movie. it has no bearing on the plot. the literal only difference is that he has a neck.

- i think theres actual blood shown in the movie which again makes me wonder who the target audience is

- SPINEL COMES DOWN IN A GIANT NEEDLE SHIP, SHE ANNOUNCES THAT THE SHIP IS CALLED THE INJECTOR, THERE IS A LIQUID LEAKING INTO EARTH FROM THE INJECTOR, STEVEN GOES AND ASKS PERIDOT WHAT THE MACHINE DOES, AFTER A LONG SCENE OF INVESTIGATING, PERIODT CONCLUDES IT’S INJECTING POISON INTO THE EARTH. STEVEN IS SHOCKED TO HEAR THIS. STEVEN, WHO HAS SEEN MANY MANY GEMS COME AND TRY TO KILL HIM, IS SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT THE GEM WHO JUST SANG A SONG ABOUT KILLING HIM AND ALL HIS FRIENDS IS DOING SOMETHING “NOT GOOD”

- also x4 its never explained how spinel got a battleship when she was in a weaponless garden for 6000 years and also she was a jester not even a fighting class gem but go off i guess

- after over a hundred episodes in a childrens cartoon establishing you don't have to be tied to societies expectations of you as a person spinel leaves her life as a common fool that entertains the higher ups to become... a common fool who entertains the higher ups. the diamonds sing the Let Us Adore You Reprise (remember earlier?) and surprise surprise the lyrics actually apply to her and they all live happily ever after. Except Spinel is still a jester. She just went from being one persons jester to a different persons jester. but now she's fine with it. ok.

- oh and sadie sings an ok song in the movie too. just wanted to give my girl some deserved credit she sang the only song i think i actually sought out after watching aside from Drift Away (Spinel’s backstory song)

[ru-ruu]

Ive been up and Ive been down….Ive had my feet swept off the ground

BYSOMEBODYWHOJUSTPICKEDMEUPANDTHREWMEAWAAAAAAAYYY!!!!

Ms. Alicia Michelle Howard a.k.a Billie (not to be confused with Billie Jean…), a Chicago legend that has given us numerous tracks and moments over her long lasting career. Of course most notably Love Under New Management (written by the wonderful Ms. Annette Harderman and her late husband Gabriel Harderman), Come Share My Love, Baby Be Mine, Ain’t Nobody Like You and other tunes. All her staple hits and everything you want to hear her perform at a live show. But of course at the Factory we don’t focus on just the hits. The B cuts and the album cuts are just as important and lowkey sometimes better than the singles.

Lets slide on back to 1980, yall know Miki was in a R&B group right? Yall heard of Side Effect?

She was a part of the group for a years, they craned out a funky rendition of Georgy Porgy which is still a part of Miki’s live shows today.

Another popular tune from the group during Miki’s tenure was

I Can’t Play

Ok lets jump to her solo career, the MEAT of it all! Lets share her love for a bit with her first solo album Come Share My Love. We all know about the title track Come Share My Love….

Theres a peak on every mountain…

A shore for every sea….

Its hard to understand were you meant for me…

Theres an answer to a question, but theres no guarantee…

AND I WANNA GIVE IT TO YA GIVE IT TO YA GIVE IT TO YA…..

But have you paid attention to the smooth track titled

Love Will Find A Way

A simple plea for love to find the answer after doing all you can. Nowadays people say love isnt enough in relationships and that love isnt the answer. But without love what do you have? Yeah you need trust and communication and all that but at the center of it all you need love. Thats all we really need anyway…but moving onto the next track that needed more shine and my personal favorite of Miki

Imagination

Before I got into hardcore researching and investigating I thought this was an original song. But nope, its an old Glen Miller tune that was written and composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke.The tune is what one would call a “Standard”, everyone from Ella Fitzgerald to Frank Sinatra has their own rendition. But theres something about Miki’s version that gives the song power! I believe this was the beginning of Miki revealing that she was a bonafide Jazz artist. Her nickname is Billie…after the late and great legendary Mother of us all Billie Holiday. Miki even played Billie in the biopic Malcom X. But we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves.

Lets slide onto 1987 (sidebar Im still not even born yet at this point) I know I was trying to not highlight her singles and hits buuuuuuuut this song right here…..THIS SONG RIGHT HERE!!!! We all know about the Miki Howard and Gerald Levert love affair it was leeeggggeeennddddaaarrrryy!

That’s What Love Is

Their first duet together was something magical. Hence why I included on my Duets post, go check it out if you missed it. Written by both Howard and Levert and included on her Love Confession album.

This song is just that…..a love confession! In the song they compare themselves to Romeo and Juliet and if you think about it…….thats very fitting. They both come from legendary families, Gerald is the son of the legendary Eddie Levert from the group The O’Jays and Miki’s mother, Josephine Howard, sang with The Caravans. They both deeply loved and adored one another but Miki and I quote is a “Woman of The World” and that didn’t fly in the Levert camp. But they always remained close until his passing. He even wrote on another track on the album

Crazy

Love Confession was filled with love letters between the two,

I been looking for a new love….

Didnt know where it was…

All the time there you were…..

I must have been CRAZY….

Gerald aint slick not one bit! See what happens when artists get involved with one another, they start telling secrets through the music. It’s lowkey sweet and almost like a marriage. It sticks with both parties throughout their entire careers and it’ll always make them think back to that moment when the love was the strongest…..or when whatever emotion was the strongest because there are plenty musical couples that sing songs written by the other party that are break up songs and torch songs sooooooo yeah!

Anyway lets jump to 89 (Im finally born woot woot) and visit her album Miki Howard.

There were some good cuts on there and also her first number one hit! Guess what Im going to talk about first yall….

I’ll Be Your Shoulder

Yeeeessss another Howard/Levert duo, written partially by Gerald (he has writing credits on Mister as well). This track may have solidified the two’s feelings for another. Yes they were deeply in love but here they confess….I’m here for ya baby, when you’re down and out you know you can come to me. Simply put, I’ll Be Your Shoulder! Which eventually is what happened between them, Gerald helped Miki kick drugs or at least played a major role. So these lyrics are true to life, cant say that too much about songs that are out nowadays. Come to think about it the Levert clan were all over this album. Listen to some of the tracks and see if you can hear Eddie and the crew jamming in the back. Also sidebar and honorable mention to Miki’s vocals on the tail end of a song that SHE wrote

Who Ever Said It Was Love

Listen to the veeeeerrrrrryyyy end to hear just how high Auntie Miki can go!

Onto to 1992!! Femme Fatale POW!!

A collection of work with her second number one hit Aint Nobody Like You and a myriad of gems. Miki was always had a classic duet on her albums but this time…instead of Gerald…..she had Christopher Williams on the track.

Hope That We Can Be Together Soon

Yall remember Christopher Williams right? The light skin brotha that was on New Jack City? Had the song Dreamin’ from the soundtrack? And Every Little Thing U Do? Ella Fitzgerald’s nephew? Yeah him and Miki did a cover of a Gamble and Huff tune that was first recorded by Sharon Paige and Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes back in ’75. Christopher was a good choice vocally, veeerrrryyy reminiscent of the original.

Femme Fatale also saw Miki’s “Billie” side  come out once more before the big shebang! Her cover of Billie Holiday’s Good Morning Heartache was a perfectly haunting  tribute.

Good Morning Heartache

Again it was another Jazz standard and another Jazz tune perfectly shaped to her voice. Of course as before everybody recorded the tune but again Miki holds the crown with her cover. She was definitely hinting towards her recording future with this one.

Last track I want yall to listen to from the album is

Cigarette Ashes On The Floor

Im not even going to go into it, please please please just listen to the lyrics. We’ve ALL been there and who the hell says things like this? You make me feel like cigarette ashes on the floor?!?!?! It’s the truth but dam!!

A year later Miki said you know what….I need to sing me some Billie. And thats just what she did. In ’93 Miki Howard released Miki Sings Billie: A Tribute To Billie Holiday.

A tribute to her hero and biggest inspiration. Who has the courage to do an album like that? Now personally I think it should be done more often. Chante Moore should do a tribute album to Minnie Riperton, she already recorded a few of her tunes and who else is fitted to cover a Minnie song? Lowkey…come closer yall lemme whisper this in yall ear….I think Monica should do something for Stephanie Mills. Both of their voices are similar….in a way, so why not?!? Back to Miki though, remember I told yall she was in Malcom X portraying Billie? Well that was a year before this was released so in a way it was a major heads up!

There’s Billie Holiday classics on there like Solitude and My Man and What A Little Moonlight Can Do. But MY favorite is

Don’t Explain

Just listen…’Nuff said!

Jumping over some years and some issues and some scandals and whatever to 1997’s Cant Count Me Out.

Two of my favorite Miki tracks are nestled in the bosom of this body of work. The first being a song that has her longtime friend Chaka Khan and Terence Trent D’Arby (yall know Wishing Well! Dont act like you dont!) and a Stevie Wonder cover.

I Love Every Little Thing About You

The next being

Something I Never Had

Peep the backing vocals on that track! Know who it is? Well…..SAY IT!!! Miki wrote the majority of songs on this album besides the covers. She penned this along with Lemel Humes.

Miki had about three more albums after this: Three Wishes (2001), Pillow Talk (2006) and Private Collection (2008) and numerous tour dates and appearances and hey even a movie about her life!!

  Special mention to the tracks

You Made Me Love You

I remember I first heard that song after I got dumped by my first boyfriend. It immediately made me think of one of the first things he told me”…..Im going to make you love me…..” He did and then he broke my heart seven months later….oh well!

Miki loved to do a cover, she has an album full of them (Pillow Talk). She redid one of my favorite songs

Go Away Little Boy

Now I always got the Marlena Shaw version mixed up with Nancy Wilson’s version. Who can blame me though? Their voices and delivery are almost identical to the T! Miki came through and slapped her own funk on it as she usually does.

She also took on the Ann Peebles classic

I Cant Stand The Rain

She stayed true to the “twang” of the tune whereas Tina made it more current for the times. Both lovely version in their own right!

Last song and I’ll let yall go, some of yall overstayed your welcome and its time for yall to go back to ya mammy house.

Panther

Shes a PANTHAAAAH! Miki described a Panther as the black version of a “Cougar”. She said it sounded more sexy and it fits black women better than being called a Cougar. C’est La Vie on that one…..

Look out for Part 2 of Aint Nobody Like Miki Howard! I got lots more to talk about, we aint done yet!!

Aint Nobody Like Miki Howard Part 1. Ive been up and Ive been down....Ive had my feet swept off the ground BYSOMEBODYWHOJUSTPICKEDMEUPANDTHREWMEAWAAAAAAAYYY!!!! Ms. Alicia Michelle Howard a.k.a Billie (not to be confused with Billie Jean...), a Chicago legend that has given us numerous tracks and moments over her long lasting career.